Singapore's Highlights in Biomedical Sciences - June 2010

Key research developments in June further enhanced Singapore's position as a key node for biomedical research in Asia

June 30, 2010

Editor’s Note
Key research developments in June further enhanced Singapore’s position as a key node for biomedical research in Asia: the Asia-Pacific Hepatocellular Carcinoma (AHCC) Trials Group presented findings from their successful Singapore-led multi-centre Phase II trials at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference; the Hebrew University of Jerusalem set up a research centre in Singapore to develop novel therapies for inflammatory diseases in Asia; the National University of Singapore’s Global Asia Institute (GAI) has embarked on a research programme to develop a comprehensive diabetes prevention strategy in Asia.

ImaginAb Inc. and A*STAR Jointly Develop Recombinant Antibody Fragment for Diagnostic Imaging
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Set Up Research Centre in Singapore
NUS Global Asia Institute Embarked on Integrative Research on Public Health
Singapore Researcher Team Received the Annual Brain-Computer Interface Research Award
Singapore-led Cancer Research Presented at ASCO
Singapore Scientists Discovered Novel Drug Combination for Breast Cancer Patients
Singapore Scientists’ Published Findings in Human Genome Marked Important Advancement in Regenerative Medicine
Singapore Scientists Collaborated with Clinicians to Develop Novel Diagnostics Kit
A*STAR Scientist Received International Award for Innovation in Healthcare Technology
Eminent Cardiologist Leads Heart Research at NUHCS
Six Clinician Scientists Received Funding Support for Translational and Clinical Research

ImaginAb Inc. and A*STAR Jointly Develop Recombinant Antibody Fragment for Diagnostic Imaging
ImaginAb, Inc. and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have concluded a research collaboration agreement to re-engineer a therapeutic antibody asset against a promising oncology target – PRL3 – into an imaging agent as a first step towards better understanding the biology of this target in humans . Led by Prof Sir David Lane, Chief Scientist at A*STAR, the collaboration will tap on the cutting-edge imaging technologies at the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) under A*STAR.

Founded in 2007 by UCLA Faculty (Dr. Rob Reiter and Dr. Anna Wu), ImaginAb, Inc. is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of engineered antibody fragments for diagnostic imaging and radioimmunotherapy.

For more info, please click here.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem Set Up Research Centre in Singapore
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the largest and oldest university in Israel, would set up a research centre in Singapore, with a research programme in “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammation”, which seeks novel therapeutics for common inflammatory diseases in Asia and the region. This centre would carry out research in close collaboration with scientists from the research community in Singapore.

For more info, please click here.

NUS Global Asia Institute Embarked on Integrative Research on Public Health
The National University of Singapore's (NUS) Global Asia institute (GAI) launched its inaugural set of multi-disciplinary research projects that will study issues of significance to Asia. The five projects, which include one on public health, will receive total research funding of more than S$1 million.

The project on public health will look into developing a multi-sectoral programme to address Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Asia. As Asia's population continues to grow, the disease as a public health risk to Asian cities has been recognised to be an impending crisis by leading international organisations such as the World Health Organisation. Led by Professor Chia Kee Seng from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the research team will seek to develop a comprehensive diabetes prevention strategy that not only targets the individual as current strategies have done, but also to extend prevention programmes to the individual's environment, and recruit forces from various levels including those of government, industry and media. The study could also contribute to policy deliberations for India and China, and Asia in general.

In line with NUS' vision to be a leading global university centred in Asia, the NUS Global Asia Institute (NUS-GAI) was set up in September 2009 to bring together existing expertise from NUS and other leading universities, particularly those with expertise in India and China, to bring about an integrated understanding of critical issues within Asia, as well as to provide solutions for those issues.

For more info, please click here.

Singapore Researcher Team Received the Annual Brain-Computer Interface Research Award
The Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) team led by Dr Guan Cuntai working jointly with medical doctors from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Dr Karen Chua Sui Geok, Mr Christopher Kuah) and National Neuroscience Institute (Associate Professor Ang Beng Ti) won the Annual BCI Research Award for their project “Motor imagery-based Brain-Computer Interface robotic rehabilitation for stroke”. The BCI award is donated by g.tec, a leading provider of BCI research equipment located in Austria. Out of 60 high quality submissions, the jury nominated the 10 top-ranked candidates, one of which was the I²R BCI project that won the award.

For more info, please click here.

Singapore-led Cancer Research Presented at ASCO
The Asia-Pacific Hepatocellular Carcinoma (AHCC) Trials Group recently concluded a multi-centre phase II clinical trial, in which two existing treatment modalities - systemic therapy (Sorafenib) and selective internal radiation therapy (SIR-Spheres) were administered to patients as combination therapy by the Trials Group. The encouraging results of the AHCC05 trial were presented at the prestigious American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference held in Chicago, USA, on 6th June this year.

Supported by the National Medical Research Council, Bayer Schering Pharma Singapore and Sirtex Medical Products, its objective was to evaluate tumour response and overall survival of patients who were given Sorafenib, an oral targeted chemotherapy drug, 11 to 14 days after being administered with SIR-Spheres directly into the tumour through a catheter.

Led by Associate Prof Pierce Chow, Senior Clinician Scientist, Singapore General Hospital and Visiting Consultant at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), the investigator-initiated trial, which commenced in June 2008, recruited patients from four countries (Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and South Korea) and closed a year after in June 2009. The trials group will launch a phase III multi-centre trial, AHCC06, to determine which of these two efficacious therapies would help patients survive longer and be the first line therapy in advanced HCC.

For more info, please click here.

Singapore Scientists Discovered Novel Drug Combination for Breast Cancer Patients
A team led by Senior Principal Investigator Dr Lee Soo Chin from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore), NUS, has found a novel combination of drugs that can potentially halve therapy costs and decrease the side effects of treatment for advanced breast cancer patients. The research was published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology on 29 April 2010, and was carried out under the Experimental Therapeutics programme at CSI Singapore.

The researchers combined the anti-fungal drug, ketoconazole, with docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug used in the treatment of breast cancer. The study also found that there were inter-ethnic differences in the degree of the inhibition of the enzyme CYP3A4 by ketoconazole. Chinese patients were found to respond the most to the addition of ketoconazole, resulting in the slowest breakdown of docetaxel by the body, while Indians responded the least. Besides breast cancer, the drug combination can also be applied to other cancers such as lung cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer.

For more info, please click here.

Singapore Scientists’ Published Findings in Human Genome Marked Important Advancement in Regenerative Medicine
Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and their colleagues from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Princeton University have recently discovered that viruses that ‘invaded’ the human genome millions of years ago have changed the way genes get turned on and off in human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

The study provides definitive proof of a theory that was first proposed in the 1950s by Nobel Laureate in physiology and medicine, Barbara McClintock, who hypothesized that transposable elements, mobile pieces of the genetic material (DNA), such as viral sequences, could be “control elements” that affect gene regulation once inserted in the genome.

This finding is an important contribution to the advancement of stem cell research and to its potential for regenerative medicine. Led by GIS Senior Group Leader Dr Guillaume Bourque, the study was published in Nature Genetics on June 6, 2010.

For more info, please click here.

Singapore Scientists Collaborated with Clinicians to Develop Novel Diagnostics Kit
From sample to answer in just 1 hour with just a finger prick of blood is what researchers from A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) aim to achieve with their novel microfluidic system for rapid and sensitive detection of rare circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). The microfluidic system can be used as a bedside tool for point-of-care diagnostics, which will assist clinicians to perform in-depth studies to uncover new potential health implications of EPC levels, to monitor the efficiency of drug therapy or to help cardiologists prescribe suitable treatments for heart patients with clogged arteries. The bedside detection tool is the result of collaboration between IME researchers and cardiologists in National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS).

For more info, please click here.

A*STAR Scientist Received International Award for Innovation in Healthcare Technology
Physicist David William Townsend was honoured with the prestigious 2010 IEEEMedal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology for the design, commercial development and clinical implementation of the PET/CT scanner. Prof Townsend is currently head of PET and SPECT development at the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and a Professor of Radiology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He is leading his team to develop both single photon and positron-emitting radiotracers for pre-clinical imaging of disease.

Highly regarded as the world’s leading authority on hybrid imaging systems, Prof Townsend conducted research on imaging systems at hospitals and institutes across the US and Europe for some 30 years before joining A*STAR in 2009.

For more info, please click here.

Eminent Cardiologist Leads Heart Research at NUHCS
Internationally renowned heart clinician and scientist, Professor Mark Arthur Richards has been appointed director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS). Professor Richards, a New Zealander, is renowned for his achievements and work in the field of cardio-endocrinology. His leadership of the CVRI - which was established to focus on translational research efforts to develop or find better ways of treating heart disease – will see the institute launch important studies that are expected to impact the way heart disease is treated here and around the world. Professor Richards is leading two major research projects that include a study to define the prevalence and outcomes of diastolic heart failure, and a study to apply a new blood test, developed in New Zealand, to accelerate accurate diagnosis and identify actual heart failure patients arriving at the Emergency Department.

Six Clinician Scientists Received Funding Support for Translational and Clinical Research
Six clinician scientists have been awarded a total of S$5.3 million under the Clinician Scientist Awards (CSAs) to conduct cutting-edge translational and clinical research in the areas of cardiology, oncology and infectious disease. The CSAs are an important part of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences initiative to train and build up internationally competitive research talent to take scientific discoveries at the bench and translate them into meaningful healthcare outcomes.

For more info, please click here.

To find out more about Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences scene,
please visit www.biomed-singapore.com or www.sedb.com/medtech.