$25mil Translational and Clinical Research Grant over 5 years, by National Research Foundation.
L-R: A/Prof Kenneth Kwek, A/Prof Tai E Shyong, A/Prof Saw Seang Mei, Prof Peter D Gluckman, A/Prof Chong Yap Seng |
Lead Principal Investigator:
Co-Principal Investigators:
Prof Peter D Gluckman
A/Prof Saw Seang Mei
Dr Kenneth Kwek
A/Prof Tai E Shyong
A/Prof Lee Yung Seng
Contact Details:
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Ms Moira Khaw
Communications Manager |
| Tel |
: 6772 3562 |
| Fax |
: 6779 4753 |
| Email |
: obgmkkc@nus.edu.sg |
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Address :
Developmental Origins: Singapore
c/o Dept of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road
National University of Singapore
Singapore 119074 |
Aims and Research Themes
Metabolic diseases in Asia have features which set them apart from what is seen in most Western countries and show ethnic differences not yet understood or explainable by genetics alone. The majority of diabetics in the world are Asian. Yet most research is done in the West despite the phenotype (physical and behavioural characteristics) of Asian diabetics being very different. For example, the relationship between body fat and cardiovascular risk in Indians and Chinese is quite different from that in Caucasians.
It is a matter of considerable societal, economic and strategic concern that Singapore has one of the highest incidences of diabetes in the developed world. What is equally gripping is that there are clear ethnic differences across the three major Singaporean ethnicities in terms of their propensity for metabolic disease.
Thus the focus of this programme is to address an emerging area of science that could profoundly influence the way metabolic disease, which has unique Asian features, is considered, prevented, and treated. Besides defining the developmental component of causation, this programme seeks interventions that will, in time, inform public health policies and guide clinical care of the rapidly growing populace with, or destined to be affected by, Type 2 Diabetes and its related diseases. Eventually, this could potentially lead to new therapeutic target identification and clinical applications.
Through these studies, the programme aims to:
- Understand factors in pregnancy and early childhood which cause epigenetic changes increasing the risks for metabolic disease in adulthood. This may lead to better ways of managing pregnancy and feeding newborns and infants (public health guidelines). Applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries are also envisaged.
- Identify epigenetic marks at birth that indicate increased risk for metabolic disease (biomarker and pathway discovery) allowing us to tailor interventions for individuals at risk as well as improve our understanding the mechanisms of these diseases.
- Discover effective prevention and early intervention strategies, which may be in the form of simple lifestyle and nutritional interventions or even prophylactic drugs.
- Develop cutting-edge expertise in developmental epigenetics, new capacity in translational and clinical research (capacity building), and gain novel insights in health promotion and clinical care of metabolic disease.
O2, CO2 & metabolic rate readings for SAMS participant under canopy hood in NUH |
Molecular, genomic and epigenetic methodologies will be combined with physiological and clinical approaches in these projects:
1) Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes(GUSTO) Study
2) Singapore Adult Metabolism Study (SAMS)
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1) Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study
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Mothers will be followed up from early pregnancy to document the pregnancy conditions and growth patterns of their babies and these will be correlated with the epigenetic changes detected in the placenta and umbilical cord of their babies at birth, along with their body composition.
The team will assess how these and genomic variation relate to subsequent growth and developmental patterns which lead to a predisposition to metabolic disease later on. Mothers for this study will be recruited mainly from KK Women's and Children's Hospital and from the National University Hospital.
Website: http://www.gusto.com.sg/
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GUSTO Launch, Speakers and Guests (29th Oct 2009)
L-R (back): Prof Mark Hanson, Prof Keith Godfrey, A/Prof Kenneth Kwek, Ms Cheryl McCaffery (Industry Development Group, A*STAR), Prof Michael Meany, Mr Jay Kaelash, Dr Allan Sheppard (SICS, A*STAR), Mr James Screen (British High Commission)
L-R (front): A/Prof Chong Yap Seng, A/Prof Saw Seang Mei, Lord Robert Winston, Sir Peter Gluckman |
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2) Singapore Adult Metabolism Study (SAMS)
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SAMS collaborators in SGH Life Centre.
L-R: Doris Fok, Kaelash Jayanadan, Gladys Woon, Dr Paul Deurenberg, Dr Scott Summers, Prof Klaas R Westerterp, A/Prof Lee Yung Seng, A/Prof Tai E Shyong, Dr Eric Khoo, A/Prof Melvin Leow, Dr Khoo Chin Meng, Eric Ho. | Studies in adults with diabetes and/or obesity will evaluate the relative importance of developmental and genetic pathways in contributing to individual risk and to the efficacy of weight loss interventions. These studies will also allow us to examine mechanisms underlying insulin resistance and ethnic differences in metabolic disease risk. These studies will be conducted in investigational medicine units in National University of Singapore and Singapore General Hospital.
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Selected Publications
Mr Christopher Au, Dr Marielle Fortier, Dr Borys Shuter and Dr Jeevesh Kapur (off-camera) keep an eagle-eye on images coming in from the first GUSTO MRI in NUH. | Soh SE, Saw SM. Cohort studies: Design and pitfalls. American Journal of Ophthalmology (In Press) Mar 2010.
Godfrey KM, Gluckman PD, Hanson MA.: Developmental origins of metabolic disease: life course and intergenerational perspectives. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Jan 14.
Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Bateson P, Beedle AS, Law CM, Bhutta ZA, Anokhin KV, B ougnères P, Chandak GR, Dasgupta P, Smith GD, Ellison PT, Forrester TE, Gilbert SF, Jablonka E, Kaplan H, Prentice AM, Simpson SJ, Uauy R, West-Eberhard MJ. Towards a new developmental synthesis: adaptive developmental plasticity and human disease. Lancet. 2009 May 9;373(9675):1654-7.
Broekman BF, Chan YH, Chong YS, Quek SC, Fung D, Low YL, Ooi YP, Gluckman PD, Meaney MJ, Wong TY, Saw SM. The influence of birth size on intelligence in healthy children. Pediatrics. 2009 Jun; 123(6):e1011-6.
Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Buklijas T, Low FM, Beedle AS.: Epigenetic mechanisms that underpin metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2009 Jul;5(7):401-8.
C. McLean, E.Tng, S.K. Goh, T. Pleasants, Y.S. Chong, K. Kwek, K Godfrey, P.D. Gluckman, A.M. Sheppard. Parity affects epigenetic status at birth. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (2009), Volume 1, Supplement 1, S61-S337 & Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2009.
Emilia Tng, Siew Kheng Goh, Yap Seng Chong, Kenneth Kwek, Peter D Gluckman, Allan M Sheppard. Molecular markers of predictive value for phenotypic outcomes associated with Low Birth Weight (LBW). Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (2009), Volume 1, Supplement 1, S61-S337 & Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2009.
Hanson MA, Gluckman PD.: Developmental origins of health and disease: new insights. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2008 Feb;102(2):90-3.
Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Cooper C, Thornburg KL. Effect of in utero and early-life conditions on adult health and disease. N Engl J Med. 2008 Jul 3;359(1):61-73.
Gluckman PD, Chong YS, Fukuoka H, Beedle AS, Hanson MA. Low birthweight and subsequent obesity in Japan. Lancet. 2007 Mar 31; 369(9567):1081-2.
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