A/P Gautam Sethi’s research work, Berberine inhibits breast carcinoma proliferation and metastasis under hypoxic microenvironment involving gut microbiota and endogenous metabolites, is highlighted in “Research highlights of 2023” of the N2CR INSIGHTS Issue 9, a quarterly newsletter of NUS Centre for Cancer Research Newsletter.
NUS Centre for Cancer Research Newsletter Read More »
Authors of the study, from NUS Medicine: (Back row, from left) Assoc Prof Justin Chu, Dr. Kai Sen Tan, Migara Jayasinghe (Pharmacology), Dr. Dai Cao Phung (Pharmacology), Brendon Zhi Jie Yeo (Pharmacology); (Front row, from left) Asst Prof Minh Le (Pharmacology), Gao Chang (Pharmacology), Rebecca Carissa Prajogo (Pharmacology).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of being prepared with drug interventions to contain viral outbreaks that can otherwise have devastating consequences. In preparing for the next pandemic—or Disease X, there is an urgent need for versatile platform technologies that could be repurposed upon short notice, to combat infectious outbreaks.
A team of researchers, led by Assistant Professor Minh Le from the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) and Department of Pharmacology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), discovered that nano-sized particles released by cells, termed “extracellular vesicles” (EVs), can curb the viral infectivity of SARS-CoV-2—its wild type and variant strains—and potentially other infectious diseases. Asst Prof Le said, “Our study showed that these cell-derived nanoparticles are effective carriers of drugs that target viral genes precisely. These EVs are therefore an efficient tool for therapeutic intervention in patients who are infected with COVID-19 or other infectious diseases.”
The study, conducted in collaboration with NUS Medicine’s Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) Core Facility, the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, and the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), demonstrated potent inhibition of COVID-19 infection in laboratory models using a combination of EV-based inhibition and anti-sense RNA therapy mediated by antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs).
A team led by Professor Dean HO, Director of the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Director of the N.1 Institute for Health, and Joint Professor at Department of Pharmacology, was awarded the Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award from the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) as well as the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.
The team includes a few other members from Department of Pharmacology: A/Prof Edward CHOW Kai-Hua, Dr Agata BIASIAK (Joint Staff) and Lissa HOOI.
The IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award and the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award were created to recognise outstanding engineering achievements that have made significant contributions to engineering progress and quality of life in Singapore and ASEAN.
Read full news here: https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/news/ies-and-asean-engineering-achievement-awards/
IES and ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award Read More »
Congratulation to Department of Pharmacology on receiving the Commendation Award in the NUS Safety & Health Awards (NUSSHA) 2023!
The award recognises the efforts that Department of Pharmacology has put into creating a safer environment for the staff & students. The award was presented to the department at the NUS Safety & Health Award Ceremony 2023 held on 23 Oct 2023.
NUS Safety & Health Awards (NUSSHA) 2023 Read More »
In a new Hello Singapore feature segment titled “解密大脑” (Decoding the Brain) on Channel 8, researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) explain the functions of the human brain and its multiple stages of growth and development, and aim to use scientific reasoning to debunk common myths about the human brain.
From cognitive abilities to memory enhancement and retention, viewers will be able to understand the intricate process of how short-term memory progresses to become long-term memory, as explained by Assoc Prof Sajikumar from the Synaptic Plasticity and Memory Lab.
Premonition versus intuition – Dr Eric Tan from the Memory, Ageing and Cognition Centre (also from Department of Pharmacology) offers the science behind experiencing a premonition.
Research Fellows Dr Yap Kwong Hsia and Dr Joyce Chong (both from Department of Pharmacology) elaborate how the multi-domain lifestyle interventions in the SINGER study have proven to slow down the rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly.
Department of Pharmacology researchers featured in “Decoding the Brain” Read More »
The Department of Pharmacology congratulates 18 faculty members on being recognized among the top 2% of scientists worldwide for citation impact in 2023. The analysis was initiated by Professor Ioannidis at Stanford University and published by Elsevier.
Congratulations to faculty members Professor Fred Wong Wai-Shiu, Professor Dean Ho, Professor Goh Boon Cher, Associate Professor Gautam Sethi, Associate Professor Christopher Chen Li-Hsian, Dr Alan Prem Kumar; joint faculty members Professor Guillermo C. Bazan, Professor R. Manjunatha Kini, Professor Philip Keith Moore, A/Prof Wang Lingzhi, Dr Muthu Kumaraswamy Shanmugam, Dr Saima Hilal; adjunct faculty members Associate Professor Edward J. Manser, Associate Professor Shabbir Moochhala; retired faculty members Emeritus Professor Edmund Lee Jon Deoon, Associate Professor Benny Tan Kwon Huat; and visiting professors Professor Jerold Chun and Professor Paul Foster.
To view the full list of the world’s top 2% researchers by citation impact published on 4 October 2023 by Elsevier see https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/6.
Congratulations to Faculty Recognized Among Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide Read More »
Let’s mark World Alzheimer’s Day 2023, (every 21 Sep.) by recognising the extraordinary dedication of A/P Christopher Chen. His hard work has led to an FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug, Lecanemab, offering a beacon of hope to millions.
World Alzheimer’s Day 2023 – NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/619306613734798
Congratulations to CHEONG Yoke Ping and Department of Pharmacology Safety and Health Team on winning the Slips, Trips and Falls Campaign Creative Video Competition!
Pharmacology Team Members:
CHEONG Yoke Ping (Project Leader), Alan KOH, Annie HSU, CHOU Loi Choo, Christabel CHAN Mei Yun, FAN Lu, HO Woon Fei, LAW Yok Moi, Pawan KUMAR, TAN Yen Ling, TEO Mei Hui, TEO Wee Lee, XU Xiaoguang and Kenneth YAP.
Congratulations to Department of Pharmacology Team on being selected as the winner of 2023 NUSMed Excellence in Administration Awards.
Pharmacology Team Members:
CHEONG Yoke Ping (Project Leader), Alan KOH (Project Co-Leader), Annie HSU, CHOU Loi Choo, Christabel CHAN Mei Yun, FAN Lu, HO Woon Fei, LAW Yok Moi, Pawan KUMAR, TAN Yen Ling, TEO Wee Lee, XU Xiaoguang
2023 NUSMed Excellence in Administration Awards (Merit Award): PHARMACOLOGY Read More »
Congratulations to Professor GOH Boon Cher on receiving the Distinguished Senior Clinician Award 2023.
The Distinguished Senior Clinician Award (DSCA) is a prestigious accolade conferred by the Ministry of Health to recognise experts and key opinion leaders in their professional fields.
They serve as role models with strong public service values, professional integrity, and have made outstanding contributions in the domain areas of clinical practice, education and research.
As a senior clinician, Prof Goh has held critical leadership roles at institutional and national levels, including the founding Director of the lnvestigational Medicine Unit at NUHS; Deputy Director of the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCISI; Clinical trials co-lead at the Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium; Deputy Di rector of the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, NUS; Clinical Research Institute, NUS; Head of the Department of Haematology-Oncology, NCIS; and Deputy Director of the NUS Cancer Translational research program. At NCIS, he established a world-renowned clinical trial programme, now with over 150 clinical trials, which is a testament to his pioneering vision. Internationally, as a key opinion leader, he has served on advisory boards of several pharmaceutical companies advising on drug development of very novel drugs and has served on editorial boards of important journals like the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Annals of Oncology.
Awardee of The Distinguished Senior Clinician Award 2023: Prof GOH Boon Cher Read More »
