On December 22 2023, we were delighted to host Professor Lim Yoon Pin, Director and Chief Scientist of the Guoke Ningbo Life science and Health industry Research Institute. Upon invitation by Professor Li Guogeng (School of Medicine, Shenzhen University), Professor Lim Yoon gave an interesting lecture titled "WBP2 Oncogene in Breast Cancer Early Detection and Precision Medicine".

During his lecture, Professor Lim outlined his scientific journey, from the first discovery of the breast cancer oncogene WBP2, to the potential application of this discovery in the fields of early cancer detection and precision medicine. He explained how he not only discovered new therapeutic targets in the field of breast cancer, but also conducted in-depth research on the role of WBP2 in other cancer types, providing valuable inspiration to various fields of cancer research.

Professor Lim explained how his research also focuses on transforming scientific results into practical applications. For example, his team successfully developed an efficient in vitro diagnostic tool for the early detection of breast and gastric cancer, which is expected to improve the accuracy of early cancer screening and enable patients to receive treatment earlier. Perhaps most exciting is that Professor Lim has proposed a drug treatment strategy that is based on targeting WBP2, thus highlighting how his research is at the forefront of bringing new treatment prospects to cancer patients.

The content of this lecture not only demonstrated Professor Lim’s outstanding achievements in the field of cancer, but also provided inspiration for new avenues of tumor-related research. After the report, Professor Lim answered many questions and received an enthusiastic response from the teachers and students in attendance.

Brief introduction of Speakers

Lim Yoon Pin graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a BSc (Honors) in microbiology and immunology. He obtained his PhD from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore. Prior to his arrival in China, he had held appointments at the Harvard Medical School, National University of Singapore and served as the Chief Scientific Officer at Oncotec Private Limited, an in-vitro diagnostics startup that he founded. He remains a non-executive director and scientific advisor at Oncotec Pte Ltd.

In February 2023, Lim Yoon Pin joined the Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences where he serves as the Director and a Principal Investigator (PI) at the Cancer Precision Medicine Research Innovation Centre.

Lim Yoon Pin has been awarded 10 patents, with 4 being licensed and/or commercialized. He has published more than 60 peer reviewed papers and has secured more than SGD10 million and SGD30 million as PI and co-PI, respectively.  He is recognized as a global leader in WBP2 oncogene research.