iHealthtech NUS

30/05/2026

🪷 Happy Vesak! Sending peaceful wishes to everyone celebrating Vesak Day. May kindness and compassion guide your way. 🕊️🙏✨

26/05/2026

🕌 Selamat Hari Raya Haji! May this special day bring peace and joy to you and your loved ones.

25/05/2026

🧬 Thanks to our Principal Investigator, Dr Gloryn Chia, for presenting her latest research progress in cancer immunotherapies.

Her talk, titled "Development of Immunotherapies for Treatment of Cancer," was structured into three key sections:
1️⃣ Cancer vaccines & TCR-T cell development
2️⃣ Platforms to screen and identify anti-tumor T cells
3️⃣ Discovery of novel targets to overcome immunotherapy resistance

🔬 A key insight from her work:
Patient-derived T cells are often dysfunctional, leading to poor recognition of predicted neoantigens. By using healthy donor T cells instead, her team was able to overcome this limitation and successfully identify functional neoantigen-specific TCRs.

✅ This provides a practical and powerful approach for neoantigen validation and TCR discovery through bypassing the constraints of patient T cell repertoires in cancer immunotherapy.

We are hopeful that Dr Chia’s work will one day accelerate the development of more effective and targeted immunotherapies for patients.

🙏 A big thank you to our PI, A/Prof Lih Feng Cheow, for hosting the session.

iHealthtech Seminar Series for Presenting Innovative Research and Engagement — INSPIRE, is a seminar series features iHealthtech Principal Investigators and Postdoctoral Fellows sharing their cutting-edge work, with the goal of fostering collaboration within iHealthtech and with the broader research community in NUS.

19/05/2026

Prof Lim Chwee Teck, Director of NUS iHealthtech, joined our PI and QuatumTX/MitoCharge co-founder A/Prof Alfredo Franco-Obregón in cutting the ribbon at the newly established MitoCharge Muscle Health Centre at NUH Medical Centre on 15 May 2026.

Nurtured in NUS-led research and NUS iHealthtech ecosystem, MitoCharge is a Singapore-grown innovation designed to deliver exercise-like benefits without physical strain—by activating muscles and mitochondria through a magnetic-based approach。

The technology achieved medical device clearances/approvals across key markets in 2025, including the US (FDA), China (NMPA), Malaysia (MDA), and Singapore (HSA). Now it’s coming full circle: QuantumTX is bringing this NUS-built breakthrough back to NUH to support patients and clinicians in optimising muscle health and quality of life.

Congratulations to the NUS iHealthtech Spin-up team on another major milestone. Wishing you continued success and real impact for Singapore’s healthcare system.

12/05/2026

🗞️ DNA ‘barcodes’ help NUS researchers pinpoint gold nanoparticles that can strike cancer at its power source

Every living cell in our body needs an “power station” to function: the mitochondria, which generate the energy cells run on.

Cancer cells that grow and divide rapidly, are especially dependent on these engines, so mitochondria are an attractive target for cancer therapy.

At iHealthtech, Assistant Professor Andy Tay and his team developed a DNA “barcoding” platform that allows them to test many gold nanoparticle designs at the same time (e.g., different sizes, shapes) in living tumour models. In simple terms: each nanoparticle design gets a tiny “DNA label,” so the team can track which designs are best at navigating the body and reaching tumour mitochondria: a target that is difficult to access.

Once the most effective nanoparticles are identified, the team explored a two-pronged treatment approach:

👉🏻 Gene-silencing therapy (siRNA): switching off specific cellular instructions so the cancer cell’s mitochondria (the power station) can’t function properly

👉🏻 Photothermal therapy: using near‑infrared light to gently heat the nanoparticles and stress/kill tumour cells

In preclinical studies, a folic acid–modified, cube-shaped gold nanoparticle, used with this combined strategy, achieved 99% tumour regression.

💡 The big takeaway for this work: this is not just “a better nanoparticle”—it’s a faster, smarter way to find the best nanoparticle design for a tough biological target, bringing us closer to precision nanomedicine.

The study was published in Advanced Materials:
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202517706

NUSNews:
https://news.nus.edu.sg/dna-barcodes-help-nus-researchers-pinpoint-gold-nanoparticles/

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a high-throughput method to identify gold nanoparticles capable of delivering therapies directly to mitochondria (the energy centres inside cancer cells). By tagging nanoparticles with unique DNA “barcodes”, the team was ab...

27/04/2026

Engineering Precision Medicine: Capturing Heterogeneity from Single Cells to Single Molecules

Thank you to iHealthtech PI A/Prof Cheow Lih Feng for sharing his research on engineering platforms to navigate biological heterogeneity—a critical challenge in precision medicine.

What stood out most was how impressive and original his work is, spanning two powerful scales of resolution:

1. Single-cell platforms that go beyond static “snapshots” by combining high-throughput single-cell sequencing with measurements of dynamic cellular responses. This helps uncover the molecular determinants of individual cell behaviour and link molecular signatures to biological outcomes.

2. Single-molecule/molecular profiling technologies that leverage high-order multiplexing and absolute quantification, offering a rapid and potentially more cost-effective alternative to conventional sequencing, especially promising for clinical translation.

The ideas and discoveries shared have strong potential to mature into high-impact, translatable technologies that benefit patients through more accurate, individualised diagnostics.

Also, thank you to A/Prof Ali Asgar Bhagat for an excellent introduction that is thoughtful, accurate in tracing A/Prof Cheow’s research journey, and delivered with a great sense of humour that set a warm tone for the session.

Signature research works from A/Prof Cheow:
Nature Methods: Time-resolved assessment of single-cell protein secretion by sequencing, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-023-01841-y
Nature Biomedical Engineering: Identification, sorting and profiling of functional killer cells via the capture of fluorescent target-cell lysate, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71188-3

iHealthtech Seminar Series for Presenting Innovative Research and Engagement — INSPIRE, is a seminar series features iHealthtech Principal Investigators and Postdoctoral Fellows sharing their cutting-edge work, with the goal of fostering collaboration within iHealthtech and with the broader research community in NUS.

31/03/2026

🌟"Research achieves its greatest value when it moves beyond the laboratory – into communities, industries and the lives it ultimately seeks to improve."✨

In a recent interview, the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) inaugural Chair Professor and iHealthtech Director Lim Chwee Teck shares how he views his role not just as recognition, but as a responsibility.

His position goes beyond advancing cutting-edge research. The role amplifies his ability to mentor future scientists, bridge disciplines, and ensure that innovation in science and technology contributes meaningfully to society.

Prof Lim’s perspective shows that academic leadership today is as much about connection and impact as it is about discovery.

Read more about his perspective in artilce:
https://www.nussgraduate.org/2026/03/where-research-meets-real-world-impact-nuss-professor-lim-on-excellence-mentorship-and-building-bridges-between-academia-and-society/

30/03/2026

✨ Mixed Reality and AI Applications in Bridging Surgery and Innovation to Save Lives 🫶🏻

Thank you iHealthtech PI Dr Yujia Gao for taking the time to deliver an inspiring and insightful seminar to our institute — developing impactful, life-saving technologies with limited resources and a small team, yet reaching a level robust enough for real clinical application. That is no small feat.

Equally remarkable is Dr Gao’s dual role as both a practicing surgeon and a scientist. Balancing the demands of surgery with leading technological innovation requires extraordinary discipline, focus, and a deep commitment to improving patient outcomes. It is a powerful reminder that meaningful healthcare innovation is driven not only by ideas, but by relentless dedication.

From advancing mixed reality and AI applications in surgery, to enabling remote surgical collaboration and care in underserved regions such as Ghana and Indonesia, Dr Gao’s work demonstrates how technology can truly transcend borders and save lives.

We are also excited to see collaborations in motion, including work alongside our institute Director and PI Prof Lim Chwee Teck, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary partnerships in pushing the boundaries of what is possible in healthcare.

Thank you again, Dr Gao, for sharing your journey and vision with us.

Thank you A/Prof Alfredo Franco-Obregón for hosting the seminar.

We warmly invite potential collaborators who are passionate about developing life-saving technologies to join this effort and reach out to Dr Gao — there is immense potential in coming together to make a tangible difference.

🌐 iHealthtech Website:
🔗 https://ihealthtech.nus.edu.sg/
iHealthtech is a platform that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, clinicians, data scientists, and industry partners. Visit our website to learn more about how we are advancing healthcare through innovation and technology.

🩸iHealthtech Donation Page:
https://ihealthtech.nus.edu.sg/donation/
Your support helps us continue our mission to translate research into real-world healthcare impact. Find out how your contribution can make a difference in improving health for everyone.

20/03/2026

🕌 Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! 🌙✨

Wishing all our Muslim friends a joyous celebration filled with forgiveness, gratitude, and togetherness. May this festive season bring peace, happiness, and prosperity to you and your loved ones.

To friends of all faiths and backgrounds, may this occasion be a reminder of the beauty of sharing, compassion, and unity. Let us continue to celebrate diversity and strengthen the bonds that bring us closer as a community.

Warmest wishes for a wonderful Hari Raya filled with love, laughter, and meaningful moments with family and friends. 💚

18/03/2026