Lectures and seminars KI South Distinguished Lecture Series: Gopal Iyer
Professor Gopal Iyer is a head and neck surgeon-scientist whose research focuses on precision oncology, immunotherapy and cell therapy for head and neck cancers. His goal is to translate laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and more personalized treatments that improve patient outcomes.
Bridging Surgery and Translational Cancer Research
Professor Gopal Iyer serves as Head and Senior Consultant of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at Singapore General Hospital and the National Cancer Centre Singapore, and is also a Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. His clinical work centers on the complex multidisciplinary management of head and neck cancers, combining advanced surgical care with translational research.
At the core of his research is the pursuit of novel biomarkers that can guide treatment decisions, identify new therapeutic targets and support the development of precision oncology approaches for patients with head and neck cancer.
Building the Foundations for Precision Medicine
A key component of Iyer’s research program is the comprehensive head and neck cancer database he established, which has evolved into a real-time prospective data collection platform using the REDCap system. The database links clinical information
with tissue samples and other biological specimens, creating a valuable resource for both clinical and laboratory research.
Access to patient-derived tissue is a major driver of the laboratory’s work. Researchers have developed ex vivo models as well as two-dimensional and three-dimensional patient-derived cell cultures to study therapeutic responses and gain deeper insights into tumour biology. These models are used to evaluate existing treatments and uncover new mechanisms that influence how cancers respond to therapy.
Expanding into Cancer Immunology and Cell Therapy
In response to major advances in oncology, the laboratory has increasingly focused on cancer immunology and cell therapy for solid tumours. The team employs a range of advanced technologies, including next-generation sequencing, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and single-cell genomics, to investigate the biological factors that drive cancer progression and treatment response.
The research also explores the role of long non-coding RNAs and alternative splicing, both of which may influence disease development and therapeutic outcomes. Findings from the group have been published in leading scientific journals, including Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Oncogene and Genome Medicine.
Lecture: "Man-to-man versus zonal (immune) defence in head and neck cancers"
Introduction by KI researcher prof. Margaret Sällberg Warner at the Department of Laboratory Medicine
"The Microbiome and the Cancer Ecosystem"
The lecture will be followed by an afternoon reception in the Neo entrance hall with possibility to interact and ask questions.
Early Career Researchers (e.g. PhD students, postdocs, assistant professors) interested in an exclusive opportunity to engage in discussions regarding career advice with Professor Gopal Iyer at 13:00 before the lecture, pls. contact margaret.chen@ki.se no later than October 14th.
Host: Margaret Sällberg Chen