We have the great honor to organize the International Conference of Advanced Molecular Technologies 2014 and the 4th Asia Pacific Symposium on Advanced Molecular Technologies (APSAMT) under the auspices of the Hong Kong Society for Molecular Diagnostic Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chinese American Association for Clinical Microbiology and the Association for Molecular Pathology . On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like to welcome members of co-organizing societies /university and participants from all over the world.

Time flies. We had the first APSAMT held in Hong Kong in 2006, the second APSAMT in Hong Kong in 2010 and the third APSAMT (and the first Singapore Pathology Conference) in Singapore in 2012. I am confident that the success story will go on with the 4th APSAMT and the International Conference of Advanced Molecular Technologies 2014 in collaboration with the Association for Molecular Pathology. We expect a lot more international delegates will join this exciting meeting because of the rapid development of advanced technologies and their applications in molecular diagnostics.

Time flies. In less than 10 years since the introduction of the first commercially available high-throughput sequencing machine, the technology of high-throughput or next-generation sequencing has moved from its use in research to its application in molecular diagnostics to benefit patients. The real world is now feeling the impact of genomics on patient care through this technology. It goes with saying that other advanced molecular technologies will also be covered in this conference to meet the demands and challenges in this rapidly developing field.

The success of this conference hinges on the hard work of all the members of the Organizing Committee, the support from the sponsoring companies, and the active participation of and contribution from all the delegates. My wholehearted thanks to all of them! Do join and enjoy this exciting conference.

Shea-ping Yip PhD, MPhil, FIBMS

Chairman, Organizing Committee
Academic Secretary, HKSMDS
Professor and Associate Head (Research), Department of Health Technology and Informatics, 
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University