Overview
The time has come when our dramatically increased knowledge of the human immune system is finally being exploited into novel and exciting therapies in various diseases.
The objective of this interactive session is to provide a comprehensive landscape on some successful approaches to immune modulation in various diseases areas (Cancer, Autoimmunity and infectious diseases), eliciting a discussion on translational challenges and opportunities, with particular focus on the Singapore ecosystem.
Join us in our panel discussion with clinicians as we explore the problems and innovations in Translational Immunotherapy.
Date:3 December 2019
Time:5:00pm - 7:00pm
Venue:L1S3, Academia, 20 College Road, Singapore 169856
Speakers:
- Prof Salvatore Albani, Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School, Director of Translational Immunology Institute, SingHealth-Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre and UCAN-A Chair & President, Eureka Institute
- Prof Antonio Bertoletti, Scientific Director, Lion TCR and Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School
- Dr Toh Han Chong, Senior Consultant & Deputy Medical Director, National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Associate Professor, Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School and Adjunct Principal Investigator, Singapore Immunology Network & Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR
Moderator: Dr Jessie Tong, Senior Manager of Venture Investing, SGInnovate
Programme Details:
5:00pm - 5:20pm Registration
5:20pm - 5:30pm Presentation on Autoimmunity by Prof Salvatore Albani
5:30pm - 5:40pm Presentation on Infectious Diseases by Prof Antonio Bertoletti
5:40pm - 5:50pm: Presentation on Cancer by Dr Toh Han Chong
5:50pm - 6:40pm Panel Discussion and Q&A
6:40pm - 7:00pm Networking
Speakers' Profiles:
Prof Salvatore Albani, Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School, Director of Translational Immunology Institute, SingHealth-Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre and UCAN-A Chair & President, Eureka Institute
‘My professional mission is to build bridges between unmet medical needs and Translational Sciences.'
Prof Salvatore Albani, MD, is an internationally renowned rheumatologist and immunologist. He is a Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School and Director of the Translational Immunology Institute at SingHealth-Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.
Before joining Duke-NUS, Prof Albani served as Director of the Translational Medicine Unit at the Clinical Investigation Institute, University of California, San Diego, where he was also Professor of Medicine and Paediatrics. His fundamental research interest is in understanding human immunity and contributing the knowledge to therapeutic and diagnostic advancements. Prof Albani has developed several innovative approaches in the area of induction and maintenance of immune tolerance in humans. He was responsible for the whole translational process from idea to the conclusion of Phase II clinical trial in autoimmune inflammatory diseases, which has a significant impact on society and individuals.
He has been responsible for the conception and execution of each stage of this complex itinerary, which spans a vast and diverse gradient of technologies and challenges. These include molecular immunology, lead identification and validation, intellectual property, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Investigational New Drug (IND) filings, trial design, data management and analysis, interfacing with Venture Capital and Pharma, leading multiple groups in a multi-centre setting, etc. The technology platform has applications in diseases that could benefit from a restoration of immune tolerance. This translational research itinerary has been the original backbone of his career and witnessed by a vibrant publication trail (among others, Nature Medicine, Lancet, JCI, PNAS, Nature Rheumatology, A&R, ARD, etc., H factor 40) and by approximately 100 patents. Development of high throughput technology platforms is also part of his scientific career. These platforms aim to provide tools for knowledge-based diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.
In his role as an educator, it has been his privilege to mentor many talented individuals and to provide the right challenges and learning opportunities to help them grow and advance. He seeks to expand this even further by helping to create and nurture the next generation of translational scientists. An important step is cultivating in translational professionals the necessary awareness, knowledge and experience to contribute significantly to the advancement of the field.
Prof Antonio Bertoletti, Scientific Director, Lion TCR and Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School
Prof Antonio Bertoletti, MD, is an expert in the field of viral hepatitis, with a specific interest in the immunopathogenesis of the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection. He began working in viral hepatitis as a medical student at the University of Parma, Italy. He continued his research work at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla characterising for the first time the HBV-specific cytotoxic T cell response in man. He returned to the University of Parma, where he worked in the Department of Infectious Diseases as a Clinical Scientist. He then worked at the University College of London, United Kingdom from 1997 to 2006 before moving to Singapore where he is now Professor at the Emerging Viral Disease Program at the Duke-NUS Medical School.
His current research is focussed on the development of new immunological based therapies (TCR-redirected T cells, HLA-peptide specific antibodies) for the treatment of HBV and HBV-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
Dr Toh Han Chong, Senior Consultant & Deputy Medical Director, National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Associate Professor, Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School and Adjunct Principal Investigator, Singapore Immunology Network & Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR
Dr Toh Han Chong is Senior Consultant and Deputy Medical Director of the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). He is also Associate Professor at the Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Programme at the Duke-NUS Medical School and adjunct Principal Investigator of the Singapore Immunology Network and Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR.
Dr Toh graduated from the University of London, United Kingdom, with an Intercalated Bachelor of Science in Infection and Immunity from St Mary's Hospital Medical School and qualified as a medical doctor from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Dr Toh obtained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians in 2003. He received his medical oncology fellowship training at the Singapore General Hospital, and at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. He then completed a research fellowship in cancer immunotherapy at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Dr Toh is currently Chief Medical Officer, of Tessa Therapeutics Ltd. He is an alumnus of the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Dr Toh is a recipient of the National Senior Clinician Scientist Award 2017 for translational research in cancer. He received the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award in 2018. Dr Toh has published over 100 peer-review journal articles including in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Nature Genetics, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, PNAS, Clinical Cancer Research. Dr Toh is on the Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert (APPLE) council, is founding chairman of the Singapore Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium and on the Cancer Immunotherapy faculty of the European Society of Medical Oncology.
Moderator's Profile:
Dr Jessie Tong, Senior Manager of Venture Investing, SGInnovate
Jessie Tong is part of SGInnovate's Venture Investing team. In this role, she invests and manages healthcare and quantum startups.
Before joining SGInnovate, Jessie was an Investment Manager at TNF Ventures, an early-stage investment firm for digital startups, where she managed a portfolio of 20 companies in industries spanning from education, media, human resources, security, logistics and healthcare.
Jessie earned her PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate School of Integrative Science and Engineering, where she worked on creating a commercially viable cell culture model for drug testing. Her research project was in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, and she also contributed to university lab spinoff, Invitrocue.
Jessie is an NUS Overseas College alumni, where she works as a Business Development Analyst for a diagnostic company. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Life Sciences (Molecular Cell Biology) and a minor in Technopreneurship.
