PRL-3 Phosphatase & Cancer Therapy

Min Thura obtained his M.B.B.S at University of Medicine-1 (Yangon, Myanmar) in 1998 and Master of Medical Sciences (Pharmacology) at the same University in 2003. He received the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship and obtained his PhD at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in the neuroscience and live imaging program in 2009. Before joining the lab, he worked as a research fellow in Hamamatsu University School of Medicine for 2 years. He has work experiences in different health care sectors in Myanmar – as a clinician in hospitals, a teacher in a medical university, and a clinical pharmacologist in FDA Myanmar. Min has been active in pre-clinical and clinical work for PRL3 biology and therapeutics in the lab since 2012.

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Koon Hwee did his undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences and Traditional Chinese Medicine, a unique double degree program at Nanyang Technological University in collaboration with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (2013). After which, he received the A*STAR National Science Scholarship (NSS-PhD) to pursue his DPhil in Oncology at the University of Oxford (2019) and completed a one-year stint as a research fellow at the Vascular Biology Program in Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard University). His DPhil thesis is on the role of a novel gene in tumor angiogenesis. His current lab research focus is mainly on the role of PRL3 in vascular biology relevant to human diseases. Outside of work, Koon Hwee enjoys exercising at the gym studio and exploring art.

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Pei Ling is an A*STAR National Science Scholarship (NSS BS-PhD) scholarship recipient. She received her BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Brown University (2015) and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Cancer Biology) from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2022). Her thesis involved the use of genome-wide CRISPR screens to identify genes mediating chemoresistance in breast cancer. She validated a novel gene to be involved in resistance to paclitaxel, a microtubule-stabilizing agent, and uncovered a mechanism of action involving metabolic reprogramming. Her current interests in the lab are in dissecting the role of another tumor-specific phosphatase related to PRL3 in cancer progression, and the use of mAb to target this tumor-specific antigen. Pei Ling has a strong interest in scientific writing and outreach. She enjoys baking cupcakes and creative makeup artistry. 

Li Jie graduated with a Masters in Business Administration and has been working in the lab for more than 20 years. Her expertise is in generating mouse mAbs, such as the the anti-PRL3 mAb (M318) which is highly specific to the PRL3 protein. She is also very experienced in histology. She enjoys singing and dancing during her free time.​

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Kam Yew completed his undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University. He joined the lab in 2021 and acquired experience in molecular sciences and various laboratory techniques such as Western blot and ELISA to assist the lab. Kam Yew’s favourite sport is rock climbing and he spend most of his free time in the climbing gym.

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Weihui is the deputy chief physician of head and neck thyroid surgery in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. She received her PhD from Soochow University and completed her postdoctoral training in the Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is also a core member in the laboratory of head and neck cancer translational research of Zhejiang Province. She is also a member of the Special Committee of Zhejiang Federation of minimally invasive surgery. Her research focuses on reducing the complications of thyroid surgery, such as protecting parathyroid and recurrent laryngeal nerves. Due to her interest in internal therapy of thyroid cancer such as immunotherapy, she is currently attached to the lab to learn more about PRL3-zumab treatment in cancers.   

Zhangke is a chief physician of department of Radiation Oncology in Affiliated Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, P.R. China. She received her PhD from Zhejiang University of traditional Chinese Medicine. She is also a core member in the CSCO tumour Hyperthermia expert Committee, Deputy head of Hyperthermia Group of radiation Oncology Branch of Chinese Medical Association and Young member of Oncology radiotherapy Branch of Chinese Physicians Association. She is currently attached to the lab to learn more about PRL3-zumab treatment in cancers. She hopes to translate clinical doubts and difficulties through some basic research results, subsequently seek for more and better treatment opportunities for the patients.