His research interests include pattern mining, graph mining, machine learning, and computational biology. He is known for his pioneering work on emerging patterns, as well as the development of several innovative classification methods (PCL, CS4, and DeEPs). He was a co-winner of the 2003 Asia Innovation Award for his contributions in developing a single-test platform for accurate prediction of outcome in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics (IJDMB), and on the PC of many data mining conferences (ICML, KDD, SDM, etc).