David Todd

David Todd (17 November 192816 August 2017) was a Hong Kong haematologist who acted as the founding president of the Hong Kong College of Physicians and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. He was best known for transforming medical education and training in Hong Kong.

Early life and education Todd was born in Guangzhou, China in 1928 to Chinese parents, but was placed in an orphanage and adopted in 1929 by American Presbyterian missionaries Paul Jerome Todd and Margaret Todd, who christened the baby David. Paul Todd was a surgeon and Margaret Todd was the head nurse at the Kung Yee Medical College (now Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences), which they founded in 1909. They also established the Todd Clinic and Hospital (now part of the Guangzhou Women And Children's Medical Center) in 1931. as the Second Sino-Japanese War unfolded, boarding at the Diocesan Boys' School.

Todd received his MD in 1958 from the University of Hong Kong. Before 1981 when the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong was founded, HKU was the only medical school in the city. Todd's role as department head meant he mentored many future Hong Kong physicians. During this time, Todd was instrumental in forming international collaborations with researchers the United Kingdom, and began conducting professional examinations of the Royal College of Physicians in Hong Kong.

Todd founded the Hong Kong College of Physicians and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 1986 and 1992 respectively, and moved to Cambridge in 1997. He returned to Hong Kong in 2008.

As a haematologist, Todd, Yuet Wai Kan and collaborators discovered that the deletion of a gene could cause alpha-thalassemia the first demonstration of its kind for any disease.

Personal life Todd liked classical music and opera, which he enjoyed after retirement during his years at the United Kingdom. Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Physicians (1997) Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), United Kingdom (1990) Knight Bachelor, United Kingdom (1995) Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2008)

The Sir David Todd Professorship in Medicine at the University of Hong Kong and the David Todd Oration at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine were named after Todd.