Programme Leader (Breast Cancer Prevention); Associate Professor (Joint)
HARTMAN Mikael
Assoc Prof Mikael Hartman has been practising in Singapore since 2009 and is originally from Stockholm, Sweden where he received his training at Karolinska Institute. That is also where he received his board certification in General Surgery in 2005. Having completed his doctoral studies in the field of epidemiology in 2007, he specializes in the field of breast cancer etiology and prognostication as well as inheritance of cancer prognosis.
He heads a research group of more than ten members and is leading the development of the Singapore Breast Cancer Cohort, the Singapore-Malaysia Breast Cancer Working Group and the Breast Cancer Prevention Programme at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH).
He is a father of 3 children with keen interest in skiing, hiking and mountain biking. In 2014, he made an effort to create awareness for breast cancer and research by riding a motorcycle from Singapore to Sweden. As a result of this movement, he initiated the Asian Breast Cancer Research Fund to support breast cancer related research across Asia.
Affiliation
- Associate Professor, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (Joint)
- Associate Professor, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (Primary)
- Senior Consultant, Breast and Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Hospital
Research Areas
- Breast cancer aetiology
- Breast cancer prognostication
- Inheritance of prognosis
- Pharmacogenomics
- Clinical epidemiology
- Trauma
Teaching Areas
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Prevention and Control of Major Cancers in Singapore
Academic/Professional Qualifications
- MD. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 1997
- Board certified in General surgery. South Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. 2005
- Ph.D. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 2007
Awards/Honours
- Recipient of NMRC Clinician Scientist Award (Senior Investigator) 2017
- The Digital Mammographic DREAM Challenge 2017 (5th place of Sub-challenge 1 and 4th place of Sub-challenge 2)
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Special Recognition Award 2017
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Special Recognition Award 2015
- Swedish Business Association of Singapore (SBAS) Recognized Award 2014
- Recipient of NMRC Clinician Scientist Award 2013
- Best Poster Presentation International Surgical Society (ISS) Meeting 2009, Adelaide, Australia
Career History
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, South Hospital, Stockholm 2005 – 2007
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, St Göran Capio Hospital, Stockholm 2007 – 2008
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm 2008 – 2009
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, NUH 2009 – 2012
- Assistant Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS 2009 – 2012
Administrative Leadership
- Deputy Head of Breast Services, Department of Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore, 2014 – Present
- Head of Breast Cancer Prevention Programme, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, 2015 – Present
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health Senior Management Committee, National University of Singapore, 2015 – 2019
- Member of Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, 2016 – 2019
- Head, Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore, 2017 – Present
- Assistant Dean (Research), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 2018 – Present
- Deputy Group Director, Research Office, National University Health System, 2018 – Present
- Distinguished Professor Second Affiliated Hospital – Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 2019 – Present
Professional/Consulting Activities
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, South Hospital, Stockholm 2005 – 2007
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, St Göran Capio Hospital, Stockholm 2007 – 2008
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm 2008 – 2009
- Consultant, Department of Surgery, NUH 2009 – 2012
- Assistant Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS 2009 – 2012
Selected Publications
- Burton, A., Maskarinec, G., Perez-Gomez, B., Vachon, C., Miao, H., Lajous, M., . . ., Hartman, M., . . . McCormack, V. (2017). Mammographic density and ageing: A collaborative pooled analysis of cross-sectional data from 22 countries worldwide. PLoS Med, 14(6), e1002335. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002335
- Colombo, M., Lopez-Perolio, I., Meeks, H. D., Caleca, L., Parsons, M. T., Li, H., . . ., Hartman, M., . . . Radice, P. (2018). The BRCA2 c.68-7T > A variant is not pathogenic: A model for clinical calibration of spliceogenicity. Hum Mutat, 39(5), 729-741. doi:10.1002/humu.23411
- Dörk, Thilo, Peterlongo, Paolo, Mannermaa, Arto, Bolla, Manjeet K., Wang, Qin, Dennis, Joe, . . . Hartman, M., . . . Collaborators, Nbcs. (2019). Two truncating variants in FANCC and breast cancer risk. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 12524. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-48804-y
- Fachal, L., Aschard, H., Beesley, J., Barnes, D.R., Allen, J., Kar, S., . . . Hartman, M., . . . Investigators, K. ConFab. (2020). Fine-mapping of 150 breast cancer risk regions identifies 191 likely target genes. Nature Genetics. doi:10.1038/s41588-019-0537-1
- Lee, C. P., Choi, H., Soo, K. C., Tan, M. H., Chay, W. Y., Chia, K. S., . . . Hartman, M. (2015). Mammographic Breast Density and Common Genetic Variants in Breast Cancer Risk Prediction. PLoS One, 10(9), e0136650. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136650
- Michailidou, K., Lindstrom, S., Dennis, J., Beesley, J., Hui, S., Kar, S., . . . Hartman, M., . . . Easton, D. F. (2017). Association analysis identifies 65 new breast cancer risk loci. Nature, 551(7678), 92-94. doi:10.1038/nature24284
- Mucci, L. A., Hjelmborg, J. B., Harris, J. R., Czene, K., Havelick, D. J., Scheike, T., …Hartman, M., . . . Nordic Twin Study of Cancer, Collaboration. (2016). Familial Risk and Heritability of Cancer Among Twins in Nordic Countries. JAMA, 315(1), 68-76. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.17703
- Ooi, B. N. S., Loh, H., Ho, P. J., Milne, R. L., Giles, G., Gao, C., . . ., Hartman, M., Li, J. (2019). The genetic interplay between body mass index, breast size and breast cancer risk: a Mendelian randomization analysis. Int J Epidemiol, 48(3), 781-794. doi:10.1093/ije/dyz124
- Wang, C., Kar, S., Lai, X., Cai, W., Arfuso, F., Sethi, G., . . . Hartman, M.,… Kumar, A. P. (2018). Triple negative breast cancer in Asia: An insider’s view. Cancer Treat Rev, 62, 29-38. doi:10.1016/j.ctrv.2017.10.014
- Zembutsu, H., Nakamura, S., Akashi-Tanaka, S., Kuwayama, T., Watanabe, C., Takamaru, T., . . . Hartman, M., … Nakamura, Y. (2017). Significant Effect of Polymorphisms in CYP2D6 on Response to Tamoxifen Therapy for Breast Cancer: A Prospective Multicenter Study. Clin Cancer Res, 23(8), 2019-2026. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-1779
Media Coverage
- Spotlight on trust in science of Covid-19, The Straits Times, 13 June 2020
- TEDxESSECAsiaPacific- Breast Cancer: See what you cannot feel Nudge for a Paradigm Shift | Mikael Hartman, TEDx Talks, 22 Jul 2019
- NUS study: Lack of knowledge, fear of becoming burden among reasons Singapore women don’t go for breast cancer screening, The Straits Times Online, 16 Mar 2018
- 国大医学院研究: 亚洲女性对乳癌多有误解延迟治疗, Lianhe Zaobao p4, 17 Mar 2018
- Jumpa bomoh, ambil suplemen saja antara punca pesakit barah payu dara Melayu tidak hidup lama, BERITA Mediacorp, 19 March 2018
- New hope in treating difficult triple-negative type, The Straits Times, 28 Sep 2016
- Riding for breast cancer, Mind Your Body, 31 March 2014, Monday
- S’pore breast surgeon on why he is fit but not fabulous, Asia One, 31 March 2014, Monday
- Making a Difference Radio Interview by 93.8 Live, 31 December 2013, Tuesday
- NUS professors to ride from Singapore to Sweden for breast cancer research, The Straits Times, 17 October 2013
- Interview with Associate Professors Mikael Hartman and Philip Iau, Channel NewsAsia, 17 October 2013
- Studies show surgery boosts survival for stage 4 breast cancer patients, Channel NewsAsia, 24 August 2013
- Breast cancer varies for women of different ethnicities, Today, 7 September 2012
- Malay breast cancer patients fare worst, The Straits Times, 7 September 2012
- Malay breast cancer patients have worst survival odds, My Paper, 7 September 2012
- 本地研究:患乳癌妇女中华族存活率最佳(Local study: Chinese breast cancer patients have best survival rates), Lianhe Zaobao, 9 September 2012
- Combatting cancer, The Straits Times, Executive Appointments, 11 August 2012