A famend international chief in educational medication and healthcare, Professor Ranga Krishnan obtained the nation’s highest honour for the sector final Friday – the President’s Science and Know-how Medal – for his function in advancing well being and biomedical sciences analysis in Singapore.
Prof Ranga, who’s now chairman of the Well being Ministry’s Nationwide Medical Analysis Council, helped set up the rising infectious illnesses programme at Duke-NUS Medical Faculty when he was dean from 2008 to 2015.
He’s additionally a member of the SingHealth board, the place he helped foster a number of essential joint initiatives, such because the Tutorial Drugs Training Institute.
He additionally established robust hyperlinks with the Company for Science, Know-how and Analysis to switch applied sciences and construct new ventures.
A lot of his work was within the space of translational science – constructing on scientific analysis to create new therapies, medical procedures or diagnostics.
“My work has all the time been on tackling points that beset sufferers and populations by constructing options… by translating analysis into helpful merchandise,” Prof Ranga stated.
Prof Ranga’s work additionally extends effectively past the Republic.
He has held, and continues to carry, essential management positions within the areas of drugs and healthcare techniques, akin to serving on the board of Group Well being Programs in the US.
In the meantime, one other award winner who has additionally excelled in translating science from bench to bedside is Professor Dario Campana, who obtained the President’s Know-how Award.
Prof Campana’s analysis centered on utilizing immune cells to deal with most cancers.
T cells – a sort of white blood cell – outfitted with a particular chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) designed by Prof Campana’s staff produced outstanding outcomes when given to sufferers with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the commonest most cancers in kids.
These CAR-T cells latch onto leukaemic cells, killing them and propagating, therefore mounting a robust anti-leukaemic response.
Medical trials to this point have confirmed that blood T cells which are extracted from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia sufferers, modified with the CAR after which reinfused again into sufferers may remedy the most cancers even when all different therapies have failed.
In addition to acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, CAR-T cells have been confirmed to be helpful in treating blood cancers lymphoma and myeloma, and can also profit sufferers with different types of most cancers sooner or later.
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Winners of the President’s Science and Know-how Awards 2020
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President’s Science and Know-how Medal:
Professor Ranga Krishnan
President’s Science Award:
• Professor Liu Jianjun
• Professor Nikolay Zheludev, Affiliate Professor Chong Yidong and Affiliate Professor Zhang Baile
President’s Know-how Award:
Professor Dario Campana
Younger Scientist Award:
• Dr Chew Wei Leong
• Assistant Professor John Ho
• Dr Tan Si Hui
