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Other Research Achievements & Honours

2009

Local researchers explore new approaches to tackle age-old ailments

A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) and its consortia, namely Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) and Singapore Stem Cell Consortium (SSCC), have issued more than 50 grants amounting to $36 million to research groups from local universities, research institutes and hospitals this year. The research projects awarded under BMRC’s 7th General Grant Call, SBIC-SIgN Joint Grant Call, SSCC Grant Call and SIgN Grant Call, will potentially develop therapeutics for the treatment of ailments of the immune system, infectious diseases, ageing, cancer, etc.

Our researchers from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine received grants from BMRC to tackle age-old ailments: for eg, Prof Chua Kaw Yan from Department of Paediatrics, Dr Gavin Dawe from the Department of Pharmacology, also a member of the Life Sciences Institute Neurobiology and Ageing Programme, and Prof Shazib Pervaiz from the Department of Physiology as well as the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Program, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

Prof Chua Kaw Yan was awarded a record three grants under BMRC’s 7th General Grant Call. She will focus on combating the common dust mite, Blomia tropicalis, which is responsible for 60-70% of allergy cases here including asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema. The first grant will investigate the mechanisms of an oral vaccine against the predominant allergen in B. tropicalis, Blo t 5 protein. Another will focus on optimising the potency of a genetic vaccine, while the third will involve creating a modified or ‘recombinant’ protein to foster immunity against Blo t 5.

Also receiving funding are projects that will explore health problems associated with ageing such as neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Dr Gavin Dawe leads a group from the Department of Pharmacology to receive a grant under the SSCC Grant Call to explore the signaling mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease. The grant is a nod to his group’s discovery of an important protein interaction that suppresses neural cell formation in the brains of mice, which might have implications for Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia among older people.

At least one-fifth of all the grants have been awarded to projects dealing with cancer pathways or working on cancer cell lines. One of the groups led by Prof Shazib Pervaiz, has been awarded the BMRC grant to examine how statins – cholesterol-lowering drugs – have the intriguing additional effect of restricting growth and inducing death of cancer cells. This will potentially benefit breast cancer patients.

The rest of the awardees from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine as well as National University Hospital are listed below.

S/N	PI	Title
1	Shen Han Ming	mTOR as the molecular target for modulation of autophagy, necrosis and tumorigenesis
2	Soong Tuck Wah	Alternative splicing as molecular switch to regulate Cav2.1 channel function in synaptic excitability
3	Sashi Kesavapany	Lipid metabolism in the survival of dopaminergic neurons - relevance to Parkinson's Disease
4	Peter Wong Tsun- Hon	Is cystathionine b-synthase a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke?
5	Hooi Shing Chuan	Molecular characterization of the novel tumor suppressor DLEC1: tissue distribution and cellular localization, mechanism of cell cycle arrest and function as a transcription factor.
6	Tang Bor Luen	Rab22B/Rab31, a brain-enriched small GTPase in astrocytic membrane traffic and brain pathophysiology
7	Theresa Tan May Chin	Role of microRNAs in lipid metabolism
8	Koichi Okumura	Analysis of PTEN's function with its interacting protein ZO-2
9	Ng Tze Pin	Gerontology Research Programme: Nutritional, cardiometabolic and vascular factors, ApoE4 gene interactions, and dementia and depression risk
10	Lee Bee Wah	Molecular Evaluation of Gut Microbiota Signatures in Infants with Eczema
11	Chan Shing Leng	Identification and characterization of cancer stem cells from gastric cancer
12	Sylvie Alonso	Assessing trafficking and tissue distribution of live and subunit vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis by dynamic, in vivo fluorescence imaging using ultrafine upconversion fluorescent nanoparticles
13	Angeli Veronique	Role of bone-marrow derived cells in tumorinduced lymph node lymphangiogenesis in a mouse model of human melanoma and its significance in human cancer dissemination
14	Philip Iau Tsau Choong (NUH/NUS)	Differential regulation of CD14/NFAT and NF-κB pathway in myeloid populations in human gram-negative sepsis and endotoxin “de-sensitization”
15	Krishnakumar Madhavan (NUH/NUS)	HBV-related hepatocarcinoma: molecular and functional characterization of tumour target and effector immune cells
16	Kevin Tan S W	Innate immunity against malaria: Studies on the mechanisms of Plasmodium-phagocyte interactions and their consequences
17	Mike Kemeny	The role CD39 in the control of inflammatory immune reactions
18	Wang De Yun	A Genome-wide association study on atopy and allergic diseases in Singaporean Chinese
19	Fu Xin-Yuan	Mechanisms of Epigenetic Control of Leptin-STAT3 Axis in the Body Homeostasis

2007

Dementia Study by NUS wins Award

The first Asian study that looks at what affects memory, concentration and ability to spread information found that if the elderly engage in productive activities such as shopping, preparing meals, reading and listening to music, they can reduce the risk of getting dementia by as much as 60 percent.

Best APOA 2007 Poster Award

Dr Ismail Erwan, Dr Hee Hwan Tak, A/P James Goh, Professor Wong Hee Kit (Orthopaedic Surgery) received the Best APOA 2007 Poster Award for a paper entitled, “Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation and intervertebral disc distraction reverse intervertebral disk degeneration in a rabbit model” at the 15th Triennial Congress of Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association from 9 to 13 September 2007, Seoul, Korea

Australian Society of Medical Research AMGEN Medical Research of the Year Award

Associate Professor Wong Tien Yin (Ophthalmology) was awarded the 2007 Australian Society of Medical Research AMGEN Medical Research of the Year Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Translational Research” on June 2007

2006

Dark soya sauce, Good for you

Researchers from YLLSoM Department of Biochemistry has found from a recent study funded by A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council, that dark soya sauce, when tested in the laboratory, was about 150 times more potent than vitamin C as an antioxidant - and six to 12 times better than red wine. It also increases your blood flow which means that the sauce has potential to ward off a stroke.

Associate Professor Dale Fisher awarded by RACP

On 7 May 2006, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) awarded Assoc Prof Dale Fisher with a John Sands Medal for 2006 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to RACP. There are four recipients across all Fellows, all specialties, both divisions (adult and paediatric medicine) and all chapters (public health, occupational health, rehabilitation medicine, palliative care and addiction medicine). Prof Fisher was selected over 7,000 Fellows.

Professor K Shanmugaratnam had been awarded the RCPA Distinguished Fellow Award

Emeritus Professor K Shanmugaratnam had been awarded the RCPA Distinguished Fellow Award by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in Sydney, Australia, 10-13 March 2006.

Dr. Sudhakar Venkatesh's poster won one of the six Magna Cum Laude Award

Dr. Sudhakar Venkatesh's poster won one of the six Magna Cum Laude award given to the best electronic posters at the European Congress of Radiology, 3-7 March 2006 in Vienna, Austria. He has bagged the top prize at this conference for two years in a row. Last year, he won the best (oral) scientific paper award for his research study on Pulmonary Embolism. The European Congress of Radiology is the second largest international conference held annually and the largest radiological congress held in Europe. About 800 scientific and educational posters and about 1300 scientific oral papers were presented at this conference.

Magna Cum Laude (First Prize) for the Educational Poster

Title: CT of Blunt Pancreatic Trauma

Author: Sudhakar K Venkatesh

2005

Young Scientist Award - Dr Leonard Ang

Dr Leonard Ang from the Department of Opthalmology was one of the winners of the 2005 Young Scientist Award. This award is organised by the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) and supported by A*STAR. It is presented to young researchers, aged 35 years or below, who are actively engaged in R&D in Singapore, and who have shown great potential to be world-class researchers in their fields of expertise. Dr Leonard Ang's research in the fields of ocular stem cell biology, the clinical application of stem cells using ex vivo expansion techniques, and bioengineering eye tissues for clinical transplantation, have helped to establish Singapore as a leading centre in the world for cornea, conjunctiva and ocular surface stem cell research and disease treatment.

ASEAN Outstanding Scientist Award - Prof Ariff Bongso

Research professor Ariff Bongso, from the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology was awarded the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist Award by ASEAN. The award was presented at the Presidential Palace in Indonesia recently. The School congratulates Prof Bongso for his outstanding work and putting the School on the global map of impact research.

Clinician Scientist Investigator Award - Prof Yong Eu Leong, Dr Allen Yeoh & Dr Lynette Shek

Prof Yong Eu Leong, Department of Obsterics & Gynaecology, Dr Allen Yeoh & Dr Lynette Shek, both from the Department of Paediatrics received the inaugural Clinician Scientist Investigator Award sponsored by the Agency for Science, technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council.

Eminent Scientist of the Year 2005 - Dr Manuel Salto-Tellez

Dr Manuel Salto-Tellez was awarded the "Eminent Scientist of the Year 2005" International Award from Singapore by the World Scientist Forum based on his academic excellence, research contributions and expertise in the field of Pathology, especially in gastrointestinal and oncopathology.

2004

2004 World Scientific Forum International Award - Dr Manuel Salto-Tellez

Dr Manuel Salto-Tellez won the 2004 World Scientific Forum International Award in the field of Onco-Cytology by the International Research Promotion Council (IPRC).

Asian Innovation Awards 2004 (Gold) - A/P Lim Thiam Chye (Surgery), Dr Dietmar Hutmacher (Orthopaedic Surgery & Bioengineering) and Dr Jan-Thorsten Schantz (Surgery & Bioengineering)

A/P Lim Thiam Chye (Surgery), Dr Dietmar Hutmacher (Orthopaedic Surgery & Bioengineering) and Dr Jan-Thorsten Schantz (Surgery & Bioengineering) and their team won the Gold in the Asian Innovation Awards 2004 for their work on Tissue Engineering of Cranial-Facial Bone Graft with a Bio-reabsorbable Scaffold (poly-caprolactone). It is a multidisciplinary field that integrates engineering principles, basic life science and cell biology and the group's achievement is a triumph for tissue engineering which aims to restore tissue and organ functions with minimal host rejection.

Presidency of Prestigious Sexual Medicine Society - A/P P Ganesan Adaikan

A/P P Ganesan Adaikan is the First Asian Professor to be conferred this title. This conferment is a great achievement for NUS and Singapore as it acknowledges A/P Adaikan's focused pursuit in the field of sexual medicine and impotence research. It also recognizes Singapore as a pioneering and leading Asian centre in this area and its contribution in the world arena.

Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society - Professor Philip Keith Moore

Professor Philip Keith Moore, Head of Pharmacology, has recently been made a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society. The Society is the professional association for pharmacologists in the UK and is one of the leading pharmacological societies in the world. The history of the Society originated in 1931 when a group of pharmacologists met in Oxford and decided to form a learned society. Today, the Society exceeds 3000 full members based in many countries throughout the world.

The Society is well known for its Journal, the British Journal of Pharmacology which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996 and is a globally acknowledged leader in the field of pharmacology research. Professor Moore has contributed numerous papers to this Journal and has expertise in the general area of gas biology. In the past he has been responsible for several drugs which inhibit nitric oxide formation, many of which have gone on to be used by researchers in their own experiments throughout the world. He maintains an active interest in nitric oxide biology and is currently branching out into additional important biologically active gases, notably hydrogen sulphide. Professor Moore has been an editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology more or less continuously from 1992, was the sole Managing Editor from 1997 to 2001 and is currently Reviews Editor.

The Fellowship of the British Pharmacological Society is reserved for those who are deemed by the Council of the Society to have made important contributions to the subject in their careers. This contribution is determined largely by expertise in research but also by other contributions to the subject such as teaching or work done for the Society. At present there are currently approximately 30 such Fellows and Professor Moore is the first NUS staff member in history to receive such an honour.

2003

Young Investigator Award by BMRC - Dr Allen Yeoh

An Assistant Professor from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Consultant Paediatric Oncologist from the Children's Medical Institute (CMI) in National University Hospital (NUH), Dr Allen Yeoh has done Singapore proud with his outstanding achievements in the diagnosis and treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) - the most common form of childhood cancer in developing countries.

By collaborating with the world's most renowned hospitals, Dr Yeoh is also helping to train doctors from ASEAN countries in his capacity as the ASEAN Children Foundation's Medical Advisor and Coordinator.

Gold Asian Innovation Awards 2003 - Dr Allen Yeoh

Dr Allen Yeoh, Department of Paediatrics, clinched the prestigious Gold Asian Innovative Awards 2003 for Singapore. This the second year running that NUH doctors emerged the winner for this award. Along with his research team comprising of Jinyan Li, Huiqing Liu ad Limsoon Wong from the Institute of Infocomm Research, they developed a simple diagnostic test to more accurately detect Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in children so that the correct intensity can be given. They have also decided to send this entry to the 6th Asian Innovation Awards organised by the Far East Economic Review and the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Excellence for Singapore Award 2003 - Prof Ariff Bongso

Professor Ariff Bongso's work in clinical embryology has given hope and joy to many couples experiencing difficulty in starting families. His research in embryonic stem cell biology offers promise to the treatment of a variety of incurable diseases through transplantation therapy. The fertility expert from NUS' Department of Obsterics and Gynaecology has produced four world firsts in the life sciences, helping put Singapore on the world map in the fields of assisted reproduction and stem cell biology.

More recently, Prof Bongso has added two more feathers to his cap by winning the Excellence for Singapore Award 2003 and the Fellowship (ad eundem) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of the United Kingdom.

2003 Tomizo Yoshida Award - Prof Yoshiaki Ito

Professor Yoshiaki Ito's discovery of the gene RUNX3, a family of human cancer genes that could suppress the growth of cancer cells in the stomach, has won him the 2003 Tomizo Yoshida Award, Japan's most prestigious recognition for cancer research.

Given to only one leading Japanese cancer researcher each year, the award was set up by the Japanese Cancer Association 12 years ago to commemorate the contributions of the late Professor Tomizo Yoshida, who was one of the world's first researchers to induce liver cancer in animal models using a chemical carcinogen.

Recruited to spearhead cancer research in Singapore, Prof Ito joined NUS as an Adjunct Professor in 2002. He is concurrently Director of NUS' Oncology Research Institute (ORI) and a Principal Investigator with the NUS-affliated Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB).

< 2003

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1988

Sir James W. Black, who was a staff member of the King Edward VII College of Medicine from 1947 to 1950, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1988 jointly together with Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings for their discoveries of "important principles for drug treatment".

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