Six clinician scientists receive funding support for translational and clinical research

22 Jun 2010

S$5.3 million awarded to support research to study heart failures in Asian populations, translational research in cancer and infectious diseases and conducting clinical trials 

1. Six clinician scientists have been awarded a total of S$5.3 million under the Clinician Scientist Awards (CSAs) to conduct cutting-edge translational and clinical research in the areas of cardiology, oncology and infectious disease. The CSAs are an important part of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences initiative to train and build up internationally competitive research talent to take scientific discoveries at the bench and translate them into meaningful healthcare outcomes.

2. Associate Professor Pierce Chow from the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Dr Goh Boon Cher, from the National University Hospital (NUH) were the awardees under the CSA-Senior Investigators (CSA-SI) category. The CSA-SI category funds senior clinician researchers for up to S$350,000 per year for 5 years. 

• A/Prof Chow, Senior Consultant at the Department of  General Surgery, SGH will be conducting a multi-center Phase III clinical trial to compare the outcomes of two known therapies for primary liver cancer and the clinical data obtained from the study would be used to determine which therapy is more beneficial to primary liver cancer patients. 

• Dr Goh, who is a Senior Consultant at NUH’s Department of Haemotology-Oncology will be conducting several early phase clinical trials which seek to test the efficacy of a class of drugs that show promise in restoring the body’s anti-tumor capabilities previously turned off by rogue cancer cells.   

3. Dr Carolyn Lam and Dr Lawrence Lee from NUH, Dr Mei Wang from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Dr Charles Chuah from SGH were the awardees under the Four CSA–Investigator (CSI-INV) category. The CSA-INV category funds junior clinician scientists for S$225,000 per year for 3 years.

• Dr Carolyn Lam, Associate Consultant NUH’s Department of Cardiology, will be returning to Singapore from the Mayo Clinic in the USA to conduct studies relating to heart failure in Asian populations – an area not studied widely by the scientific community. Her research will generate much needed scientific information so as to enable a better understanding of the disease which would lead to better management and treatment in primarily Asian, multi-ethnic countries such as Singapore.  

• Dr Lawrence Lee, Associate Consultant at the Clinical Trials Unit, NUH will be looking into the use of drug combination therapies to treat cancer and HIV. He will be studying how drugs react inside the body and hopes through his findings to optimize dosages in order to work towards personalizing medicine for individual patients.

• Dr Mei Wang, Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School will be studying the actions of a class of experimental molecules which help block the effects of cancer-causing proteins produced by oncogenes. A particular focus of her study will be on an oncogene called Ras, which is found to be active in over half of human cancers.   

•     Dr Charles Chuah, Senior Consultant at SGH’s Department of Haematology, will be looking into methods to eliminate leukemia stem cells, which have been shown to lead to disease recurrence as they are notoriously difficult to eradicate as they are resistant to drug therapy. Dr Chuah will be looking at ways to eliminate such cells by investigating the use of combination drug therapies.

4. Said Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Co-Chair of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee (BMS-EXCO) and Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), “The BMS EXCO would like to congratulate all the six clinician scientists on the Clinician Scientist Awards and wish them the very best in their endeavours.  Indeed, the research of this year’s awardees demonstrates the deepening TCR capabilities here in Singapore.”  Singling out the research of the two CSA Senior Investigators for special comment, Mr Lim added, “Dr Goh Boon Cher and A/Prof Pierce Chow’s work in conducting early phase and Phase III clinical trials respectively are particularly promising.  They not only bear testimony to the progress that Singapore has been making in cancer research, but also hold promises of delivering outcomes that will contribute to our economy and make an impact on our society.  All CSA recipients serve as role models for budding clinician scientists to come forward and participate in the very important work of creating knowledge and improving healthcare solutions to benefit Singapore and the world.”

5. Added Ms Yong Ying-I, Co-Chair of the BMS-EXCO and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, “I am very encouraged by the results from the CSA year on year – they are internationally competitive and of solid scientific merit. I am also pleased to see that one of the CSA awardees, Dr Carolyn Lam will be returning to Singapore to continue her research career. Singapore has made its mark as a credible research hub and I hope to see more Singaporeans who are based overseas consider returning to Singapore to develop their careers and contribute in bridging clinical research with healthcare delivery.” 

About the Clinical Scientist Awards

6. Funded by the National Research Foundation and administered by the National Medical Research Council of MOH, the CSA is a part of the overall talent development programme under phase II of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Initiative. Coupled with good research infrastructure and institutional support, this programme aims to provide the clinician scientists with a conducive environment for medically relevant research that will one day translate into better healthcare delivery for Singapore patients. A total of 21 CSAs have been awarded to date. More details can be found at the following link: https://www.nmrc.gov.sg/corp/fellowship.aspx?id=308

Ministry of Health & A*STAR

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