TALK 1: Rewriting the Human Genome: CRISPR and the Future of Precision Medicine
Dr Kumitaa Theva Das completed her PhD in one of the pioneer genome editing labs in the US. With close to 20 years of experience, her lab leads the development of gene therapy in this region.
Beyond her research, she is a trusted global consultant and a prestigious award recipient, including from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is chairperson of a sub-section of the national Genetic Modification Advisory Committee and a member of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group under United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
She is a TEDx talk speaker and frequently works with the media to share science-related knowledge with the public.
Dr Kumitaa Theva Das
Senior Lecturer | Institute Research in Molecular, USM
TALK 2: Emergence of AI in Bioscience: Bioinformatics, Drug Discovery & Precision Medicine
Meet Dr. Pan Jia Wern, Head of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit at Cancer Research Malaysia! With a broad background in interdisciplinary biology and computational cancer biology, his work bridges advanced data science with lifesaving oncology.
Dr Pan’s team helped establish and characterize one of the largest genomic and transcriptomic databases of Asian breast tumours from 1000 Malaysian patients, paving the way for new predictive clinical biomarkers and precision medicine clinical trials tailored to Malaysian breast cancer patients.
Today, Dr Pan and his team is pioneering cancer neoantigen discovery and
prognostic modelling of Asian breast cancer using integrative multimodal approaches.
Dr Pan Jia Wern
Head of Genomic & Bioinformatics | Cancer Research Malaysia
TALK 3: Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT): Dendritic Cell Vaccine and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy
Meet Distinguished Prof. Poh Chit Laa, former Head of Sunway University’s Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research and a powerhouse in virology with over 25 years at NUS and a PhD from Monash University!
A pioneer in infectious disease research, her work has led to groundbreaking patents for Enterovirus 71 (hand, foot, and mouth disease) antivirals, over 155 publications, and an incredible Google Scholar H-index of 55 with 9,250+ citations.
Beyond her research and global fellowships at Cambridge, Pasteur, and UCL, she has mentored 18 PhD and 15 MSc graduates, leaving an inspiring legacy in biomedical science and vaccine research.
Professor Poh Chit Laa
Chief Vaccine Development Officer | ALPS Sdn Bhd