SABCS Speakers

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Prof Elgene Lim was awarded his medical degree from the University of Melbourne. He obtained his medical oncology fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2006, and subsequently embarked on a PhD as a National Breast Cancer Foundation Scholar at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute with eminent Australian breast cancer researchers Professors Jane Visvader & Geoffrey Lindemann. His research identified the aberrant cells in carriers of the BRCA1 mutant gene, a hereditary breast cancer syndrome, which are the likely culprit cells giving rise to breast cancer. He furthered his research and clinical training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of internationally acclaimed leaders in breast cancer research Professors Eric Winer & Myles Brown, through fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, and Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He was awarded the National Breast Cancer Foundation Practitioner Fellowship in 2014 and returned from Boston to Australia. In 2015, he was recruited to lead the Connie Johnson Breast Cancer Research Group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and appointed as a Senior Staff Oncologist & Director of translational research at St Vincent’s Hospital and the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, where he oversees the breast cancer clinical trials portfolio. In 2017, he was awarded the inaugural National Breast Cancer Foundation Endowed Chair. He is a Professor with the University of New South Wales, and has maintained strong links with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He is on the scientific advisory committee of the ANZ Breast Cancer Trialist Group, the peak Breast Cancer Trials Co-operative group in Australia, and a member of the American Association of Cancer Research and American Society of Clinical Oncologists.

Dr Faye was born and raised in East Malaysia and graduated from University in Nottingham, UK. She has worked in several hospitals in Queensland since 2015 including Nambour, Redlands, Princess Alexandra and the Bundaberg Hospital, and in various disciplines including Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and various Internal Medicine sub-specialties. Faye has an interest interested in all aspects of General Practice for now and looks forward to starting at the Family Health Clinic soon. In her free time she likes to read, draw, workout, and play the guitar. ​She also speaks basic Mandarin and Malay.

Dr Shaheenah Dawood is a Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor in Clinical Oncology in the United Arab Emirates. She was trained in medical oncology at McGill University Hospitals in Canada and subspecialized in breast cancer management at MD Anderson Cancer Center. During her training, she was awarded multiple scholar training awards besides ASCO merit awards. Dr Shaheenah has served as an editorial fellow at the New England Journal of Medicine and has an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has over 100 papers to her credit including 50 peer review original articles, 30 review articles, and 12 book chapters. Having served as a reviewer for multiple journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology she is currently leading the oncology clinical trials program at Mediclinic City Hospital, Dubai. She also serves as President of Excellence in Oncology Care (EIOC) annual congress held in Dubai and is Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Breast Cancer Summit (APBCS), Asia Pacific Gastrointestinal Cancer Summit (APGCS) ,the international BRCA forum (iBRCAf) and Young Women Forum (YWF) from over a decade.

Dr Tira Tan is a consultant medical oncologist at the National Cancer Centre Singapore with a clinical focus in the treatment of breast cancers and early phase drug development. Dr Tan chairs the pre-operative and young women’s breast cancer programs at NCCS and is the divisional deputy director of research as well as a primary and co-investigator on many early and late phase studies specifically in novel therapeutics and treatment strategies in triple negative breast cancer.

Dr Veronique Tan is a general surgeon with sub-specialty interest in breast surgery. She trained in Breast Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore and completed her Singhealth HMDP Fellowship in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery – a subspecialty that incorporates breast surgical oncology with plastic surgical techniques for partial and postmastectomy breast reconstruction in breast cancer surgery, at the Nottingham Breast Institute, UK. She aims to contribute to the multidisciplinary care for each patient with breast cancer – to offer surgical expertise in breast surgical oncology and breast remodelling / reconstruction, such that every patient may have surgical options individualised for her. Active in research and teaching, Dr Tan holds a Masters of Science (Research) and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students from the NUS and Duke-NUS medical schools. She has presented at numerous international and local conferences, and also published scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her clinical research interests currently include the surgical management of the breast and axilla in the era of neoadjuvant systemic for breast cancer and breast cancer in young women. Dr Tan’s practice covers the diagnosis and surgical treatment of symptomatic and screen-detected breast cancer and breast reconstruction.

Dr. Virginia G. Kaklamani is a professor of medicine in the division of hematology/oncology at UT Health San Antonio and is the leader of the Breast Cancer Program at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kaklamani completed her medical training with honors at the University of Athens and her residency in internal medicine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Boston. She completed her fellowship in hematology/oncology at Northwestern University. She also received a master of science degree in clinical investigation from Northwestern University. She was head of the Translational Breast Cancer Program at Northwestern University and co-director of Northwestern's cancer genetics program. Her research interests include studying high-risk families and identifying genetic mutations that are associated with an increased risk for breast, colon and prostate cancer. She has identified several genetic mutations related to obesity that increase the risk of breast cancer. Dr. Kaklamani is a clinical investigator with expertise in designing clinical trials with targeted agents.

Dr Wong Nan Soon is an oncologist practising at Gleneagles Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Hospitals, Singapore. His subspecialty interests are in breast cancer and gastrointestinal cancer. He completed his advanced specialty training in general medical oncology in 2003, and subsequently a clinical fellowship subspecializing in breast medical oncology in Sunnybrook and Women’s Health Science Centre in Canada, where he trained under world-renowned breast oncologists including Professor Kathleen Pritchard. He was promoted to the position of consultant in 2006 and subsequently rose to the position of senior consultant and chief of the breast team in the department of medical oncology at National Cancer Centre, Singapore.

Dr Yoon-Sim Yap is a Senior Consultant in the Department of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore, and Visiting Consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She obtained her undergraduate medical degree from the University of Adelaide in Australia, and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Dr. Yap has been practicing in Singapore since 2006, focusing mainly on breast cancer. Dr. Yap also aims to promote cancer awareness in the local population through public education, and provide holistic management of cancer patients through patient support groups and programs.