SINGAPORE and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- CompuCyte
Corporation and the National University of Singapore today announced the
establishment of the Southeast Asia Regional Quantitative Imaging Cytometry
Center, to be located at the National University of Singapore. The Center
will expand a research collaboration program already in place between the two
organizations.
Under the expanded agreement, the National University of Singapore will
provide symposia and educational programs for researchers involved in cell-
based and tissue-based research using quantitative imaging cytometry
systems. CompuCyte will provide up-to-date technology and software, as well
as technical and scientific applications support. As part of the agreement,
the National University of Singapore has obtained an iCys(R) Research Imaging
Cytometer from CompuCyte. The first symposium under the agreement will take
place on March 1, 2007 at the University.
"We expect that the Center will help educate cell and molecular biology
researchers on the important role that Quantitative Imaging Cytometry can
play in biomedical research," explained Shazib Pervaiz, M.D., Ph.D.,
Professor, Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the
National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and
Engineering. "The ability to obtain detailed quantitative data from biologic
specimens, and at the same time visually examine specimen morphology,
provides researchers with a major tool for advancing our understanding of the
molecular basis of disease and identifying novel disease signatures which
could be potential diagnostic markers or targets for drug design. We look
forward to working with CompuCyte to jointly host this workshop on the use of
automated laser scanning cytometry for both basic and clinical research in
Singapore and the ASEAN countries."
"The establishment of the Regional Quantitative Imaging Cytometry Center
in Singapore is a significant milestone in our collaboration with the
University," added Dr. Elena Holden, CompuCyte’s president and chief
executive officer. "Our proprietary technology is in use by academic centers
and pharmaceutical companies worldwide for automated quantitative analysis of
adherent cellular and tissue specimens. The exceptional performance
characteristics of the new generation of LSC technology warrant extension of
its use into tumor biology and drug discovery. Our current focus is to
explore the ability to cytometrically identify the signaling profiles of
tumor cells, measure the biomarker profile of patients prior to treatment to
determine their response to particular drugs and monitor the pharmacodynamic
effects of a wide range of novel drugs targeting specific signaling pathways."
The Southeast Asia Regional Center in Singapore represents an
international extension of CompuCyte’s Technology Workshops in the United
States and Europe.
CompuCyte Corporation, a private company headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, is a leader in the development of cellular analysis
instrumentation for life science research, drug safety, toxicology studies
and clinical trials. The company’s iCyte(R), iCys(R), and iColor(TM)
cytometers enable quantitative cytometric image analysis of cellular and
tissue specimens.