Research

On May 10th, 2023, Assist.Prof. Dr.Woraphat Ratta–apha and Assist. Prof. Tachjaree Panchalee Boonbowornpong, Deputy Manager and Prof. Prasert Auewarakul, Advisor of Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE–M), along with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Panisadee Avirutnan, Lecturer Dr.Wanwisa Dejnirattisai, Dr.Kessiri Kongmanas, and Dr.Nuntaya Pornmun form SiCORE-Dengue and Emerging Pathogens (SiCORE-Dengue) and our team researchers, Dr.Chunya Puttikhunt, Dr.Dumrong Mairiang, Dr. Sansanee Noisakran and Dr.Thaneeya Roytrakul, Medical Biotechnology Research Unit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) scheduled the 4th teleconference with Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members, Sir Andrew J. McMichael, FRS, FMedSci, Professor of Molecular Medicine from Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford and Prof. Xiao-Ning Xu, M.D., Ph.D. from Imperial College London.

During the meeting, we discussed the research performance and outputs from the SiCORE– Dengue research project entitled “An Integrative Targeted Research Program Leading to Effective Dengue Protection and Treatment Strategies” under the support of the Research Excellence Development Program (RED Program). In addition, the program proposed the new project for future support and consulted with the SAB members on the research plan and activities.

In this regard, SiCORE–M team and SiCORE– Dengue would like to express our sincere appreciation to SAB members for their valuable time and continuing support. Notably, the insights and experience-sharing derived from this meeting are crucial mechanisms that will benefit us in leveraging our research quality based on scientific comments and recommendations. We look forward to the onsite visit on July 24th-25th, 2023.

On May 9th, 2023, Assoc. Prof. Oranee Sanmaneechai, Assist. Prof. Dr.Woraphat Ratta–apha, Deputy Manager and Prof. Prasert Auewarakul (Advisor) of Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE–M) along with Assist. Prof. Dr.Somponnat Sampattavanich, Assoc. Prof. Dr.Siwanon Jirawatnotai, Assist. Prof. Dr.Chalermchai Mitrpant and Assist. Prof. Dr.Bhoom Suktitipat from SiCORE- Cancer Precision Medicine & Systems Pharmacology (SiORE-PM&SP) held the 4th teleconference with their Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members, Prof. Christopher L. Corless M.D., Ph.D. from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Prof. Andrew Futreal, Ph.D. from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

In the meeting, there was a discussion on the project’s research outputs entitled “Siriraj Initiative on Thai Cancer Genomics and Precision Oncology: Establishing research foundation for Thai cancer precision medicine” and assessing the overall performance of SiCORE–PM&SP.   Meanwhile, it was an opportunity to consult the new projects the program applied for continuing support from Research Excellence Development Program (RED Program).

On this occasion, the SiCORE–M team and SiCORE–PM&SP would like to express our sincere gratitude to SAB members for their valuable time, sharing insights, and thoughtful recommendations based on scientific content with us. We look forward to welcoming the SAB members during the onsite visit on August 8th-9th, 2023.

On March 22nd, 2023, the Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE–M) led by Assoc. Prof. Oranee Sanmaneechai and Assist. Prof. Dr.Woraphat Ratta–apha, Deputy Manager, along with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pongsakorn Tantilipikorn, Prof. Emeritus Dr.Wanpen Chaicumpa, Assoc. Prof. Dr.Nitat Sookrung,Dr.Dichapong Kanjanawasee and Lecturer Dr.Nathachit Limjunyawong from the Center of Research Excellence in Allergy and Immunology (SiORE-Allergy) held the 4th teleconference with their Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members, Prof.Rudolf Valenta from Medical University of Vienna, Prof.Giorgio Walter Canonica from Humanitas University and Prof.Stephen R. Durham from Imperial College London.

In the meeting, we discussed the research outputs from the projects under Research Excellence Development Program (RED) support and assessed the overall performance of SiCORE–Allergy. Simultaneously, during the consultation session with their SAB, the program shared new proposed projects before submitting for continuing RED support.

On this occasion, the SiCORE–M team and SiCORE–Allergy would like to express our sincere gratitude to SAB members for their valuable time and contributions. All insight and recommendations from the meeting will undoubtedly guide the research directions and scientific content to become internationally excellent. We look forward to welcoming the SAB members during the onsite visit in December 2023.

During March 18th–19th, 2023, Prof. Apichat Asavamongkolkul, M.D., Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, presides over the annual Siriraj Center of Research Excellence (SiCOREs) seminar, including the researchers and coordinators from the research programs in Allergy and Immunology, Dengue and Emerging Pathogen, Precision Medicine and System pharmacology, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Obesity and Metabolomic and System Biology along with Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE-M).

This year, our SiCOREs and SiCORE-M Annual Meeting take place at Ozo North Pattaya, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri. The program activities cover progress updates, new project presentations, accomplishments, and lessons learned from the research programs. In addition, the future strategic planning, operational structure, and relative supporting mechanisms for SiCOREs have been discussed.

On January 10th, 2023, Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE–M) Assoc. Prof. Oranee Sanmaneechai and Assist. Prof. Dr.Woraphat Ratta–apha, Deputy Manager, along with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pongsakorn Tantilipikorn, Assoc. Prof. Dr.Nitat Sookrung,Dr.Dichapong Kanjanawasee and Lecturer Dr.Nathachit Limjunyawong from SiCORE- Allergy and Immunology (SiORE-Allergy) participated in the 1st teleconference with Prof.Ruby Pawankar, President of Asia Pacific Association of Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology (APAAACI) and Professor of Department of Pediatrics, Nippon Medical School Tokyo, Japan that recently accept our invitation and become one of Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members. In the meeting, the program briefly introduced both ongoing and proposed research projects. They also enthusiastically discussed future collaboration opportunities with international academic institutes and regional private partners.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Pawankar for her valuable insights and discussions. We are very much looking forward to the SAB onsite in December 2023.

The 4th Teleconference Research and Innovation Advisory Committee (RIAC) Meeting in 2022 is virtually held as a two-day meeting for different time zones, including December 6, 2022, for the committee members from Europe and Bangkok and December 9, 2022, for the committee members from the U.S. and Australia.

On this occasion, Prof. Apichat Asavamongkolkul, Dean of Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, along with executive members and Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management (SiCORE-M), welcomed the committee members. Assoc. Prof. Sith Sathornsumetee, Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation and manager of SiCORE-M, provide the participants with brief updates on an overview of research progress and management during the past year.

During the meeting, the board actively discussed research progression and provided recommendations on the strategic research management and supporting mechanisms for each preexisting SiCOREs, namely Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Allergy and Immunology (SiCORE-Allergy), Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Dengue and Emerging Pathogens (SiCORE-Dengue), Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Precision Medicine and Systems Pharmacology (SiCORE-PM&SP) and Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Cardiovascular Disease (SiCORE-Cardiovascular Disease).

This year’s meeting will be another crucial step in developing our research programs. It will benefit us in leveraging the quality of their research outputs and broader research impact. After the discussion with committee members, 2 of the following 7 Research Programs will join the Research Excellence Development Program in 2023. Name list of the seven new potential research groups as follows;

1. Siriraj Center of Research Excellence for Diabetes and Obesity (SiCORE-DO)
2. Siriraj Center of Research Excellence for Microparticle and Exosome in Diseases (SiCORE-MED)
3. Siriraj Center for Regenerative Medicine (SiCRM)
4. Siriraj Integrated Perioperative Geriatric Excellent Research Center (SiPG)
5. Metabolomics and Systems Biology (SiCORE-MSB)
6. Research Network NANOTEC-Mahidol University on Theranostic Nanomedicine (SiCORE-RNN)
7. Neurocognitive disorders and Behavioral & Neuropsychiatric Problems Research Center (SiCORE-NCBP)

Name list of the Research and Innovation Advisory Committee members (RIAC) that attend this meeting:

1. Prof. George Baillie from University of Glasgow
2. Prof. Ralf F. W. Bartenschlager from University of Heidelberg
3. Prof. Nicholas J. White from Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit (MORU)
4. Prof. David Jacoby from Oregon Health & Science University
5. Prof. Alfred Yung from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
6. Professor Joshua Burns from the University of Sydney
7. Prof. Thira Sirisanthana from Chiang Mai University
8. Prof. Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong from Prince of Songkla University

Under Research Excellence Development Program (RED), one of the essential annual activities of SiCOREs is the interaction with Scientific Advisory Board members (SAB) to assess the progress of the research program against their project milestones, along with a discussion with SAB on ideas for improvement. This year, the meeting schedules are as follows;

On 8 July 2022, SiCORE-Dengue –  Assoc. Prof. Dr. Panisadee Avirutnan (Director), researchers, and SiCORE-M participated in the Teleconference with the Scientific Advisory Board members (SAB), namely Prof. Sir Andrew J. McMichael from the University of Oxford and Prof. Xiao-Ning Xu from Imperial College London for the 3rd  year Research Program Evaluation for the Center of Research Excellence in Dengue and Emerging Pathogens.

On 18 July 2022, SiCORE-Allergy –  Assoc. Prof. Pongsakorn Tantilipikorn (Director), Assoc. Prof. Nitat Sookrung, researchers, and SiCORE-M teams had the Hybrid meeting with Scientific Advisory Board members (SAB), namely Prof. Rudolf Valenta from the Medical University of Vienna and Prof. Stephen R. Durham from Imperial College London participated via a virtual platform. In addition, on this particular occasion, Prof. Giorgio Walter Canonica from Humanitas University joined an in-person meeting during his visit Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital on the same day. There was a discussion on the 3rd year Research Program Evaluation for the Center of Research Excellence in Allergy and Immunology.

The World Allergy Organization (WAO), an international umbrella organization whose members consist of 103 regional and national allergology and clinical immunology societies, endorsed SiCORE Allergy & Immunology as a Center of Excellence (COE) for the term 2022-2024. To become the first COE in ASEAN and the 4th in Asia (after China, Japan, and South Korea), we can collaborate with other COE to provide scientific support and educational resources on a global scale. Furthermore, we could form international partnerships for research and education activities.

On 18 July 2022, SiCORE-CVD – Prof. Rungroj Krittayaphong, Director of SiCORE-Cardiovascular disease and Assoc. Prof. Sith Sathornsumetee, Manager of Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE-M), along with his team, joined the meeting with the Scientific Advisory Board members (SAB), namely Prof. Gregory Lip from the University of Liverpool, Prof. Gemma Figtree from University of Sydney and Assoc Prof. Jin Joo Park from Seoul National University for the 2nd year Research Program Evaluation for the Center of Research Excellence in Cardiovascular Disease.

On 4 August 2022, SiCORE-PM&SP –  Assist. Prof. Dr. Somponnat Sampattavanich (Director), researchers, and SiCORE-M participated in the meeting with Scientific Advisory Board members (SAB), namely Prof. Andrew Futreal from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Prof. Christopher L. Corless from Oregon Health and Science University for the 3rd  year Research Program Evaluation for the Center of Research Excellence in Cancer Precision Medicine and Systems Pharmacology.

This year’s the Siriraj Center of Research Excellence Management Unit (SiCORE-M) Annual Meeting in 2022 takes place at the Krungsri River Hotel, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, on January 14th-15th,2022. The participants include Prof. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, who presides over this annual seminar, along with Prof. Dr. Prasert Auewarakul, M.D., Ph.D., Deputy Dean for research, Prof. Dr. Vicharn Panich, M.D., Somsak Chunharas, M.D., Advisors of SiCORE-M and SiCORE-M Team.

The seminar discusses the operational structure and strategic plan for research management and mechanisms to support SiCOREs. Also, the particular agenda include team-building activities to improve the functional skills of the research management team.