Our History

Pioneering Excellence in Experimental Research
With over 20 years of experience in urological cancer research, treatment and care, the Department of Urology is considered a thought leader in the field, in both Asia and the world. As a regional hub for cancer care and research, the department has access to a large population of Asian cancer patients through collaborations regionally and with other academic centres. It is thus uniquely equipped to perform research on Asian-specific characteristics of bladder and prostate cancer to develop specific treatments and improve patient care.  
Bladder cancer
The bladder cancer research laboratory is incorporated in the clinical department, providing a closely integrated team with clinical care, research and clinical trials expertise. Besides providing regional expertise in the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer using intravesical BCG therapy, the team performs translational research on new diagnostic tools and treatments such as gene therapy and lactobacillus-based therapy.

In 1995, we were the first to set up a multicentre clinical trial to improve BCG immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer. This trial generated a database (clinical data and DNA bank) that was the foundation which promoted the search for new therapies and identification of new markers

Prostate cancer
We are a regional leader in the clinical management of prostate cancer. The department has participated in landmark trials such as PROSPER and PREVAIL for castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer and is at the forefront of advancing clinical practice in therapy and diagnostics for prostate cancer.

Research Focus

Our research approach has focused on

1. Understanding how present therapies work and using this knowledge to improve therapies as well as to develop new ones;
2. Identifying markers of disease presence and response to therapy, to improve surveillance and the early detection of therapy failure and
3. Evaluating new therapies via early Phase clinical trials;
4. Involved and being at the forefront of multicentre clinical trials.

Research Focus on Cancer

In the Department of Urology, there are three key areas of cancer research: basic research (molecular markers, lab-based models), clinical and translational research (medical devices, novel techniques, diagnostics), and clinical trials (imaging techniques, new therapies).

For the study protocols, please click on the studies listed below.

Other Areas of Research

Education & Outreach

The Department has a record of training PhDs and Masters post-graduates and is a fertile environment for academic and clinical research. We have connections to World Class research centers e.g. University of Cambridge (UK), MD Anderson Cancer Center (US) and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Australia), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (PRC) and a good record of innovative research in clinical, translational and basic sciences.
For more information on the School of Medicine Graduate Programme, please visit the NUS Graduate Programme  website.
Those who are interested in pursuing post-graduate studies, please email

• qing_hui_wu@nuhs.edu.sg for residents / clinical projects or
• surrm@nus.edu.sg for research projects in the laboratory.
  

List of Urology projects and post-graduate students who graduated from the Department

1. Dr Zhang Ye “The Signaling Pathway for BCG-Induced Interleukin-6 Production in Human Bladder Cancer Cells” 1999 (PhD)

2. Ms Carmel Lawrencia “Cytokine gene therapy for immunological malignancies” 2001 (PhD)
3. Ms Pook Sim Hwee “Mechanisms of BCG immunotherapy” 2003 (PhD)4.
4. Dr Zang Zhijiang “Intravesical Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Gene Therapy Mediated by a Novel Liposome System in an Orthotopic Murine Bladder Cancer Model” 2003 (MSc)
5. Dr Wu Qing Hui “Immunotherapy of bladder cancer” 2004 (PhD)

6. Ms Janice Yong Jing Ying “Lactobacillus in cancer therapy” 2005 (MSc)
7. Dr Chong Kian Tai “Detection of cancer-specific peptides in prostate cancer using MHC tetramer technology” 2007 (MSc)

8. Ms. Seow Shih Wee  “Effects of Lactobacilli on normal and tumor bearing mice” 2009 (PhD)
9. Ms Tham Sin Mun “Tumor induced changes in immune gene expression in a mouse model of bladder cancer” 2010 (MSc)
10. Ms Juwita Rahmat “Isolation and characterization of mRNA transcripts from BCG treated bladder cancer cell lines” 2011 (PhD)
11. Mr Kandasamy Matheswaran  “Lactobacillus as a vehicle for therapy.”  2011 (PhD)
12. Ms Cai Shirong “Lactobacilli and cancer therapy” 2011 (PhD)
13. Dr Fiona Wu “Immunotherapy for Urological Malignancies” 2011 (MCI)
14. Dr Edmund Chiong “Targeted therapy for urologic malignancies” 2014 (PhD)
15. Dr Wang Ziting “mTOR and chemotherapy for Bladder cancer” 2014 (MCI)
16. Dr Kelven Chen “Signal transducer for monitoring bladder fluid irrigation” 2014 (MCI)
17. Dr Mandakhalikar Kedar Diwakar “Prevention of infection in urology patients through the use of novel devices” 2015 (PhD)
18. Dr Lu Jirong “Metabotyping of Prostate Cancer Using Gas Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry” 2016 (MCI)
19. Dr Chia Jun Yang “Use of metabolomics and biochemical markers as a diagnostic kit for male subfertility in patients with varicocoeles” ongoing (MCI)
20. Dr Arshvin Kesavan “Virtual reality to reduce pain and analgesic use during shockwave therapy for urinary stones: A Randomised Control Trial” ongoing (MCI)
21. Dr Terence Law “Identifying intravesical therapy failure in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer using single nucleotide polymorphisms of Interleukin-31 and FAS.” ongoing (MCI)
22. Ms Mugdha Vijay Patwardhan, ongoing (PhD)

Meet the Team

Cancer Research team

Associate Professor Edmund Chiong MBBS,PhD,FRCS(Edin), FRCS(Ire), FAMS(Urology) Head & Senior Consultant	Professor Kesavan Esuvaranathan MBBS, FRCS(Edin), FRCS(Glasg), FAMS(Urology), MD(S’pore) Senior Consultant	Dr Wu Qing Hui MBBS(China), MRCS(Edin), PhD(S’pore), FAMS(Urology) Consultant	Dr Wang Ziting MBBS, MRCS(Edin), MCI, MMed(Surgery), FAMS(Urology)   Associate Consultant	Dr Zang Zhijiang (MBBS, MRCS, PhD) Resident Physician
Dr Ratha Mahendran (PhD) Senior Research Fellow	Dr Juwita Rahmat(PhD) Research Fellow	Mr Lim Yew Koon(MSc) Research Associate	Ms Tham Sin Mun(MSc) Research Associate

 

To find out more informations about our doctors, please click here.

Laboratory Research team
The Laboratory Research Team of laboratory technologists, research assistants and occasional students and interns are responsible for the execution of experiments and day-to-day research work in the Laboratory.

Clinical Research team
The Clinical Research Team, comprising research coordinators and research nurses, is largely responsible in assisting the Principle Investigator in the proper conduct of clinical trials and clinical research conducted in the Department. The team act as an intermediary among trial participants, the institution and sponsors on the management, conduct and ethical/financial aspects of the trial.

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Clinical Education

Urology FRCS/EXITS Preparatory Course
The Urology FRCS/EXITS Preparatory Course is designed specifically to prepare candidates for the final examinations in urology.

 

NUHS Urology Residency Programme
The NUHS Urology Residency Programme is committed to the objective of training well-rounded and thinking surgeons equipped with the ability to lead in the field of urology in research and education both nationally and internationally. Click for info.