Cancer Science Institute of Singapore

 $172mil Research Centre of Excellence Grant over 7 years, by National Research Foundation and Ministry of Education

  

The Cancer Science Institute of Singapore Team

Director: Prof Daniel G. Tenen

Email: csidgt@nus.edu.sg

Deputy Director (Basic Programmes):
Prof Yoshiaki Ito
Email: csiitoy@nus.edu.sg

Deputy Director (Translational and Clinical Programmes):
A/Prof Goh Boon Cher
Email: boon_cher_goh@nuhs.edu.sg

Contact Details:

Ms Selena Gan Administrative Director Tel    :    6516 1873 Fax   :    6873 9664 Email   :    csigans@nus.edu.sg

Address: CSI Singapore National University of Singapore 28 Medical Drive, #02-07 Centre for Life Sciences Singapore 117456 Website: http://www.csi.nus.edu.sg/

The Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) is a state-of-the-art cancer research institute located within the National University of Singapore, and houses a full spectrum of cancer research and clinical translational facilities. Funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Ministry of Education (MOE), CSI Singapore is led by a team of world-class scientists actively collaborating with renowned local and international institutes. 

With the vision to be recognised internationally as the premier centre for cutting-edge cancer research, CSI Singapore conducts a multi-faceted and coordinated approach to cancer research, extending from basic mechanistic studies leading all the way to experimental therapeutics. The institute houses a full spectrum of research and clinical translational facilities and focuses on cancers endemic to Asian populations such as gastric, liver and lung cancers.

Our research aims to develop novel approaches to understanding and treating prevalent cancers in Singapore and the region through a matrix of 5 research programmes:

1. Cancer Stem Cells Programme
   Programme Leader: Prof. Daniel G. TENEN
    
2. Cancer Biology Programme
   Programme Leader: Prof. Yoshiaki ITO
    
3. Epigenetics Programme
    
4. Genomic Oncology Programme
   Programme Leader: A/Prof. Patrick TAN
    
5. Experimental Therapeutics Programme
   Programme Leader: A/Prof. GOH Boon Cher
    

And Asian-centric types of cancers:

1. Breast Cancer
   Group Leader: Prof. Peter LOBIE
    
   Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In Singapore, it accounts for 29.7% of female cancers and about 1,100 new cases are diagnosed with 270 deaths each year. This translates to about 3 women diagnosed every day and 1 death every other day.
    
2. Gastric Cancer
   Group Leader: Prof. Yoshiaki ITO
    
   Almost 1 million deaths from gastric cancer occur every year, making it the 2^nd leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Asia-Pacific has the highest incidence of gastric cancer globally. It is the No. 5 killer cancer among men and No. 7 among women in Singapore.
    
3. Leukaemia
   Group Leader: A/Prof. CHNG Wee Joo
    
   Leukaemias account for about 40% of all childhood cancers in Singapore and throughout the world. Although one of the most curable forms of cancers with a cure rate of 70% in childhood leukaemia, Singapore sees about 250 to 300 new patients every year.
    
4. Liver Cancer
   Group Leader: A/Prof. LUK John Moonching
    
   Primary liver cancer or Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the 4^th most common cancer worldwide and 3^rd most common cancer in Asia. 80% of the 1 million deaths from liver cancer occur in the Asia-Pacific. Singapore alone sees about 400 liver cancer deaths a year.
    
5. Lung Cancer
   Group Leader: Dr. Ross SOO
    
   Lung cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer worldwide. It is the No. 1 killer cancer for both men and women in Asia-Pacific and Singapore.

Attracting World Class Talent

CSI Singapore counts some of the top cancer researchers worldwide as our principal investigators. We offer an unprecedented opportunity for a team of world-class scientists to develop fresh insights into the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

PhD Graduate Programme

CSI Singapore aims to train the next generation of cancer researchers to excel in both the scientific and translational aspects of cancer research through its PhD Graduate Programme. This programme seeks high-calibre biomedical and medical graduates keen to pursue a career in cancer research.

Selected Publications

1. Das K, Lorena PD, Ng LK, Lim D, Shen L, Siow WY, Teh M, Reichardt JK, Salto-Tellez M. Differential expression of steroid 5alpha-reductase isozymes and association with disease severity and angiogenic genes predict their biological role in prostate cancer. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2010 Aug 16; 17(3):757-70. 4.282
    
   
2. Gueller S, Goodridge HS, Niebuhr B, Xing H, Koren-Michowitz M, Serve H, Underhill DM, Brandts CH, Koeffler HP. Adaptor protein Lnk inhibits c-Fms-mediated macrophage function. J Leukoc Biol. 2010 Jun 22. 4.403
    
   
3. Iwanski GB, Lee DH, En-Gal S, Doan NB, Castor B, Vogt M, Toh M, Bokemeyer C, Said JW, Thoennissen NH, Koeffler HP. Cucurbitacin B, a novel in vivo potentiator of gemcitabine with low toxicity in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Br J Pharmacol. 2010 Jun; 160(4):998-1007. 5.204
    
   
4. Lee CW, Ito K, Ito Y. Role of RUNX3 in bone morphogenetic protein signaling in colorectal cancer. Cancer Res. 2010 May 15; 70(10):4243-52. 7.543
    
   
5. Kodama M, Otsubo C, Hirota T, Yokota J, Enari M, Taya Y. Requirement of ATM for rapid p53 phosphorylation at Ser46 without Ser/Thr-Gln sequences. Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Apr; 30(7):1620-33. 6.057
    
   
6. Thoenissen NH, Krug UO, Lee DH, Kawamata N, Iwanski GB, Lasho T, Weiss T, Nowak D, Koren-Michowitz M, Kato M, Sanada M, Shih LY, Nagler A, Raynaud SD, Muller-Tidow C, Mesa R, Haferlach T, Gilliland DG, Tefferi A, Ogawa S, and Koeffler HP. Prevelence and prognostic impact of allelic imbalances associated with leukemic transformation of Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Blood. 2010 Apr 8; 115(14): 2882-90. 10.55
    
   
7. Nowak D, Ogawa S, Müschen M, Kato M, Kawamata N, Meixel A, Nowak V, Kim HS, Kang S, Paquette R, Chang MS, Thoenissen NH, Mossner M, Hofmann WK, Kohlmann A, Weiss T, Haferlach T, Haferlach C, Koeffler HP. SNP array analysis of tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia identifies heterogeneous secondary genomic alterations. Blood. 2010 Feb 4; 115(5):1049. 10.55
    
   
8. Jacob B, Osato M, Yamashita N, Wang CQ, Taniuchi I, Littman DR, Asou N, Ito Y. Stem cell exhaustion due to Runx1 deficiency is prevented by Evi5 activation in leukemogenesis. Blood. 2010 Feb 25; 115(8):1610-20. 10.55
    
   
9. Chang TL, Ito K, Ko TK, Liu Q, Yang S, Salto-Tellez M, Yeoh KG, Fukamachi H, Ito Y. Claudin-1 has tumor suppressive activity and is a direct target of RUNX3 in gastric epithelial cells. Gastroenterology, 2010 Jan; 138(1):255-65. 12.899
    
   
10. 10. Guibal FC, Alberich-Jorda M, Hirai H, Ebralidze A, Levantini E, Di Ruscio A, Zhang P, Santana-Lemos BA, Neuberg D, Wagers AJ, Rego EM, Tenen DG. Identification of a myeloid committed progenitor as the cancer initiating cell in acute promyelocytic leukemia. Blood. 2009 Dec 24; 114(27):5415-25. 10.55