Dong Yan Jin got his PhD with Yun De Hou in Beijing in 1991 and then received postdoctoral training with Kuan Teh Jeang at the NIH in 1994-1999. He joined HKU in 1999 and is now Clare and Lawrence Fok Professor in Precision Medicine. He is a molecular virologist with an interest in viral oncogenesis and innate antiviral response. In his study of human T-cell leukemia virus, he discovered in 1998 a key component named MAD1 of the cellular mitotic checkpoint. This is considered seminal in the field of cell cycle control. In 2011, his group found that the virus sensor RIG-I needs an RNA-binding protein partner called PACT to initiate and sustain antiviral response. They have also identified and characterised novel viral interferon antagonists and inflammasome activators in SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Many of their findings have not only broken new grounds to understand virus-host interaction and viral pathogenesis, but also revealed new strategies and leads for disease prevention and intervention. He is an Associate Editor-in-Chief of Cell & Bioscience, official journal of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America.