Prof William Hwang

MBBS, M Med(Int Med), FRCP(London), FAMS

Senior Consultant

National Cancer Centre Singapore

Specialty/Department: Haematology

Clinical Interest: Haematopoietic Stem Cell ＆ Cellular Therapy

Conditions Treated by this Doctor:
Acute Leukaemia, Aplastic Anaemia, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Myelofibrosis.

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Clinical Appointments

Senior Consultant National Cancer Centre Singapore
Senior Consultant SingHealth Duke-NUS Blood Cancer Centre
Senior Consultant SingHealth Duke-NUS Transplant Centre
Senior Consultant Haematology Singapore General Hospital

Academic Appointments

Professor

Profile

Professor William Hwang is a haemato-oncologist with over 25 years’ experience in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy. His clinical and research focus is primarily in cell therapy and stem cell transplants. He currently serves as Senior Consultant of the Department of Haematology, Singapore General Hospital and National Cancer Centre Singapore, Co-Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute of Singapore (REMEDIS) and Senior Advisor for SingHealth. In 2023, he was the recipient of the National Outstanding Clinician Award.

Professor Hwang is also Chair of the Board Organising Committee (BOC) of the Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium (STCC), Chair of the Advisory Board of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC), BOC member of the Advanced Cell Therapy Research Institute of Singapore (ACTRIS), Co-Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Cancer (NACC) and Deputy Chair of the MOH Clinical Services Strategy Committee for Cell Therapy (CSSC-CT).

Professor Hwang previously served as CEO of the National Cancer Centre Singapore (2017-2023), Director, SingHealth Transplant; Head, SingHealth Duke-NUS Blood Cancer Centre; Head, Department of Haematology, Singapore General Hospital and Medical Director, Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB).

In recognition of his international standing in the field of haematology, cell therapy and stem cell transplantation, he was previously elected President of the World Marrow Donor Association, President of the Singapore Society of Haematology, Chairman for the Chapter of Haematologists for the Academy of Medicine Singapore and Advisory Committee Member for the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), and Executive Board Member of the Asia Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT). He has also served as Co-Chair of the MOH Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy (CTGT) Workgroup, and Co-Chair of the MOH Tissue Banking Working Committee.

Professor Hwang is a faculty member of the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Programme in Duke-NUS. He has published over 150 clinical and scientific papers in the field of haematology and oncology as well as several books.

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Education

MBBS
M Med (Int Med)
MRCP (UK)
FAMS
FRCP (London)
MBA (UCLA and NUS)

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Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

Vice President (Asia), International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT).
Lead, Secretariat General, Asian National Cancer Centre Alliance (ANCCA)
Global Committee member, European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)
Fellow, Royal College of Physicians (London)
International Member, American Society of Hematology

Awards

National Outstanding Clinician Award 2023
See Lai Ngor Prize (top UCLA-NUS eMBA student of the 2022 cohort)
SingHealth Long Service Award 2023 SingHealth Game Changer Award (2017)
SingHealth GCEO Excellence Awards: Outstanding Clinician Researcher Award (2015)
SingHealth Transplant Most Outstanding Doctor Award (2015)
Duke-NUS Pioneer Award (2013)
Outstanding Faculty for Engagement (Molecules and Cells) (2012)
Singapore Health Quality Service Award (Star) (2011)
Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management and Leadership (Singapore Management University) (2010)
Heart of Gold Award (SGH) (2010)
Distinguished Faculty, Molecules and Cells, Duke-NUS Medical School (2010)
Singapore General Hospital Service Quality “Service with a Heart” Award #5; February (2009)
EXSA Excellent Service Award (Gold) (2008)
Singapore General Hospital Service Quality “Service with a Heart” Award #3 and 4; (2007) (x2)
Outstanding Faculty, Body and Disease Course. Duke-NUS Medical School. (2008)
EXSA Excellent Service Award (Silver) (2007)
SingHealth Mentorship grant award for attachment to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (2006)
SingHealth Long Service Award (2005)

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Research Interests

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, Ex vivo expansion of cord blood hematopoietic stem cells, Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy.

Publications

H-Index: 34 (Google Scholar Citation) (as at 10 Jan 2023)

PubMed Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1dgCwdr-kYFAu/bibliography/public/

Huang X, Gan GPL, Chan EHL, Heng KK, Perumal S, Salleh R, Teo JML, Xie G, Lee JJ, Ho AYL, Hwang WYK, Linn YC, Chen Y, Quek JKS, Than H, Nagarajan C, Lim FLWI. A proposed predictive mathematical model for efficient T-cell collection by leukapheresis for manufacturing chimeric antigen receptor T cells. Haematologica. 2023 Nov 1;108(11):3131-3134. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2022.282350. PubMed PMID: 37165850; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10620588.
Ng JWK, Tan KW, Guo DY, Lai JJH, Fan X, Poon Z, Lim TH, Lim AST, Lim TKH, Hwang WYK, Li S, Eaves CJ, Goh YT, Cheung AMS. Cord blood-derived V(δ)2(+) and V(δ)2(-) T cells acquire differential cell state compositions upon in vitro expansion. Sci Adv. 2023 Jun 16;9(24):eadf3120. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3120. Epub 2023 Jun 16. PubMed PMID: 37327346; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10275585.
Krishnan V, Schmidt F, Nawaz Z, Venkatesh PN, Lee KL, Ren X, Chan ZE, Yu M, Makheja M, Rayan NA, Lim MGL, Cheung AMS, Bari S, Chng WJ, Than H, Ouyang J, Rackham O, Tan TZ, Hwang WYK, Chuah C, Prabhakar S, Ong ST. A single-cell atlas identifies pretreatment features of primary imatinib resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2023 Jun 1;141(22):2738-2755. doi: 10.1182/blood.2022017295. PubMed PMID: 36857629.
Lin C, Schwarzbach A, Sanz J, Montesinos P, Stiff P, Parikh S, Brunstein C, Cutler C, Lindemans CA, Hanna R, Koh LP, Jagasia MH, Valcarcel D, Maziarz RT, Keating AK, Hwang WYK, Rezvani AR, Karras NA, Fernandes JF, Rocha V, Badell I, Ram R, Schiller GJ, Volodin L, Walters MC, Hamerschlak N, Cilloni D, Frankfurt O, McGuirk JP, Kurtzberg J, Sanz G, Simantov R, Horwitz ME. Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation with Omidubicel: A Pooled Analysis of Five Prospective Clinical Trials. Transplant Cell Ther. 2023 May;29(5):338.e1-338.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jtct.2023.01.031. Epub 2023 Feb 10. PubMed PMID: 36775201; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10149622.
Fan X, Ng CT, Guo D, Lim F, Tan JC, Law A, Goh LH, Poon ZY, Cheung A, Kong SL, Tan M, Li S, Loh A, James A, Lim T, Chen J, Thumboo J, Hwang W, Low A. Dampened Inflammation and Improved Survival After CXCL5 Administration in Murine Lupus via Myeloid and Neutrophil Pathways. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023 Apr;75(4):553-566. doi: 10.1002/art.42383. Epub 2023 Feb 22. PubMed PMID: 36240108.
Ong SY, Chen Y, Tan MSY, Ho AYL, Hwang WYK, Lim FLWI. Current perspectives on resistance to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and strategies to improve efficacy in B-cell lymphoma. Eur J Haematol. 2023 Mar 29;. doi: 10.1111/ejh.13964. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 36987995.
Seng MS, Meierhofer AC, Lim FL, Soh SY, Hwang WYK. A Review of CAR-T Therapy in Pediatric and Young Adult B-Lineage Acute Leukemia: Clinical Perspectives in Singapore. Onco Targets Ther. 2023;16:165-176. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S271373. eCollection 2023. Review. PubMed PMID: 36941828; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10024535.
Tham CY, Poon L, Yan T, Koh JYP, Ramlee MK, Teoh VSI, Zhang S, Cai Y, Hong Z, Lee GS, Liu J, Song HW, Hwang WYK, Teh BT, Tan P, Xu L, Koh AS, Osato M, Li S. High-throughput telomere length measurement at nucleotide resolution using the PacBio high fidelity sequencing platform. Nat Commun. 2023 Jan 17;14(1):281. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-35823-7. PubMed PMID: 36650155; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9845338.
Lin C, Sajeev G, Stiff PJ, Brunstein CG, Cutler C, Sanz G, Lindemans CA, Rezvani AR, Hanna R, Koh LP, Maziarz RT, Hwang WYK, Song Y, Liu Q, Manghani R, Sivaraman S, Signorovitch J, Horwitz ME, Sung AD. Health-Related Quality of Life Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation with Omidubicel versus Umbilical Cord Blood. Transplant Cell Ther. 2023 Jan;29(1):52.e1-52.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.jtct.2022.09.018. Epub 2022 Sep 28. PubMed PMID: 36179986; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9825638.
Hwang WY, Bari S, Ng L, Itahana K, Li S, Koh J, Than H. Basic hematopoiesis and leukemia stem cells. In: Gill H, Kwong Y, editors.Pathogenesis and Treatment of Leukemia [Internet] 1 ed. London, UK: Springer Nature; 2023. Chapter 1; p.1-12. 275p. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3810-0_1.
Chua AWC, Guo D, Tan JC, Lim FTW, Ong CT, Masilamani J, Lim TKH, Hwang WYK, Lim IJ, Chen J, Phan TT, Fan X. Intraperitoneally Delivered Umbilical Cord Lining Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Improve Survival and Kidney Function in Murine Lupus via Myeloid Pathway Targeting. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 26;24(1). doi: 10.3390/ijms24010365. PubMed PMID: 36613807; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9820333.
Wei Inng Lim FL, Yunxin C, Huang FJ, Khee Hwang WY. A unique hub-and-spoke model to optimize patient management in lymphoma using novel CAR-T cell therapy in Southeast and South Asia. Hematol Oncol. 2022 Sep;40 Suppl 1:4-12. doi: 10.1002/hon.3065. PubMed PMID: 36047631.
Wang XJ, Wang YH, Ong MJC, Gkitzia C, Soh SY, Hwang WYK. Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Impact Analyses of Tisagenlecleucel in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia from the Singapore Healthcare System Perspective. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. 2022;14:333-355. doi: 10.2147/CEOR.S355557. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35535300; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9078873.
Soh KVQY, Hwang WYK. Optimizing Blood Stem Cell Transplants Through Cellular Engineering. Blood Cell Ther. 2022 Feb 25;5(1):1-15. doi: 10.31547/bct-2021-008. eCollection 2022 Feb 25. Review. PubMed PMID: 36714264; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9847292.
Horwitz ME, Stiff PJ, Cutler C, Brunstein C, Hanna R, Maziarz RT, Rezvani AR, Karris NA, McGuirk J, Valcarcel D, Schiller GJ, Lindemans CA, Hwang WYK, Koh LP, Keating A, Khaled Y, Hamerschlak N, Frankfurt O, Peled T, Segalovich I, Blackwell B, Wease S, Freedman LS, Galamidi-Cohen E, Sanz G. Omidubicel vs standard myeloablative umbilical cord blood transplantation: results of a phase 3 randomized study. Blood. 2021 Oct 21;138(16):1429-1440. doi: 10.1182/blood.2021011719. PubMed PMID: 34157093; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9710469.
Wang XJ, Wang YH, Li SCT, Gkitzia C, Lim ST, Koh LP, Lim FLWI, Hwang WYK. Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses of tisagenlecleucel in adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from Singapore's private insurance payer's perspective. J Med Econ. 2021 Jan-Dec;24(1):637-653. doi: 10.1080/13696998.2021.1922066. PubMed PMID: 33904359.
Cher BP, Gan KY, Aziz MIA, Lin L, Hwang WYK, Poon LM, Ng K. Cost utility analysis of tisagenlecleucel vs salvage chemotherapy in the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from Singapore's healthcare system perspective. J Med Econ. 2020 Nov;23(11):1321-1329. doi: 10.1080/13696998.2020.1808981. Epub 2020 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 32780608.
Kwok I, Becht E, Xia Y, Ng M, Teh YC, Tan L, Evrard M, Li JLY, Tran HTN, Tan Y, Liu D, Mishra A, Liong KH, Leong K, Zhang Y, Olsson A, Mantri CK, Shyamsunder P, Liu Z, Piot C, Dutertre CA, Cheng H, Bari S, Ang N, Biswas SK, Koeffler HP, Tey HL, Larbi A, Su IH, Lee B, St John A, Chan JKY, Hwang WYK, Chen J, Salomonis N, Chong SZ, Grimes HL, Liu B, Hidalgo A, Newell EW, Cheng T, Ginhoux F, Ng LG.Combinatorial Single-Cell Analyses of Granulocyte-Monocyte Progenitor Heterogeneity Reveals an Early Uni-potent Neutrophil Progenitor. Immunity. 2020 Aug 18;53(2):303-318.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.06.005. Epub 2020 Jun 23. PubMed PMID: 32579887.
Wu D, Dou J, Chai X, Bellis C, Wilm A, Shih CC, Soon WWJ, Bertin N, Lin CB, Khor CC, DeGiorgio M, Cheng S, Bao L, Karnani N, Hwang WYK, Davila S, Tan P, Shabbir A, Moh A, Tan EK, Foo JN, Goh LL, Leong KP, Foo RSY, Lam CSP, Richards AM, Cheng CY, Aung T, Wong TY, Ng HH, Liu J, Wang C. Large-Scale Whole-Genome Sequencing of Three Diverse Asian Populations in Singapore. Cell. 2019 Oct 17;179(3):736-749.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.019. PubMed PMID: 31626772.
Poon Z, Dighe N, Venkatesan SS, Cheung AMS, Fan X, Bari S, Hota M, Ghosh S, Hwang WYK. Bone marrow MSCs in MDS: contribution towards dysfunctional hematopoiesis and potential targets for disease response to hypomethylating therapy. Leukemia. 2019 Jun;33(6):1487-1500. doi: 10.1038/s41375-018-0310-y. Epub 2018 Dec 21. PubMed PMID: 30575819; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6756222.

Patents (related or unrelated to the study):

PCT/SG2017/050409: Substituted Azole Derivatives for Generation, Proliferation and Differentiation of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells (WO/2018/048346).
PCT/SG2017/050408: Immunoppressive Composition for Use in Treating Immunological Disorders (WO/2018/034620).

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