Professor Dr. Tin Tun

Professor Dr. Tin Tun obtained his Doctor of Medical Science (PhD) from Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine, Japan, in Molecular Medicine in 1996. He also holds MBBS and MMedSc (Medical Biochemistry). Almost three decades of his experience includes the distinction of being a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, USA, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wallace Tumor Institute (WTI), Dept. of Medicine, Microbiolgy and Paediatrics , University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama, USA , a Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) Research Fellow at Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan and the Royal Society London Post Doctoral Research Fellow to the Nuffield Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital and Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK among others.

He also has more than 30 years of teaching experience in various international institutions. He also holds Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP) and Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh(FRCPE) which are prestigious accolades held by some of the most exceptional and innovative physicians and scientists in the world. It is a mark of his achievement and skill as a physician-scientist and recognises his ongoing contribution to the medical profession. Dr. Tin Tun is a member of the Oxford University Society, Oxford, UK and a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia. He has published many papers in peer-reviewed international journals and presented his research work at various international conferences.

His doctoral thesis paper “Recognition sequence of a highly conserved DNA binding protein RBP-Jk”, and related papers have  been cited by over 1500 international peer reviewed papers since its publication in 1994. RBP-Jk/CBF1 is now widely known as a downstream component of a novel Notch receptors mediated signal transduction. Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway in multicellular organisms that regulates cell-fate determination during development and maintains adult tissue homeostasis. Research in the last decades has shown that the various components of the Notch signaling cascade are either upregulated or activated in human cancers. Aberrant  Notch signaling has been shown to be involved in a wide variety of human neoplasms. Recently it was shown that notch inhibitors stands as promising and a powerful strategy in cancer therapy. His research interest is in the area of molecular oncogenesis and epigenetics of cancer.

Dr. Tin Tun served as a chief-editor of the Journal of the Advancement of Science and Arts (IJASA), UCSI University and a chairman of research and scholarly activities committee of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UCSI University from 2009 to 2011. He is currently a Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine at PU-RCSI, Senate member and Chairman of the postgraduate studies committee of Perdana University. He is also a  lead internal auditor of research assessment committee of Perdana University appointed by Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. Dr. Tin Tun has been invited to serve as a visiting international professor to the Institute of Protein Research, Osaka University, Japan to conduct cancer research.

Research Interests

Keywords: molecular oncogenesis, epigenetic of cancer

Clubs and Associations

• Member of Myanmar Medical Association.
• Member of Molecular Biology Society of Japan.
• Member of Oxford University Society, Oxford, UK.
• Member of Oxford and Cambridge Society, Malaysia.

Selected Publications:

• Regulation of marginal  zone B cell development by MINT, a suppressor of Notch/RBP-J signaling  pathway. Kuroda K, Han H, Tani S, Tanigaki K, Tin Tun , Furukawa T, Tanuguchi Y, Kurooka H, Hamada Y, Toyokuni S and Honjo T.2003 Immunity. Feb;(18):301-12.
• Genomic structure of mouse PIR-A6, an activating member of the paired immunoglobulin-like receptor gene family Tin Tun , Kubagawa Y, Dennis G, Burrows PD, Cooper MD and Kubagawa H. 2003 Tissue Antigens, Mar; 61(3):220-30.
• Waning HIV-Specific Cellular Immunity and Viral Escape from Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses are Features of Disease Progression in Early HIV-1 Infection. Price, D. A.  Oxenius, A. Easterbrook, P. J. Trkola, A. Edwards, C. Zhang, H., Tin Tun.  Waters, A.  Holmes, E. C.  Phillips, R. E .2003 Scandinavian Journal of Immunology. Aug; vol 58(2)259-260.
• Loss of viral control in early HIV-1 infection is temporally associated with sequential escape from CD8 T cell responses & decrease in HIV-1 specific CD4 & CD8 T cell frequencies. Oxenius A, Price DA, Trkola A, Edwards C, Gostick E, Hua-Tang Zhang, Easterbrook PJ, Tin Tun, Johnson A, Waters A, Holmes EC and Phillips RE .2004 Journal of Infectious Diseases. Aug; (190):713-721.
• Preventing cancer by vaccination. Tin Tun  .2008 The Borneo Post. April 11,
• The benefits of cloning.  Tin Tun .2009 Sarawak News. Borneopost online. http://www.mysarawak.org/2009/01/16/the-benefits-of-cloning.html
• The big viral jump: from animals to humans and its consequences. Tin Tun .2009 Borneopost.

Heat stroke. Tin Tun .2010 UCSI University CERVIE Newsletter, issue 1, Jan-Mar, 1st quarter.

Awards and Accomplishments:

• Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP) in UK

• Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh(FRCPE)

Collaborations: Visiting Professor, Protein Research Institute, Osaka University, Japan.