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Clin Prof Aw Tar Choon

Clin Prof Aw Tar Choon

MBBS, M.Med (Int.Medicine), MRCP (UK), FRCPA (Chemical Pathology), FRCP(Edin), FAMS, MPP

Senior Consultant

Changi General Hospital

Specialty: Pathology

Clinical Appointments

  • Senior Consultant Laboratory Medicine Changi General HospitalChangi General Hospital
  • Director, Chemical Pathology Laboratory Medicine Changi General HospitalChangi General Hospital

Profile

Dr Aw Tar Choon is a Senior Consultant with the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Changi General Hospital (CGH) since 2006. He is also the director of Chemical Pathology and a clinical senior lecturer in Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

Dr Aw received his medical degree from the University of Malaya, Medical School in 1976. Trained in internal medicine at Medical Unit 1, SGH and King’s College Hospital Medical School, London, UK he has specialist certifications in Internal Medicine from NUS (M.Med Internal Medicine) and the Royal College of Physicians UK (MRCP UK).

Thereafter, Dr Aw trained in chemical pathology at the Department of Pathology Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA from 1981 to 1984. He also has specialist certification in chemical pathology from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA Chemical Pathology). Dr Aw was a faculty staff member of the NUS Medical School from 1980 to 2006, where he attained the rank of full professor (pathology) and served as its vice-dean from 1994 to 2002.

He was the chief of Laboratory Medicine at NUH from 1988 to 2002, and Medical Director of Alexandra Hospital from 1995 to 2000. From 2006 to 2010 he was a part time faculty staff at Monash Medical School - Professor (Chemical Pathology, Malaysia campus) and Honorary Professor (Medicine, Australia campus).

Education

  • Academy of Medicine Singapore Elected as Fellow in Pathology (Chemical Pathology) – FAMS 2004
  • Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, UK Elected as Fellow – FRCPE 1999
  • Harvard-National University of Singapore (NUS) Program Masters in Public Policy – MPP 1992
  • Royal College of Pathologists Australasia Sub-specialty Board certification in chemical pathology – FRCPA 1989
  • Royal College of Physicians UK Board certification in Internal medicine – MRCP 1981
  • NUS School of Medicine Singapore Board certification in Internal medicine - M.Med (Int. Medicine) 1980
  • University of Malaya Medical School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia MBBS 1976

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

  • Clinical Professor - Duke-NUS
  • Clinical Senior Lecturer (Medicine), NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine – 2014-present
  • Editorial Board Journal of Hormonal Disorders & Endocrine Research – 2017-present
  • Editorial Board, SM Journal of Thyroid Disorders & Therapy – 2017-present
  • External Examiner, Final M.Path (Chem Pathology) Examination University Science Malaysia Medical School, Kota Bharu, Malaysia – 2017
  • External Examiner (PhD Thesis), Hasanuddin University Medical School, Makassar, Indonesia - 2016
  • External Examiner (MPhil – Chemical Pathology thesis), University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan - 2015
  • Editorial Board, Annals of Thyroid Research – 2014-present
  • Associate Editor, Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare – 2012-present
  • External Examiner (PhD thesis), University of Punjab, Karachi, Pakistan - 2012
  • External Examiner, Final M.Path Examination (Chemical Pathology) University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 2012
  • Advisory Board, Indonesian Biomedical Journal – 2010-present
  • External Examiner, Final M.Path Examination (Chemical Pathology) University Science Malaysia Medical School, Kota Bharu, Malaysia - 2010

Awards

  • Singapore Red Cross Ruby Award for champion blood donors (2016)
  • Razi Lecture, Pakistan Association of Pathology, Islamabad (2012)
  • Annual Oration, Indian Society of Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine, New Delhi (2011)
  • Chinese Association of Laboratory Medicine ‘Dade-Behring’ Distinguished Overseas Chinese Scholar Award (2000)
  • Singapore Society of Pathology Becton-Dickinson Award (1996)
  • National Science Council of Taiwan Distinguished Visitor Award (1990)
  • Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists Boehringer Mannheim Award (1988)
  • Government of France Distinguished Visitor Award (1986)
  • Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians & Scientists USA Young Investigator Award (1983)
  • Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians & Scientists USA Young Investigator Award (1982)

Research Interests

Testing in relation to Lab Medicine:
  • Accreditation
  • Cancer Markers
  • Cardiac Markers
  • Diabetes
  • Infectious Disease Markers
  • Lipids
  • Point Of Care Testing
  • Thyroid Testing

Publications

• Goh VJ, Le TT, Bryant J, Wong JI, Su B, Lee CH, Pua CJ, Sim CPY, Ang B, Aw TC, Cook SA, Chin CWL. Novel index of maladaptive myocardial remodeling in hypertension. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2017;10(9):e006840.

Aw TC, Phua SK, Lam CW, Wong MS. What are normal high-sensitivity troponin-T values in a large multi-ethnic Asian population? Blood Heart Circ 2017;1(2):1-4.

• Tan JWC, Lam CSP, Kasim SS, Aw TC, Abanila JM, Chang WT, Dang VP, Iboleon-Dy M, Mumpuni SS, Phommintikul A, Ta MC, Topipat P, Yiu KH, Cullen L. Asia-Pacific consensus statement on the optimal use of high-sensitivity troponin assays in acute coronary syndromes diagnosis: focus on hs-TnI. Heart Asia 2017;9:81-7.

Aw TC. Clinical utility of circulating tumor cells – a clinician’s current view. Hematol Mol Oncol 2017;2:1-9.

• Putera BW, Sartika CR, Wijaya A, Yusuf I, Aw TC. Levels of stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and very small embryonic-like cells (VSEL) in ischemic stroke patients. Int J Translat Sci 2016;1:1-10.

Aw TC, van Wijk XMR, Wu AHB, Jaffe AS. Release of cardiac troponin using a high sensitivity assay after exercise: Type 2 acute myocardial infarction? Clinica Chimica Acta 2015; 446:6-8.

• Wilailak S, Chan KK, Chen CA, Nam JH, Ochiai K, Aw TC, Sabaratnam S, Hebbar S, Sickan J, Schodin BA, Charakorn C, Sumpaico WW. Distinguishing benign from malignant pelvic mass utilizing an algorithm with HE4, menopausal status, and ultrasound findings. J Gynecol Oncol 2015;26:46-53.

• Yap CFC, Aw TC. The use of procalcitonin in clinical practice. Proceedings Singapore Healthcare 2014;23:33-7.

• Ho LM, Aw TC, Hum SC, Lee SN, Fook-Chong MCS, Yu SL. Basal serum anti-mullerian hormone and antral follicle count are predictors of ovarian response for Asian women in Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Reproduction 2014;3:169-75.

• Huang HL, Aw TC. Thyroid function testing – a review. Ann Thyroid Res 2014;1(2)17-22

• Shen FX, Xie ZW, Lu SM, Aw TC, Zhu B Gestational thyroid reference intervals in antibody-negative Chinese women. Clin Biochem 2014;47:673-5.

• Venugopal J, Rajeswari R, Shayanti M, Low S, Bongso A, Giri-Dev VR, Deepika G, Aw TC, Ramakrishna S. Electrosprayed hydroxyapatite on polymer nanofibers to differentiate mesenchymal stem cells to osteogenesis. Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition 2013;24(2):170-184.

Aw TC, Yap C. Vitamin D measurements – facts and fancies. Proceedings Singapore Healthcare 2013;22:227-234.

• Chan KLK, Chen CA, Nam JH, Ochiai K, Wilailak A, Aw TC, Sabaratnam S, Hebar S, Sickan J, Schodin BA, Sumpaico WW. The use of HE4 in the prediction of ovarian cancer in Asian women with a pelvic mass. Gynecologic Oncology 2013;128:239-244.

Aw TC, Phua SK, Tan SP. Measurement of cardiac troponin I in serum with a new high-sensitivity assay in a large multi-ethnic Asian cohort and the impact of gender. Clinica Chimica Acta 2013;422:26-28.

Research Trials