Page 5 - PULSE@UM 2nd Issue 2019

cover story

COVER STORY “Navigating towards Healthy Ageing” on the enable the risk prediction and early detection
28th of February 2019. This event was also
of Alzheimer’s Disease, Prostate Cancer,
UM-GENTING COLLABORATION FOR BETTER DEMENTIA CARE IN FACING THE held in conjunction with the celebrations of Coronary Artery Disease, and Type 2 Diabetes.
SILVER TSUNAMI: 28 FEBRUARY 2019 Genting Founder’s Day, to commemorate the He shared about developing practical
legacy and accomplishments of the late Tan strategies for maintaining cognitive function
Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr) Lim Goh Tong. This premier in later life.
event saw about 400 members from our public
and 100 plus UM fraternity members coming Hailing from San Diego, USA, we had Dr. Anders
together to listen and engage with some of Dale, a Professor of Neurosciences, Radiology,
the world’s top and most distinguished life Psychiatry, and Data Science at the University
science and biotechnology experts to share of California. He has led the development of
their insights and perspectives on some of a number of technologies that have had a
the latest medical breakthroughs on cognitive transformative impact on neuroscience and
health issues, including dementia. genetics, and was recently listed in Science
Magazine, among the top ten “most influential
Among the eminent speakers, we had Dr brain scientists of the modern era. As we
Robert Hariri, Founder & CEO of Celgene know, one of the major challenges in medicine
Cellular Therapeutics, who has pioneered is early detection or prediction of disease and
the use of human stem cells to treat a range enabling proactive intervention. In a very
of life-threatening diseases and has made exhilarating manner, Dr Anders Dale presented
Eminence Speakers Conference Series: Group photo on stage after the panel discussion. Looking on are Prof Claude Wischik (left), transformative contributions in the field of on the integration of quantitative imaging and
Prof Ng Kwan Hoong (second from left), Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (third from left), Prof Tan Maw Pin (forth from left), Prof Dato Dr
Adeeba binti Kamarulzaman (middle), Dr. Anders Dale (fourth from right), and Dr Robert J. Hariri (third from right). tissue engineering and longevity. He is also genetics for proactive medicine. This method
a member of the team which discovered the shows great promise in the risk prediction

DR MELISSA KIOH SHENG HUI to the University of Malaya’s Social Wellbeing physiological role of TNF (tumour necrosis and early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease,
DR KEJAL HASMUK Research Centre, the number of Malaysians factor). He shed some insight into augmented Prostate Cancer, Coronary Artery Disease, and
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE aged 60 years and above is projected to hit 3.5 immunity and augmented longevity. That Type 2 Diabetes.
million in 2020 and 6.3 million in 2040 — about 30 minute talk was indeed too short to learn
FIRST EVER EMINENT SPEAKERS’ SERIES 20 per cent of the total population! about our longevity! Not forgetting one of our very own, Prof
We are now in an exciting era facing the Ng Kwan Hoong from University of Malaya,
silver tsunami, but are we ready? As we know, Understanding the importance of “Healthy We also had with us Professor Claude Wischik, the first Malaysian scientist to receive the
the world’s population is ageing: virtually Ageing” and realizing it is not just about co-founder and Executive Chairman of TauRx Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award in 2018
every country in the world is experiencing adding numbers to the years, the University Pharmaceuticals. A pioneer in Tau research, who presented about the age of precision
growth in the number and proportion of older of Malaya has embraced research and Prof. Wischik subsequently discovered the scanning-decoding the ageing process. As one
persons in their population. According to data innovations for older adults in an enormous Tau protein compositional structure of the of the top 50 medical physicists in the world
from the World Population Prospects: the 2017 way. Indeed, Active Ageing was made one Alzheimer tangles and established that recognized by the International Organization
Revision, the number of older persons, those of the two niche areas under the Health and it was possible to dissolve tangles with for Medical Physics (IOMP), Prof Ng had very
aged 60 years or over, is expected to double by Wellbeing research cluster last year. In line pharmaceutically viable compounds that act precisely discussed the role of the various
2050 and triple by 2100, rising from 962 with this, this year, the Faculty of Medicine, as Tau Aggregation Inhibitors. He presented imaging tools. The series of talks that were
million globally in 2017 to 2.1 billion in University of Malaya in collaboration with a novel integrated framework for combining presented along with the every interactive
2050 and 3.1 billion in 2100. Malaysia too is Genting Berhad organized an inaugural or first genetic information with quantitative imaging, panel discussion, moderated by our very own
preparing to be an ageing nation. According of its kind - Eminent Speakers’ Series entitled molecular tests, and other health data, to Professor Tan Maw Pin – senior consultant

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