Download press release

PRESS RELEASE
14 SEPTEMBER 2010
PRESS RELEASE
17 JAN 2011
SCIENTISTS AND CLINICIANS GATHER AT 4TH INTERNATIONAL SINGAPORE
SYMPOSIUM OF IMMUNOLOGY TO DISCUSS WAYS TO FIGHT MALARIA AND
AUTOIMMUNITY
1. This year’s Singaporean Society for Immunology’s (SSI) 4th International
Singapore Symposium of Immunology will bring together over 300 clinicians and
scientists to discuss ongoing research in various immunological fields ranging from
tumour immunology to infectious diseases (including Chikungunya and Hepatitis B).
This 4thsymposium will also be the first in the series to include a session on clinical
immunology, helping to further facilitate engagement and dialogue between the
clinical and scientific communities in the fight against disease.
2. The two keynote lectures at the symposium will deal with malaria and
autoimmunity. The first keynote speaker, Dr Jean Langhorne, Programme Leader at
the Division of Parasitology, Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical
Research, London, will discuss the role of T cells (a type of immune cell) in the body’s
response to malarial infection. Dr Langhorne is an expert on malaria and has sat on
numerous advisory boards involved in the fight against the disease, and his insights
into how the body’s immune system fights malaria may help in the design of vaccines
to combat the disease. Infectious diseases are a major cause of human suffering and
account for about 15% of deaths worldwide1. Malaria alone costs the world 34 million
years2 of health, the bulk of which is borne by developing countries.
3. The second keynote lecture will be delivered by Dr Xuetao Cao, Director of the
National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology & Institute of Immunology, Second
Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Dr Cao will present his findings
concerning the role of antigen-presenting cells in inflammation and autoimmune3
diseases. Autoimmune diseases collectively affect 5-10 percent of the developed
world's population and are a significant cause of death worldwide. It is hoped that Dr
Cao’s findings may one day play a role in the development of much needed
treatments for autoimmunity.
1
Data taken from the World Health Organisantion’s 2004 study on the global burden of disease.
“Year” here refers to the DALY, or disability-adjusted life year, is a measure of the overall burden of a
disease. It is a time-based measure that takes into account years of life lost due to premature mortality
and years of life lost due to time lived in states of less than full health. One DALY represents the loss of
the equivalent of one year of full health.
3
Autoimmunity refers to a condition where an organism is attacked by its own immune system. There
are over 100 known autoimmune diseases, including lupus, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis,
Crohn's disease, autoimmune hepatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
2
4. Some other highlights of the symposium include:
• “Immune correlates of protection and pathology in Chikungunya” by Dr Lisa Ng,
Principal Investigator at SIgN. Dr Ng will present her work on how the immune
system copes with the Chikungunya virus. Such knowledge may eventually be
exploited to develop new immune-based preventive and treatment strategies against
Chikungunya.
• “Strategies to Restore Defective Virus-specific Immunity in chronic HBV infection”
by Dr Antonio Bertoletti, Programme Director and Research Director, Singapore
Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore. Dr Bertoletti will discuss his efforts to
create chemicals that can kill hepatitis B infected cells and their potential
applications for future therapy.
• “Donor matching for transplantation: HLA and beyond” by Dr Willang Hwang, Senior
Consultant, Haematology, Singapore General Hospital. Dr Hwang will discuss issues
involved in stem cell transplantation for the treatment of diseases for the blood and
bone marrow.
5. Said Professor Philippe Kourilsky, Chairman of SIgN, and Honorary President of
the SSI, “The immune system is deeply intertwined with the functioning of the human
body; a better understanding of the immune system will provide deep insights into
combating problems in areas such as cancer, organ transplants, hepatitis, and
diabetes. The SSI will continue to create platforms to advance the science of
immunology and to promote co-operation in Immunology amongst the various
universities, research institutes and hospitals in Singapore.”
6. Said Professor Paola Castagnoli, Scientific Director of SIgN and Vice President of
the SSI, “I am glad to see a significant participation of our colleagues from the
medical field in this year’s symposium. Dialogue between the scientific and medical
communities is of utmost importance in the fight against disease and I hope that the
conversation between clinicians and scientists will spark new ideas for the
development of novel treatments for many debilitating conditions.”
7. The International Singapore Symposium of Immunology in organised annually by
the SSI together with two institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology and
Research (A*STAR) – the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) and the Singapore
Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) – as well as the National University of Singapore
(NUS), and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). This year’s symposium will
be held in Biopolis, Singapore, from the 17th to the 18th of January, 2011. A detailed
programme of the symposium is attached in the Annex.
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
For more information, please contact:
Joshua Tan (Mr)
Corporate Communications
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Tel: (65) 6826 6353
Email: [email protected]
About the Singaporean Society for Immunology (SSI)
The SSI was founded in 2008 with the mission of linking up Immunologists in
Singapore and internationally for the advancement of immunology. The society
achieves this by providing a platform for research co-operation amongst the various
research organizations and by building connections with international immunological
societies.
For more information about SSI, please visit www.ssi.org.sg.
About the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)
The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), officially inaugurated on 15 January
2008, is a research consortium under the Agency for Science, Technology and
Research (A*STAR)’s Biomedical Research Council. The mandate of SIgN is to
advance human immunology research and participate in international efforts to
combat major health problems. Since its launch, SIgN has grown rapidly and
currently includes 200 scientists from 25 different countries of the world working
under 20 renowned principal investigators. At SIgN, researchers investigate
immunity during infections and inflammatory conditions including cancer and are
supported by cutting edge technological research platforms and core services.
Through this, SIgN aims to build a strong platform in basic human immunology
research for better translation of research findings into clinical applications. SIgN also
sets out to establish productive links with local and international institutions, and
encourage the exchange of ideas and expertise between academic, industrial and
clinical partners and thus contribute to a vibrant research environment in Singapore.
For more information about SIgN, please visit www.sign.a-star.edu.sg.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is the lead agency for
fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based
and innovation-driven Singapore. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences, and
physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and seven consortia &
centres, which are located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as their immediate
vicinity.
A*STAR supports Singapore's key economic clusters by providing intellectual,
human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. It also supports extramural
research in the universities, hospitals, research centres, and with other local and
international partners.
For more information about A*STAR, please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.