University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) Associate Professor Dr Ho Weang Kee, discussed her research with Astro Awani and BFM.
The interview on Astro Awani was featured on The Future is Female on 4 September 2020.
Hosted by Melissa Idris, the show highlighted Dr Ho’s ground-breaking genetic study on the risk of breast cancer in Asian populations, where she co-led the collaborative project with collaborators from Malaysia, Singapore and University of Cambridge.
Dr Ho said that the breast cancer survival rate in Malaysia was poor, especially with the number of five-year remission survivors as a result of late-stage diagnosis.
She went on to tell Melissa that the collaborative work could contribute to an understanding of whether it was possible to target expensive mammography at women who were at the highest risk of getting the disease. This way of targeting could ensure that more resources could be allocated to the women in the highest risk group.
Dr Ho’s work is possible as it builds on the research led by Professor Datin Paduka Dr Teo Soo-Hwang, OBE, Chief Scientific Officer of Cancer Research Malaysia. Professor Teo, who was also a guest on the show, established the largest breast cancer study in Malaysia to determine the genetic and lifestyle determinants of breast cancer risk in Southeast Asian women.
“We hope that since this score will give women a more accurate idea of their risk of getting the disease, it would raise their awareness of the disease and encourage them to be breast aware and motivate them to continue attending mammography screening,” said Dr Ho.
Both Dr Ho and Professor Teo also appeared on BFM’s Health & Living segment on 26 August 2020 to discuss and inform listeners about their research.
UNM’s CEO and Provost Professor Graham Kendall said: “We are extremely proud of Weang Kee’s achievement, the awards which she has won and the paper she has published. It is great example of the ground breaking research conducted by the University."
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For media enquiries please contact: Josephine Dionisappu, PR and Communications Manager University of Nottingham Malaysia at josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
Posted on 14th September 2020