PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Pheng‐Ann Heng

Also known as Pheng Ann Heng, Heng Pheng Ann, Heng Pheng-Ann

Pheng‐Ann Heng is a computer scientist who applies AI to medical imaging and surgery. He earned a computer science degree at the National University of Singapore and graduate degrees in computer science and applied mathematics at Indiana University. At CUHK, he founded a virtual-reality and imaging research center, developed deep-learning methods for cancer diagnosis and medical image segmentation, and helped build an institute for medical intelligence and extended reality. As of October 2026, he is Associate Dean (Research) in CUHK’s Faculty of Engineering and Choh-Ming Li Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.

Works
894
Citations
55,982
h-index
108

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1985–1992

    Degrees in computer science

    He earns a computer science BSc from the National University of Singapore in 1985. He completes a computer science MSc in 1987, an applied mathematics MA in 1988, and a computer science PhD in 1992 at Indiana University.

  2. 1999

    A virtual-reality research center

    He founds CUHK’s Virtual Reality, Visualization and Imaging Research Center and serves as its director from 1999.

  3. 2005

    A multimedia lighting award

    He and Tien-Tsin Wong receive the IEEE Transactions on Multimedia Prize Paper Award in 2005 for “The Plenoptic Illumination Function,” their work on photo-realistic lighting in virtual computer games.

  4. 2007–2017

    Chair professor and department chair

    China’s Ministry of Education appoints him a Cheung Kong Scholar Chair Professor in 2007. He chairs CUHK’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering from 2014 to 2017.

  5. 2017–2019

    Deep learning for medical images

    His team develops deep-learning systems to diagnose lung cancer from CT scans and breast cancer from histopathological images in 2017. He coauthors a transformation-consistent, semi-supervised method for medical image segmentation in 2019, which is validated on skin lesions, optic discs and liver CT scans.

  6. 2021

    AI for robotic surgery

    In 2021, he and his coauthors win the IEEE ICRA Best Paper Award in Medical Robotics for “Relational Graph Learning on Visual and Kinematics Embeddings for Accurate Gesture Recognition in Robotic Surgery.”

  7. November 2022

    A medical intelligence institute

    In November 2022, a team led by him secures more than HK$50 million to establish CUHK’s Institute of Medical Intelligence and XR for AI and extended reality in medical and healthcare applications.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and project coordinator

    As of October 2026, he is Associate Dean (Research) in CUHK’s Faculty of Engineering and Choh-Ming Li Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.

Sources and credits

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  1. Pheng Ann Heng – CUHK CSE cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Prof. Tien-Tsin Wong and Prof. Pheng-Ann Heng Won the Prestigious IEEE Transactions on Multimedia Prize Paper Award – CUHK CSE cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Prof. Heng Pheng Ann and His Team Develop Artificial Intelligent Systems Improving Efficiency in Diagnosing Lung Cancer and Breast Cancer Through Automated Medical Image Analysis – CUHK CSE cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. [1903.00348] Transformation Consistent Self-ensembling Model for Semi-supervised Medical Image Segmentation arxiv.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. IEEE ICRA Best Paper Award in Medical Robotics ieee-ras.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Research Team led by Professor Pheng Ann Heng Receives Grant of over $50 million | SHHO e-Newsletter | S.H. Ho College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong shho.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Pheng Ann HENG - The Chinese University of Hong Kong research.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 15 October 2026.