Biography
Andrew holds a Clinical Lectureship in Neurology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He completed his DPhil in immune genomics with the support of the Croucher Foundation at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford in the laboratories of Prof. Julian Knight and Prof. John Todd. He was elected Senior Keeley Scholar and awarded the Nuffield Department of Medicine Overall Graduate Student Prize in recognition of his doctorate research work. During his DPhil, Andrew lectured in medicine at Brasenose College, University of Oxford.
At the University of Cambridge, Andrew was a Foundation Scholar and Whalley-Tooker Prize winner at Downing College for pre-clinical medicine. He graduated in clinical medicine from The Chinese University of Hong Kong with honors and the Tzu Leung Ho Grand Medal.
Andrew KWOK
Clinical Lecturer, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics
Research Interests
Andrew Kwok is a neurology resident and clinician-scientist with an interest in neuroimmunity. He specializes in single-cell and functional genomics, leveraging multi-omic technologies spanning the central dogma of biology. He combines these data through bioinformatic methods, including machine learning algorithms, to understand the impact of gene expression and the epigenome on cellular function and physiology (Nat Rev Genet., 2021).
Andrew’s research previously focused on studying the immune response states to acute infection (Cell 2022; Nat. Immunol., 2022; Nat. Immunol., 2023), and has more recently moved on to understanding neurobiological states spanning health, disease, and aging (Semi. Cell Dev. Biol., 2023; Cell Metab., 2025). He has contributed to the development of open-source software packages, both for general bioinformatic use (Bioinform. Adv., 2024), and for disease-specific applications in acute infection (Sci. Transl. Med., 2022).
Andrew is interested in integrating the above wet and dry lab methodologies into clinical neurology, with a focus on neuroimmunity (medRXiv, 2024), neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration (Stroke, 2024). Current major areas of work include:
- Unraveling the brainstem cellular circuits involved in aging, in particular the role of GLP-1 receptor expressing neurons in the solitary tract nucleus, and the brain-body axis mechanisms through which GLP-1R agonism mediates body-wide aging.
- Deciphering neuroimmune cell circuits, especially the crosstalk between microglia and T cells, and their contributions to brain health, neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune neurological conditions.
- Developing novel bioinformatic approaches for analyzing single-cell and spatial genomic datasets.
Awards
- 2023 Graduate Students Overall Prize, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford
- 2021 Senior Keeley Scholar, Wadham College, University of Oxford
- 2018 Croucher Foundation Scholarship, Croucher Foundation
- 2018 Nuffield Department of Medicine Prize Studentship, University of Oxford
- 2018 Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford
- 2018 Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme, HKSAR
- 2017 Dr. & Mrs. Tzu Leung Ho Outstanding Academic Awards Grand Medal, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Selected publications
- Huang J*, Kwok AJ*, Li JC*, Chiu CL*, Ip BY, Tung LY et al. Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism. Cell Metab. 2025;37(12):2362-2380 e8. *Co-first authors
- Kwok AJ, Soleimani B, Sun B, Fower A, Makuch M, Johnson T et al. Single-cell immune survey identifies a novel pathogenic role for T cells in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. medRxiv. 2024
- Kwok AJ, Allcock A, Ferreira RC, Smee M, Cano-Gamez E, Smee M et al. Neutrophil and emergency granulopoietic drive immune suppression and an extreme response endotype during sepsis. Nat Immunol. 2023;24(5):767-779
- The COMBAT consortium. A blood atlas of COVID-19 defines hallmarks of disease severity and specificity. Cell. 2022;185(5):916-38 e58. (Lead junior author)
- Kwok AJ, Mentzer A, Knight JC. Host genetics and infectious disease: new tools, insights and translational opportunities. Nat Rev Genet. 2021;22(3):137-53.
