Appointment(s)
Assistant Dean, Division of Graduate Studies, NUS Medicine
Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Dean’s Office, NUS Medicine
Deputy Director External Collaborations, Dean’s Office, NUS Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NUS Medicine
Degree(s)
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center San Diego, California Molecular Biology Postdoc Fellowship (2004)
University of North Texas Denton, Texas Molecular Biology Ph.D. (2000)
University of North Texas Denton, Texas Molecular Biology MSc (1995)
University of North Texas Denton, Texas Biochemistry BSc (1992)
Biography
Dr Alan Prem Kumar holds the position of Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacology, NUS Medicine, with leadership roles within the NUS Medicine Deanery. Specifically, he serves as Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, endeavors aimed at fostering stronger connections among postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior clinicians. Additionally, Dr Kumar fulfill the role of Deputy Director for External Collaborations & Academic Outreach, tasked with enhancing research collaborations among clinicians and academics within the NUHS family, while also cultivating productive partnerships with external institutions and industries.
In recognition of his dedication to student supervision, Dr Kumar is honored to have received the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS Graduate Mentor of the Year Award twice, in 2017 and 2021. These awards commend his commitment to the excellence in graduate supervision and the intellectual and professional development of his graduate students.
Dr Kumar’s research endeavors are centered on identifying novel cues driving cancer metastasis in various female reproductive cancers and developing precision therapies to combat this spread. His contributions to translational research have been acknowledged with four consecutive recognitions as a World’s Top 1% Highly Cited Researcher™ by Clarivate, spanning from 2020 to 2023. Furthermore, he has been recognized as one of the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide in the field of Biology and Biochemistry by a Stanford University study in 2022 and 2023, as well as being listed among the World’s Best Biology and Biochemistry Scientists in 2023.
Dr Kumar serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for GenoMed, Inc. (USA), focusing on Oncology Markers; Sansad Mobile Swasthya Seva Healthcare Program, Parliament of India (India), addressing Breast Cancer Awareness and Screening; The Sparks Foundation (Singapore), dedicated to Education; and AUM Biosciences (Singapore), specializing in Oncology Drug Acquisitions.
In terms of industry collaborations within his research domains, Dr Kumar is engaged with several notable partnerships. These include collaborations with Davos Life Sciences Pte Ltd (Singapore) to explore the protective effects of Naturale3™ against skin photo-aging, Pharma Company Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. (USA) to advance drug development in breast, colon, and lung cancers using predictive biomarkers, and Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc. (USA) to develop their Phase I/II Wnt drug (RX5902) for triple-negative breast cancer.
Mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to CDK4/CDK6 inhibitors in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer treatment. Drug Resist Updat. 2024 Jun 25;76:101103. (IF=15.8)
Glaviano A, Wander SA, Baird RD, Yap KC, Lam HY, Toi M, Carbone D, Geoerger B, Serra V, Jones RH, Ngeow J, Toska E, Stebbing J, Crasta K, Finn RS, Diana P, Vuina K, de Bruin RAM, Surana U, Bardia A, Kumar AP.
PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling transduction pathway and targeted therapies in cancer. Mol Cancer. 2023 Aug 18;22(1):138. (IF=27.7)
Glaviano A, Foo ASC, Lam HY, Yap KCH, Jacot W, Jones RH, Eng H, Nair MG, Makvandi P, Geoerger B, Kulke MH, Baird RD, Prabhu JS, Carbone D, Pecoraro C, Teh DBL, Sethi G, Cavalieri V, Lin KH, Javidi-Sharifi NR, Toska E, Davids MS, Brown JR, Diana P, Stebbing J, Fruman DA, Kumar AP.
Mechanism of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer and its regulation by natural compounds. Med Res Rev. 2023 Mar 17. *co-senior authors (IF=12.388)
Ang HL, Mohan CD, Shanmugam MK, Leong HC, Makvandi P, Rangappa KS, Bishayee A, Kumar AP*, Sethi G*.
Emerging role of exosomes in cancer progression and tumor microenvironment remodeling. J Hematol Oncol. 2022 Jun 28;15(1):83. (IF= 23.168)
Paskeh MDA, Entezari M, Mirzaei S, Zabolian A, Saleki H, Naghdi MJ, Sabet S, Khoshbakht MA, Hashemi M, Hushmandi K, Sethi G, Zarrabi A, Kumar AP, Tan SC, Papadakis M, Alexiou A, Islam MA, Mostafavi E, Ashrafizadeh M.
MicroRNA-196a promotes renal cancer cell migration and invasion by targeting BRAM1 to regulate SMAD and MAPK signaling pathways. Int J Biol Sci. 2021 Oct 17;17(15):4254-4270. *co-senior authors (IF=10.750)
Cui J, Yuan Y, Shanmugam MK, Anbalagan D, Tan TZ, Sethi G, Kumar AP*, Lim LHK*.
Engineered hyaluronic acid-decorated niosomal nanoparticles for controlled and targeted delivery of epirubicin to treat breast cancer. Mater Today Bio. 2022 Jul 6;16:100349. *co-senior authors (IF=10.761)
Mansoori-Kermani A, Khalighi S, Akbarzadeh I, Niavol FR, Motasadizadeh H, Mahdieh A, Jahed V, Abdinezhad M, Rahbariasr N, Hosseini M, Ahmadkhani N, Panahi B, Fatahi Y, Mozafari M, Kumar AP*, Mostafavi E*.
Rap1 regulates hematopoietic stem cell survival and affects oncogenesis and response to chemotherapy. Nat Commun. 2019 Dec 13;10(1):5349. (IF= 17.69)
Khattar E, Maung KZY, Chew CL, Ghosh A, Mok MMH, Lee P, Zhang J, Chor WHJ, Cildir G, Wang CQ, Mohd-Ismail NK, Chin DWL, Lee SC, Yang H, Shin YJ, Nam DH, Chen L, Kumar AP, Deng LW, Ikawa M, Gunaratne J, Osato M, Tergaonkar V.
Triple negative breast cancer in Asia: An insider's view. Cancer Treat Rev. 2018 Jan;62:29-38. *co-senior authors (IF=12.111)
Wang C, Kar S, Lai X, Cai W, Arfuso F, Sethi G, Lobie PE, Goh BC, Lim LHK, Hartman M, Chan CW, Lee SC, Tan SH*, Kumar AP*.
'Lnc'-ing Wnt in female reproductive cancers: therapeutic potential of long non-coding RNAs in Wnt signalling. Br J Pharmacol. 2017 Dec;174(24):4684-4700. *co-senior authors (IF=9.473)
Ong MS, Cai W, Yuan Y, Leong HC, Tan TZ, Mohammad A, You ML, Arfuso F, Goh BC, Warrier S, Sethi G, Tolwinski NS, Lobie PE, Yap CT, Hooi SC, Huang RY*, Kumar AP*.
Wanted DEAD/H or Alive: Helicases winding up in cancers. JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst. 2017 Jan 25;109(6). (IF=11.816)
Cai W, Chen ZX, Rane G, Singh SS, Choo Z, Tan TZ, Wang C, Yuan Y, Arfuso F, Yap CT, Pongor L, Yang H, Sethi G, Benoukraf T, Tergaonkar V, Kumar AP.
