23 July 2004

Embargoed till 11am, 30 July 2004

Dear Editor
Inaugural International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicines
Herbal Medicines: Ancient Cures, Modern Science
26-28 February 2005, Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) - Johns Hopkins Consortium for
Botanical Drug Development, Faculty of Medicine, NUS, Faculty of Science, NUS and
Office of Biomedical Research, National University Hospital (NUH) will be organizing the
Inaugural International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicines (ICCAM)
2005. The Congress will be held from 26 February 2004 (Saturday) to 28 February 2005
(Monday) at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.
"Herbal Medicines: Ancient Cures, Modern Science"
The theme of the congress highlights the need to look at how to reconcile
traditional herbal medicines with modern pharmaceutical science. The congress will
highlight some of the cutting edge breakthroughs in botanical medicines, with the aim to
facilitate scientific and educational insights between Traditional Medicine /
Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioners (CAM) and scientific researchers.
Highlights of the Congress
The scientific programme will be delivered by leaders in herbal medicine
research from Johns Hopkins, United States of America, Europe, Japan, China,
Australia. Some of the key topics include CAM in Asia Pacific International
Perspective, Integrative Medicine: Challenges in Practice and Education,
Phytomedicine, DNA and Chemical Profiling as well as Molecular Mechanisms of Action
(antioxidants, hormone replacement therapy, wound healing, cancer prevention).
The Congress aims to reach out to over 500 local and international scientists,
clinical researchers, Western-trained clinicians, pharmacists, nurses, other health
professionals, Traditional Medicine/CAM practitioners and members of the public.

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Deleted: (Prof Yong, please help

explain Phytomedicine in layman
terms),

Annex A
KEY TOPICS

Integrative Medicine: Challenges in Practice and Education

Resources of Chinese Materia Medica

CAM in Asia Pacific - International Perspective

Phytochemistry Research

Drug Discovery from Natural Products

Curriculum development of Chinese Medicine Training

Phytomedicine
Infectious diseases (e.g. AIDS, Malaria)
Cancer (e.g. liver cancer)
Hormone Replacement Therapy

Molecular mechanisms of actions

Antioxidants
Hormone replacement therapy
Wound healing
Cancer prevention

Clinical Trials
Methodology
Applications to CAM (cancer therapy, prevention, hormone replacement
therapy etc)

Herb identification and quality control issues

Regulatory control and safety issues

Acupuncture

Ayurveda, Chinese and other Traditional Medicine

Good Manufacturing Practice

Commercialization, Intellectual Property Rights

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Overseas and Local Experts presenting at the Congress

Overseas
Gerald BODEKER, University of Oxford Medical School, UK & Adjunct Professor of
Epidemiology, Columbia University , USA
Tommy CHENG Yung Chi, Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology, Dept of Pharmacology,
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
CHOI Seung-Hoon, Regional Adviser in Traditional Medicine, World Health Organisation,
Western Asia Pacific Regional Office, Philippines
Adrian DOBS, Professor of Endocrinology and Medicine, Director, CAM Center, The JohnsHopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
K HOSTETTMANN, Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie et Phytochimie, Ecole de Pharmacie
Geneve-Lausanne, Universite de Lausanne, Switzerland
HUI Ka Kit, Director, UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
Thomas W KENSLER, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Paul LIETMAN, Professor of Medicine (Clinical Pharmacology), Pediatrics, Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences, The Johns-Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
Adolf NAHRSTEDT, Professor, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry,
University of Muenster, Germany
XUE Charlie Changli, Head, The Chinese Medicine Unit & Foundation Director, Chinese
Medicine Research Group, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
YANG Chong-Ren, Professor and Director, State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant
Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Kunming, P.R. China
YANG Chung Shu, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Biology, Ernest Mario
School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of NJ, USA
YAO Xin Sheng, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor of Natural
Product Chemistry, Shenzhen Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural
Products, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, China

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LOCAL
Mark S BUTLER, Director, Phytochemistry Research, Merlion Pharmaceuticals
GOH Boon Cher
Director of Cancer Research, Department of Hematology-Oncology, National University
Hospital
Consultant, The Cancer Institute @ National University Hospital
Barry HALLIWELL, Head, Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore
HONG Hai, Professor and Dean, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological
University
HONG Yan, Director, Strategic Research Program, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
Ronan KELLY, Lilly-NUS, National University of Singapore
KOH Hwee Ling, Asst Professor, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National
University of Singapore
LEE Tat Leang, Director, NUH Acupuncture Unit, National University Hospital/National
University of Singapore
ONG Choon Nam, Professor and Director, Toxicology Laboratory, Dept of Community,
Occupational and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore
TAN Chor Hiang, CEO, Health Sciences Authority, Singapore
YONG Eu Leong Assoc. Professor
Director of Research, National University Hospital
Principal Investigator and Research Director, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National
University of Singapore
Consultant, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National University Hospital

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