SINGAPORE \u2013 The study and treatment of heart disease in the region have been boosted by the opening of the first centre in Singapore dedicated to stem cell research of the Asian heart that can be developed into treatments.<\/p>\n
Launched on Oct 16, the Centre for Integrative Human Cell Research and Translation (CIPHER) aims to ensure that the science behind heart disease treatment takes into account the biology of Asian patients.<\/p>\n
Its deputy director, Chrishan Ramachandra, said Asian patients develop heart disease earlier, experience different symptoms, and tend to fare worse than their Western counterparts. Yet for decades, the models used to study cardiovascular disease and develop treatments for Asian patients have been built largely on animal models and Western biology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to study Asian cardiovascular biology in more detail from stem cells acquired from a 5ml blood sample,\u201d said Chrishan, who is also the principal investigator with the National Heart Research Institute Singapore (NHRIS) and the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS).<\/p>\n
The blood is \u201creprogrammed by exposing it to certain cocktails and turning it into stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (in) the hope of trying to improve cardiovascular outcomes for these (Asian) populations\u201d.<\/p>\n
Chrishan added: \u201cThe centre\u2019s mission is to accelerate our discovery (and develop) precision therapeutics for Asian cardiovascular diseases using human stem cell models and advanced multimodal platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
NHCS, whose library forms the foundation of CIPHER\u2019s research programme, has developed more than 40 patient-derived disease models covering conditions such as heart failure, arrhythmogenic disorders, and cardiomyopathy.<\/p>\n
Arrhythmogenic disorders are rare, inherited conditions where the heart muscle cells fail to stick together properly, and are gradually replaced by scar tissues and fat.<\/p>\n Chrishan Ramachandra (left) and Derek Hausenloy are the deputy director and director of CIPHER.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that causes it to stretch, thicken, or stiffen, making it difficult for the organ to pump blood effectively to the rest of the body.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we grow a heart muscle cell from a patient\u2019s own blood and watch it beat in a dish, carrying that patient\u2019s disease, we are looking at something no animal model can replicate,\u201d Chrishan said.<\/p>\n Derek Hausenloy, director of CIPHER, NHRIS and NHCS, said the cell platforms can be used to test drugs, as well as to improve heart function and metabolism.<\/p>\n \u201c(With these platforms), we are able to see which patients are more likely to be responsive without giving the drug to the patient himself and exposing him to the potential side effects or a drug that may or may not work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n CIPHER was officially launched by Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How at the 6th NHCS Heart to Heart Gala at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are placing greater emphasis on prevention, earlier intervention and helping Singaporeans stay healthy and independent for longer,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n \u201cInnovation can support this shift, but its value is not measured by how sophisticated a technology is. It is measured by what it changes for the very important people \u2013 the patients we cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n CIPHER deputy director Chrishan Ramachandra observing a cardiac organoid, a three-dimensional cluster of heart cells grown from Asian patients\u2019 blood samples.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n In Singapore, about 23 people die from heart disease and stroke every day, with cardiovascular disease accounting for one in three deaths in 2025.<\/p>\n Hausenloy said: \u201cSingapore is ideal for research (into the Asian heart) because of the varied ethnicity we have in our local populations \u2013 the Chinese, the Malays, and the Indians. This gives us an opportunity to really understand Asian cardiovascular diseases in an ethnic-specific context.\u201d<\/p>\n Apart from using stem cells from the blood samples of patients, CIPHER has partnered with clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Medera Inc to develop Human Heart-in-a-Jar<\/span><\/a>, a miniaturised bioengineered human ventricular chamber that allows researchers to replicate and study selected features of human heart disease.<\/p>\n Centre for Integrative Human Cell Research and Translation (CIPHER) deputy director Chrishan Ramachandra (left) and director Derek Hausenloy on Oct 13.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The mini-heart model about the size of a fingertip \u2013 a first in Asia \u2013 offers a more physiologically relevant platform for testing potential treatments.<\/p>\n \u201cBy making these models, we want to identify specific drivers of the disease to find out why Asians have these unique cardiovascular phenotypes, identify new targets, and develop personalised therapies,\u201d Hausenloy said.<\/p>\n At the centre launch, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine Centre also announced its inaugural professorship in cardiothoracic surgery named after surgeon Tong Ming Chuan.<\/p>\n Tong, who is currently in private practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, is also a visiting consultant at NHCS.<\/p>\n When he was at the Singapore General Hospital from 1981 to 1992, he and his colleagues pioneered a number of cardiac surgery procedures, including the nation\u2019s first heart transplant operation in 1990. He was part of the team that did the first lung transplant here in 2000.<\/p>\n The Tong Ming Chuan Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery \u2013 made possible by a $2.5 million gift from Tong \u2013 is aimed at advancing clinical excellence, driving surgical research and nurturing future surgical leaders.<\/p>\n The professorship, established under the Cardiovascular Sciences Academic Clinical Programme at SingHealth Duke-NUS, will be awarded by Duke-NUS Medical School.<\/p>\n Chief executive officer of NHCS Yeo Khung Keong said: \u201cThrough CIPHER and the Tong Ming Chuan Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery, we are making two complementary commitments to the future of cardiovascular care.<\/p>\n \u201cCIPHER ensures the science we build is grounded in the biology of our patients and strengthens Singapore\u2019s position as a biomedical hub. The professorship ensures that we have the surgical leaders to translate that science into care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 The study and treatment of heart disease in the region have been boosted by the opening of the first centre in Singapore dedicated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/93760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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Tong Ming Chuan Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery<\/h2>\n
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