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“We believe that these findings will also be applicable to other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementias,” said Dr. Ng. With this model, the team is well-positioned to uncover new therapeutic strategies for complex brain disorders.


Image: Comparison of healthy (left) and ALS-affected (right) brain organoid cultures. The right panel shows widespread presence of phosphorylated TDP43 in the cytoplasm, resembling the TDP43 proteinopathy seen in 97% of ALS patients.

Members of the CRP project team.

Uncovering Drug-Tolerant Cell States in Cancer
Despite major investments in cancer research and the development of numerous anti-cancer therapies, drug resistance remains a formidable barrier in precision medicine. Resistance can be inherent, where there is no initial clinical response, or acquired, where tumours relapse after an initial period of treatment success. These resistance mechanisms severely limit the durability of therapeutic responses and pose a key challenge in oncology.

The project seeks to identify predictive biomarkers and therapeutic vulnerabilities across distinct resistance states—including persister populations—to better understand the underlying biology of resistance. By uncovering these mechanisms, the team aims to directly inform clinical decision-making and support the development of more durable, personalised cancer therapies that can improve long-term patient outcomes.


Members of the CRP project team (from left to right): Assoc Prof Daniel Tan (NCCS), Dr. Tee Wee-Wei (A*STAR IMCB), Dr. Jayantha Gunaratne (A*STAR IMCB), Dr. Manikandan Lakshmanan (A*STAR IMCB), and Dr. Snow Lee (EDDC), at the National Research Foundation.