Held on 10 – 12 September 2014 in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, the recent Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2014 saw the School’s Dean, Prof Chia Kee Seng and Vice Dean of Research, A/Prof Teo Yik Ying presenting on the topics of The E-health Concierge and Emerging Epidemics respectively.
The convention, organised by the World Economic Forum, brought together leaders from major multinationals, governments, media, academia and civil society around the world to share how innovations can improve and add value to our societies, communities and organisations.
Prof Chia spoke on how customised technology can be used in preventing chronic diseases caused by lifestyle habits at a personal level. He mentioned how technological devices can provide a personal decision support system which will inform, support and motivate us to make healthy decisions, as well as explained the big data approach and process the School is taking and how this will be developed into a “virtual health concierge” which will provide personalised risk information and draw up a personalised prevention programme.
A/Prof Teo spoke on the epidemics the world has seen in recent history, such as SARS and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and the various factors which contributed to the quick spread of the disease. He also spoke on genetic sequencing, which can identify unknown pathogens in humans and the environment, how this can lead to the tailoring of drugs to make treatment more efficient for patients, and lastly, the importance of harnessing this technology in developing countries with limited resources.
Watch their presentations on the World Economic Forum’s YouTube page: