[7] Tam obtained his medical degree from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1976.
For the following ten years, he worked in the university's department of surgery, during which he received his FRCS qualifications in RC SEd, RCPSG and RCSI.
[9] Tam possesses four patents and has published nearly 450 articles, over 500 conference papers, and over 20 book chapters.[8][when?]
His internationally refereed journals have almost 20,000 citations, ranking him among the top 1% of most-cited scientists (ESI) and awarding him accumulated grants of more than US$20 million.
[4] Tam specialises in developmental biology, paediatric surgery, immunology, and genomics.