Overview

Kin Wing (Ray) Chan is a Wellcome Research Fellow, specialising in global animal health, biosecurity and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in both the British and Chinese One Health systems. His research draws on insight from science and technology studies, life geographies and animal science to examine the interrelationships between the adoption of digital technologies, farm animal production and antimicrobials use.

He is currently working as a principal investigator on a Wellcome Trust funded project entitled ‘Using Digital Technologies to Manage Animal Health Responses in China’ (2022 - 2025). This project aims at understanding how the adoption of digital technologies transforms animal health practices, creates new form of politics and causes unintended consequences. Particularly, this project critically examines whether the adoption of digital technologies can tackle antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease challenges in China.

He is also working as a CO-I on a GW4 Generator funded project (2022-2023) to collaborate with microbiologists from University of Exeter and Bath university to understand how farmers and agronomists use fungicide in crop cultivation in the SW of England.

Ray is actively expanding the Exeter AMR and Microbe & Society research networks by being involved in two global research projects: EU COST-Action Project on Biosecurity (2021-2025) and the ESRC UK-Taiwan Research (2021-2023).

Before commencing his Wellcome project, Ray was employed full-time on the MRS ‘Tackling AMR’ Large Collaborative Grant – Diagnostic Innovation and Livestock (DIAL): Towards more effective and sustainable applications of antibiotics in livestock farming.

Qualifications

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Cardiff University 
Ph.D  Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK       
MA Human Geography, University of Calgary, Canada  
BA  Hons (1st Class Honours) Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong  

Links

• Research gate: Kin Wing Chan

Research group links

• Life Geographies

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Research

Research interests

Being a human geographer, my research work is founded on and motivated by a desire to better understand the relationships between farm animal production, the regulation of food, and farmers’ and veterinarians’ behaviour in both western and non-western contexts.

I was keen to understand how government policies affect the production and consumption patterns of meat, and also how they affect farmers’ practices in Hong Kong. My publications in  Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, and Routledge series’ Political Ecologies of Meat show my eagerness to write about how different governing tools have the potential to transform farmers’ behaviours and affect human-animal relationships.

During my PhD, I produced a novel framework which goes beyond the traditional conceptualisation of the Chinese state, and which emphasises top-down policy delivery and state-led transformation. My dissertation has contributed to the understanding of the dynamic role played by county government and the territorial strategies it can implement to manage forest and land resources. Two of my articles, published in The China Quarterly and Journal of Rural Studies, have also contributed to the understanding of the dynamic role and territorial strategies of county government in overseeing agri-food supply chains and food production standards.

In moving toward animal and rural geographies, I draw further insight from science and technology studies (STS) links with veterinary knowledge in order to conceptualise animal health practices of farmers and veterinarians, and their use of antibiotics in farm animals in both the United Kingdom and rural China. My current Wellcome project allows me to critically examine whether the adoption and adaptation of artificial intelligences, biosensors and big data enable farmers and veterinarians to control infectious diseases and reduce the use of antibiotics on farm.

Research projects

Current Project 1 - Using Digital Technologies to Tackle AMR and Strengthen Disease Responses in China

My Wellcome Trust funded project (£197,441 as PI, 2022-2025) involves an ethnographical study to investigate whether the use of biosensors and artificial intelligence technologies can tackle antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease challenges in China. China’s pork industry has increasingly digitalized its supply chain. This study aims at understanding how digital technologies influence human behaviour, social relationships, and One Health policies. Digital technologies, including biosensors, artificial intelligences and cloud computing, are used by Chinese farmers and vets to detect and control infectious diseases. Chinese consumers also adopt shopping apps to purchase meat online from a store in real time. Given these rapid development, this project calls to understand the pros and cons of using these technologies to tackle infectious diseases and improve safety in China.

Current Project 2 - Understanding Azole Use in Food Crops & its Impact on Waterbodies and AMR in the UK

My GW4 Generator funded project (£10,000 as CO-I, 2022-2023) will collaborate with microbiologists from Exeter and Bath to (1) understand how farmers and agronomists use azole to manage fungal diseases and (2) obtain water sample from the river streams to measure the concentration of azole by using HPLC method.

Current Project 3 - Transnational Theory Building: Perspectives from Taiwan and the UK 

Being participated in this this ESRC UK Taiwan Networking Grant (£24,864 as Participant, 2021-2023) allows me to develop new publications, funding proposals and publications with British and Taiwanese scholars to rethink the decolonisation of teaching and research in social sciences.

Current Project 4 - Biosecurity Enhanced through Training, Evaluation, and Rising Awareness

This COST Biosecurity project (CO-I, 2021-2025) aims at critically examining the current on-farm biosecurity and One Health issues in the UK and around EU countries.

Research grants

• 2022 Wellcome Trust
  PI: The Future of One Health? The Challenges and Opportunities of Using Digital Technologies to Strengthen Infectious Disease Management and Animal Health Responses in China (£197,441)
• 2022 GW4
  CO-I: The GW4 Generator Grant- Understanding the Use of Agricultural Azoles and its Impact on Quality of Waterbodies and Antimicrobial Resistance (£10,000)
• 2020 GW4
  PI: Building a communicative pathway to reduce AMR; a study of cattle farmers’ perceptions of on-farm E.coli infections in the UK (£2,690)
• 2020 Cobot Institute Innovation Fund
  CO-I: Understanding agricultural azole use, impacts on local water bodies and AMR: building on interdisciplinary evidence base in Devon and Bristol (£3,986)

Links

• Life Geographies

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards/Honorary fellowships

2022 & 2019 Above and Beyond Work Performance Award at the University of Exeter.

2020 GW4 Seed Grant: Building a communicative pathway to reduce Antimicrobial Resistance in the UK. Role: Principal investigator.

2020. Cobot Institute Innovation Fund: Understanding agricultural azole use, impacts on local water bodies and AMR: building on interdisciplinary evidence base in Devon and Bristol. Role: Co-Investigator.

2016 SAPHIR Young Scientist Award in the EU Horizon2020-SHAPIR project.

2011-2014 President’s Research Scholarship from Cardiff University, UK (3 years full scholarship for Ph.D. study with stipends and travel grants support)

2009-2011 Geography Excellence Award and Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Scholarship from University of Calgary, Canada (2 years full scholarships for Master study)

Editorial responsibilities

2023 - Present: Editorial board member of Springer Nature Humanities & Social Sciences.

2018 - Present: Review editor for the Journal of Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

2015 - Present: Peer reviewer for academic journals, including Environment and Planning C & D, China Quaterly, Journal of Rural Studies, Geoforum, The Pacific Review, Agriculture and Human Values, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Modern Asian Studies, Preventative Veterinary Medicine, other social science and veterinary science journals.

Invited lectures

2023

Mapping the Good Farmer: Using Narrated Mapping Methodology to Explore Pig Farming and Biosecurity Practices in the New Territories of Hong Kong, EPIDESA (Epidémiologie et Décision en Santé Animale), Toulouse, France, 24 Feb 2023

Understanding Animal Health Practice: A Social Science Approach, Center for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, City University of Hong Kong, 31 Jan and 1 Feb, 2023

Narrated Mapping Methodology and its critiques, National Taipei University, Taiwan, 17 Jan, 2023

Media Coverage

2023

GW4 - 10 Years of Idea into Actions 

GW4 Strategic Vision 2023-2028

2019

Provided public comments on African Swine Fevers in SE Asia 

My commentary in ‘The Diplomat’ magazine (2019) ‘The battle to curb swine fever in SE Asia’.

2018

Research findings provided evidence to the UK parliamentary report on ‘Reducing Antibiotic Use in Animals’ (2018)

 My co-authored article ‘Diagnostic Practices and the Challenge of AMR: A Survey of UK Livestock Vets’ (Vet Record, 2020) had a significant impact on AMR policy debate in the UK. The article was based on the collaboration with the British Veterinary Association to conduct a large-scale online survey of UK farm veterinarians to investigate the relationship between diagnostic test use and antibiotic treatment. The findings of this research provided evidence to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, informed a Parliamentary report on ‘Reducing Antibiotic Use in Animals’.

2013 

Cardiff President's Research Scholar - An interview 

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Teaching

My initiative in course design and care in teaching have rewarded me with the teaching qualification of Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2016. I have experience as a teaching assistant in modules on both human geography and urban planning for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Current teaching experiences

I contributed to the following modules at the University of Exeter:

• GEOM131 Geographies of life (MSc)
• GEO3126 Geographies of Monsters: Sciences, Society and Environmental Risk

Previous teaching experiences

• I contributed to 5 modules in the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University (2013-2017):
• CPO 146 - The Chinese Countryside
• CPO 310 - Contemporary Planning in China
• CPO 241 - Contemporary Geographical Ideas
• CPO 343 - Hong Kong Field Study Tour
• CPT  855 - Eco-Cities (MSc) - Governance of the Eco-City Development

I was involved in the Urban Social Geography course in the Geography Department at the University of Calgary (2009-2010)

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Supervision / Group

Postgraduate researchers

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