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Speakers
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Professor Dr. Musheng Zeng
Professor Musheng Zeng is the vice-president and professor of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. He was granted the funding of “National Distinguished Young Scholar” and was honored as “Yangtze Scholar Distinguished Professor”. Acknowledged as one of the "Top 100 of Southern Guangdong", he is also recognized among the Ninth Selection of Young and Middle-aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions to National Health.
His extensive research delves into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and interventions of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China, and the Key Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Prof. Zeng has revealed for the first time specific receptors for EBV infection in epithelial cells, elucidating the mechanisms of EBV infection and carcinogenesis. He has pioneered innovative EBV vaccine development systems, and developed multiple vaccine candidates. He has also identified a new subtype of epithelial-immune dual-feature tumor cells.
His prolific contributions include over 50 publications in esteemed international journals like Nat Microbiol, Cell Host & Microbe, Cell Res, Cancer Cell, Nat Commun, PNAS, J Clin Invest, and Sci Adv as corresponding or co-corresponding author. His accomplishments encompass awards such as the Natural Science Award of the Ministry of Education, the Natural Science Award of Guangdong Province, and the first prize of the Science and Technology Award of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. With an H-index (Google) of 68, he has been elected as the Chair of the 2024 Gordon Research Conference of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
His extensive research delves into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and interventions of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China, and the Key Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Prof. Zeng has revealed for the first time specific receptors for EBV infection in epithelial cells, elucidating the mechanisms of EBV infection and carcinogenesis. He has pioneered innovative EBV vaccine development systems, and developed multiple vaccine candidates. He has also identified a new subtype of epithelial-immune dual-feature tumor cells.
His prolific contributions include over 50 publications in esteemed international journals like Nat Microbiol, Cell Host & Microbe, Cell Res, Cancer Cell, Nat Commun, PNAS, J Clin Invest, and Sci Adv as corresponding or co-corresponding author. His accomplishments encompass awards such as the Natural Science Award of the Ministry of Education, the Natural Science Award of Guangdong Province, and the first prize of the Science and Technology Award of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. With an H-index (Google) of 68, he has been elected as the Chair of the 2024 Gordon Research Conference of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
Associate Professor Dr. Jeannie Wong
Jeannie Wong studied Biomedical Engineering, followed by Master of Medical Physics at the Universiti Malaya. She received her PhD from the University of Wollongong, Australia. She started her career at the Department of Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, the University of Malaya as a senior lecturer in 2011. She coordinated the UM Master of Medical Physics programme from 2013 to 2017, which is accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), UK. It is the only postgraduate medical physics programme outside the UK and Ireland that has this accreditation.
During her PhD study, she was instrumental in the development of a new field of medical dosimetry in radiation therapy quality assurance with high spatial resolution semiconductor dosimetry and its applications in radiation therapy quality assurance. She has since further extended her research to include dosimetry in diagnostic imaging and patient-specific dosimetry. She has published more than 60 papers to date. She was promoted to associate professor in 2018. Her research interests include radiation dosimetry, radiotherapy, medical imaging and radiomics. She had supervised 1 postdoctoral candidate, 6 PhD students, 2 masters by research students, and more than 44 master by coursework students.
Dr Wong has vast experience in the teaching of physics and biostatistics at the postgraduate level. She has been involved as lecturer and examiner for the Master of Radiology and Master of Clinical Oncology at the University of Malaya since 2012.
IN 2019, she received the Southeast Asian Federation of Organizations of Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) Young Leader Award.
During her PhD study, she was instrumental in the development of a new field of medical dosimetry in radiation therapy quality assurance with high spatial resolution semiconductor dosimetry and its applications in radiation therapy quality assurance. She has since further extended her research to include dosimetry in diagnostic imaging and patient-specific dosimetry. She has published more than 60 papers to date. She was promoted to associate professor in 2018. Her research interests include radiation dosimetry, radiotherapy, medical imaging and radiomics. She had supervised 1 postdoctoral candidate, 6 PhD students, 2 masters by research students, and more than 44 master by coursework students.
Dr Wong has vast experience in the teaching of physics and biostatistics at the postgraduate level. She has been involved as lecturer and examiner for the Master of Radiology and Master of Clinical Oncology at the University of Malaya since 2012.
IN 2019, she received the Southeast Asian Federation of Organizations of Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) Young Leader Award.
Dr. Susan Hoe Ling Ling
Dr. Susan Hoe Ling Ling is a research officer at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Universiti Malaya, and was awarded a short-term Rutherford Fellowship to Newcastle University, UK after getting her PhD. Using cell line and patient-derived xenograft models, her primary research interest is cancer biology of solid tumours. With the exciting promise of immunotherapy, she is using her knowledge in flow cytometry to apply to solid cancer immunology. By combining both research interests, she hopes to better understand how cancer therapy, especially for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, can be further improved in patient care.
Professor Dr. Ian Paterson
Ian Paterson is a professor of cancer biology at the University of Malaya. He obtained his BSc degree in biology from the University of London and his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Bath. From 1992 to 2010 he worked at the University of Bristol, UK, where he developed his interest in cancer biology. Prof Paterson has studied the molecular pathogenesis of head and neck cancer for more than 20 years and has published more than 100 articles in ISI journals. For the past 10 years, he has worked at the University of Malaya where he continues to focus on the molecular basis of head and neck cancers, including oral and nasopharyngeal carcinomas. His recent interests include examining the function of non-malignant cells in the tumour microenvironment, including cancer-associated fibroblasts.
Associate Professor Dr. Melvin Lee Kiang Chua
Dr Chua is a Clinician-Scientist at the NCCS and Duke-NUS Medical School, and Principal Investigator of the Precision Radiotherapeutics and Oncology Programme, Division of Medical Sciences, supported by the NMRC Clinician-Scientist Award. He is also the Head of Department and Senior Consultant for Head and Neck and Thoracic Cancers, Division of Radiation Oncology, and Director of the Data and Computational Science Hub at the NCCS. He has obtained more than 70 million dollars in research funding, and his research focuses on the development of Phase II-III clinical trials in nasopharyngeal (NPC) and prostate cancers. He also runs a laboratory that is involved in data science and omics analytics that help with therapeutic and biomarker discovery for these cancer types. He is jointly appointed as an Associate Professor (On Tenure) with the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore; and is a Visiting Professor of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, China.
His key accomplishments include: (1) Developing the ASCO-CSCO International guidelines on the treatment of locoregionally-advanced NPC; (2) Expert panel Chair for the AJCC 9th version for staging of NPC; (3) Co-Lead investigator of the randomised controlled trial of induction gemcitabine-cisplatin in high-risk locoregionally-advanced NPC; (4) Co-Lead investigator of the randomised controlled trial of consolidation radiotherapy in patients with metastatic NPC who manifest a good response to palliative chemotherapy. Currently, Dr Chua co-leads the Singapore NPC Large Collaborative Grant, where he leads a platform trial – RIBBON: tReatment Individualisation By eBv stratificatiOn in Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A multi-arm platform study – for locoregionally advanced NPC and recurrent-metastatic NPC.
Dr Chua is also the Chair of the ASCO Asia Pacific Regional Council, and Program Committee Chair of the ASCO Breakthrough Meeting 2024. Dr Chua received numerous honours such as SingHealth Excellence Distinguished Researcher Award (2021), Conquer Cancer Foundation ASCO Merit Award (2013, 2015, 2016), NMRC Clinician-Scientist Award (Investigator, 2017, 2021), Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (2013), and Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore (FAMS, 2021).
His key accomplishments include: (1) Developing the ASCO-CSCO International guidelines on the treatment of locoregionally-advanced NPC; (2) Expert panel Chair for the AJCC 9th version for staging of NPC; (3) Co-Lead investigator of the randomised controlled trial of induction gemcitabine-cisplatin in high-risk locoregionally-advanced NPC; (4) Co-Lead investigator of the randomised controlled trial of consolidation radiotherapy in patients with metastatic NPC who manifest a good response to palliative chemotherapy. Currently, Dr Chua co-leads the Singapore NPC Large Collaborative Grant, where he leads a platform trial – RIBBON: tReatment Individualisation By eBv stratificatiOn in Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A multi-arm platform study – for locoregionally advanced NPC and recurrent-metastatic NPC.
Dr Chua is also the Chair of the ASCO Asia Pacific Regional Council, and Program Committee Chair of the ASCO Breakthrough Meeting 2024. Dr Chua received numerous honours such as SingHealth Excellence Distinguished Researcher Award (2021), Conquer Cancer Foundation ASCO Merit Award (2013, 2015, 2016), NMRC Clinician-Scientist Award (Investigator, 2017, 2021), Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (2013), and Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore (FAMS, 2021).
Dr. David Lee Dai Wee
Dr. David Lee Dai Wee is a clinical oncologist at the University of Malaya Medical Centre and a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He received his undergraduate medical education at International Medical University, and subsequently Master of Clinical Oncology at the University of Malaya in 2020. Dr Lee also holds FRCR (Clinical Oncology) since 2022.
He completed a fellowship in experimental therapeutics under the guidance of Dr Daniel Tan at the National Cancer Centre Singapore, involved in the conduct of more than 40 early-phase clinical trials.
His area of interest is in early-phase clinical trials, thoracic oncology, and head and neck oncology. He is the inaugural recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Leadership Development Program - Asia Pacific award in 2021-2022. Currently, Dr Lee is a member of the ASCO Trainee and Early Career Advisory Committee and, the ASCO Membership Advisory Group.
He completed a fellowship in experimental therapeutics under the guidance of Dr Daniel Tan at the National Cancer Centre Singapore, involved in the conduct of more than 40 early-phase clinical trials.
His area of interest is in early-phase clinical trials, thoracic oncology, and head and neck oncology. He is the inaugural recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Leadership Development Program - Asia Pacific award in 2021-2022. Currently, Dr Lee is a member of the ASCO Trainee and Early Career Advisory Committee and, the ASCO Membership Advisory Group.
Ms Looi Chin King (PhD Candidate)
Looi Chin King received her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology with Honours at INTI International University, Malaysia, in 2016. In April 2018, she enrolled at the International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia, to pursue a Master of Science in Medical and Health Sciences. After completing her Master’s Degree, she decided to further her academic journey by commencing her Ph.D. studies in August 2020. Her research focus is centered on cancer immunology, particularly the identification of tumour cell-intrinsic factors that mediate tumour resistance to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) killing. Her work also delves into unraveling the molecular mechanisms that drive immune evasion in cancers.
Professor Dr. Sumei Cao
Professor Dr. Sumei Cao, director of the Department of Cancer Prevention at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and the director of the Guangdong Cancer Center Office. Dr. Sumei Cao is a leading expert in cancer prevention and epidemiology, particularly focusing on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), she has made significant contributions to the field with over 50 publications. One of her studies based on a long-term study of a cohort population, the dose-response relationship between elevated levels of EBV antibodies and the incidence of NPC was prospectively determined, along with the dynamic changes of EBV in the premalignant stage to optimize EBV antibody indicators for NPC screening. This newly developed screening protocol was applied in the world's first large-scale population-based clustered randomized controlled NPC screening study in high-risk areas. This approach significantly increased the early diagnosis rate of NPC to around 70%. The new screening protocol has been incorporated into the national NPC screening standard by the Health Commission in China, and it has been widely promoted throughout the country, leading to an improvement in the early diagnosis rate of NPC.
Ms Tianbi Duan
Ms. Tianbi Duan is STOmics Global Product General Manager of BGI Group. In her role at BGI, she is responsible for the delivery and implementation of
STOmics product solutions. She works closely with BGI’s global commercial teams to bring product excellence to users around the globe. Before BGI,
Tianbi was leading several fundamental research projects related to skin physiology and active ingredient mechanisms at Shanghai Inoherb Cosmetics
Co. LTD. Tianbi received her Master in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Master in Engineering Management from Case Western Reserve University.
STOmics product solutions. She works closely with BGI’s global commercial teams to bring product excellence to users around the globe. Before BGI,
Tianbi was leading several fundamental research projects related to skin physiology and active ingredient mechanisms at Shanghai Inoherb Cosmetics
Co. LTD. Tianbi received her Master in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Master in Engineering Management from Case Western Reserve University.
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