Profile of the month

Research Interest

Lymphedema pathophysiology and treatment

With the advancement in cancer treatment, the number of cancer survivors is rising especially for breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. But the quality of life of breast cancer survivors can be markedly impacted by the development of limb swelling, a condition known as secondary lymphedema (LE). Secondary LE is the clinical manifestation of impaired lymphatic transport caused by the removal or damage of lymphatic vessels and/or lymph nodes as part of cancer treatment. There is no cure for this underestimated, chronic and debilitating condition. With 20 years’ experience in lymphatic vessel biology, we undertook a study in collaboration with Prof Tan Bien Keem, senior consultant at SGH, to decipher the pathophysiology of LE which remains poorly understood. Our ultimate goal is to identify and validate new therapeutic targets in preclinical model for the treatment of lymphedema. Besides researching on lymphatic vessels, we are actively involved in bringing awareness about lymphedema and other lymphatic diseases in Singapore and around the world (visit our website).

Physiological functions of tissue-resident macrophages

In the last decade, the non-immunological functions of tissue-resident macrophages have emerged. We are following-up on our discovery of a unique population of tissue- resident macrophage expressing Lyve-1 capable of controlling tissue collagen deposition at steady state by evaluating their contribution in vascular diseases and ageing and their homeostatic functions across diverse tissues. We believe that this project will improve our understanding of the regulation of tissue homeostasis by macrophages and open the ways to promising new therapeutic strategies for fibrosis, wounds and skin ageing.