Dr. Allen T.C. LEE
Associate Professor (Clinical)

• Honorary Associate Consultant, New Territories East Cluster, Hospital Authority
• Vice President, The Chinese Dementia Research Association
• Council member, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
• Publications Committee member, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
• Editorial Board member, East Asian Archives of Psychiatry (EAAP)

• Best Poster Award, the 15th International Congress of the Asian Society Against Dementia (ASAD), Japan, 2021
• Distinguished Young Fellow, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, 2017
• Young Psychiatrists Fellowship Award, the ASEAN Federation of Psychiatry and Mental Health (AFPMH), 2014

• Epidemiology, prevention, early detection, and intervention for neurocognitive disorders
• Determinants of healthy aging
• Associations among physical, mental, and cognitive health

1. Can increasing participation in habitual intellectual activities enhance functional connectivity of default mode network in community-living Chinese adults with subjective cognitive decline? A randomized controlled trial.
   (Funded by Early Career Scheme, RGC 2019/2020. Capacity: PI. Ref. number: 24114519. Funding: $1,190,840. Study duration: 1/1/2020-31/12/2021)
2. Can whole-body vibration treatment optimize cognitive function in older adults who have sarcopenia and are at risk of dementia? A randomized controlled trial
   (Funded by HMRF. Capacity: PI. Reference number: 08190476. Funding: $1,386,977. Study duration: 17/12/2021-16/12/2023)
3. Structured frontal lobe based cognitive stimulation to older adults with subjective cognitive decline and comorbid depressive symptoms
   (Funded by CUHK Direct Grant for Research 2018/2019. Reference number: 2018.076. Capacity: PI. Funding: $149,947. Study duration: 30/6/2019-29/6/2022)
4. Health determinants for late onset dementia and its associated mortality in Hong Kong Chinese older adults.
   (Funded by HMRF Commissioned Study 2018. Ref. number: CFS-CUHK3. Capacity: Co-PI. PI: Linda Lam, Dept of Psychiatry, CUHK. Funding: $7,492,300. Study duration: 1/7/2019-30/6/2022)
5. Small Data Learning for Alzheimer’s Disease: From Digital Biomarker to Early Detection and Intervention
   (Funded by CRF. Capacity: Co-PI. Reference number: C4034-21GF. PI: Professor Guoliang Xing, Department of Information Engineering, CUHK. Funding: $8,230,720. Study duration: 1/1/2022-31/12/2024.)
6. Machine learning technologies for advancing digital biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease
   (Funded by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Capacity: Co-PI. Reference number: GDADB-201906-2019049. PI: Professor Guoliang Xing, Department of Information Engineering, CUHK. Funding: USD$641,204. Study duration: 1/7/2020-30/6/2023)
7. A 9-year follow-up of the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey (HKMMS) on Chinese adults with depressive and anxiety symptoms.
   (Funded by HMRF Commissioned Study 2018. Ref number: CFS-CUHK4.Capacity: Co-I. PI: Professor Linda Lam, Department of Psychiatry, CUHK. Funding: $7,767,730. Study duration:1/7/2019-31/12/2023)
8. The Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey for Older People – MMSOP
   (Funded by HMRF Commissioned Study 2018. Ref. number: MHS-P1(Part 3)-CUHK. Capacity: Co-I. PI: Professor Linda Lam, Department of Psychiatry, CUHK. Funding: $17,289,625. Study duration: 1/1/2019-31/12/2022)
9. Combining mind-body physical exercise, cognitive training, and nurse-led risk factor modification to enhance cognition among older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial
   (Funded by HMRF 2017. Capacity: Co-I. Reference number: 16170421. PI: Professor Samuel Wong, School of Public Health and Primary Care, CUHK. Funding: $1,499,589. Study duration: 16/9/2019-15/3/2024)
10. Mortality among older persons with schizophrenia in Hong Kong
    (Funded by HMRF. Capacity: Co-I. Reference number: 18192331. PI: Dr. WC Chan, Department of Psychiatry, HKU. Funding: $732,624. Study duration: 3/1/2022-2/1/2024)
11. Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA as marker for early detection of cognitive decline in elderly
    (Funded by HMRF. Capacity: Co-I. Reference number: 09200246. PI: Dr. SL Ma, Department of Psychiatry, CUHK. Funding: $1,446,240. Study duration: 15/7/2022-14/7/2025)
12. Novel MRI-based machine learning tool to detect mild cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease
    (Funded by HMRF. Capacity: Co-I. Reference number: 08190666. PI: Dr. Ho Ko, CUHK. Funding: $911,140. Study duration: 5/2/2022-4/2/2024)
13. The role of big data in addressing the determinants of non-communicable diseases in the ageing era – collaboration between CUHK and Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) partners
    https://wun.ac.uk/wun/research/view/the-role-of-big-data-in-addressing-the-determinants-of-non-communicable-diseases-in-the-ageing-era
    http://www.oal.cuhk.edu.hk/201909-41-cuhk-wun/
14. Computer Use for Seniors on Mood Improvement and Logic Enhancement (CU-SMILE)
    (Funded by Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (KPF), and Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund) of the Government of HKSAR: $399,996, Capacity: Allen as PI, Linda as Co-I
    Study Duration: 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026)

1. Lee ATC, Mok VCT, Lam LCW.
   How do we measure mood and behavioural symptoms across the stages of dementia?
   In Chapter 12 of World Alzheimer Report 2022. Published by Alzheimer’s Disease International in September 2022.
2. Lai VKY, Fung AWT, Lam LCW, Lee ATC.
   Is sleep quality a potential predictor of neurocognitive disorders? A 6-year follow-up study in Chinese older adults.
   International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2022 Aug;37(8).   
3. Lee ATC, Chiu HFK, Peisah C.
   Clinical considerations when using assessment tools to identify depression in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
   International Psychogeriatrics. 2022 May;34(5):413-416.
4. Lam LCW, Lee ATC.
   Is cognitive screening useful for long-term prediction of incident dementia?
   The Lancet Healthy Longevity. 2021 July 1;2(7):e387-e388.
5. Lee ATC, Fung AWT, Richards M, Chan WC, Chiu HFK, Lee RSY, Lam LCW.
   Risk of incident dementia varies with different onset and courses of depression.
   Journal of Affective Disorders. 2021 Mar 1;282:915-920.
6. Lee ATC, Mo FYM, Lam LCW.
   Higher psychogeriatric admissions in COVID-19 than in severe acute respiratory syndrome.
   International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2020 Dec;35(12):1449-1457.
7. Lee ATC, Richards M, Chan WC, Chiu HFK, Lee RSY, Lam LCW.
   Higher dementia incidence in older adults with poor visual acuity.
   The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2020 Oct 15;75(11):2162-2168.
8. Lee ATC, Richards M, Chan WC, Chiu HFK, Lee RSY, Lam LCW.
   Association of daily intellectual activities with lower risk of incident dementia among older Chinese adults.
   JAMA Psychiatry. 2018 Jul 1;75(7):697-703.
9. Lee ATC, Richards M, Chan WC, Chiu HFK, Lee RSY, Lam LCW.
   Lower risk of incident dementia among Chinese older adults having three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits a day.
   Age and Ageing. 2017;46(5):773 –779.
10. Lee ATC, Richards M, Chan WC, Chiu HFK, Lee RSY, Lam LCW.
    Intensity and types of physical exercise in relation to dementia risk reduction in community-living older adults.
    Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2015;16(10): 899.e1 –7.

Guest Editor for:

• Age and Ageing
• Alzheimer’s & Dementia
• Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
• Behavioral Sleep Medicine
• BJPsych Open
• BMC Geriatrics
• BMJ Open
• Frontiers in Dementia
• Frontiers in Psychiatry
• International Psychogeriatrics
• Stress & Health

Supervised over 10 Master and PhD students at CUHK

Serving as a mentor for GPS Medical Students at CUHK