image: Ms Doreen Siow, on behalf of the Siow family, and Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, after signing the agreement for the Ellen Siow Professorship.
Credit: NUS Medicine
Today, the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) announced the establishment of the Ellen Siow Professorship in Neurosurgery in a tribute to the life and legacy of Ellen Siow and her family’s enduring commitment to medical research, education, and philanthropy.
The Professorship aims to advance education and research in the field of neuro-oncology, specifically in brain tumours and gliomas. By supporting the full spectrum of translational research, it will drive the development of innovative programmes and interventions that can be translated into better outcomes for patients. It will also strengthen both academic teaching and clinical research, fostering progress that benefits people in Singapore and beyond. Through this Professorship, the School will be able to appoint a leading expert in the critical field of neuro-oncology research and accelerate transformative research initiatives.
"Brain tumour has twice struck my family,” said Doreen Siow, a representative of the Siow family. “In 1963, my father was diagnosed and died on the operating table during surgery. In 2022, my sister Ellen, was diagnosed with GBM. She also had surgery but died six months later in March 2023. My mother, who was not told of Ellen's cancer, passed a month later of old age. To honour Ellen's memory, my mother's estate is donating funds to establish a professorship to do more research on GBM, where there are significant unmet needs. We understand that cancer treatment in many areas has have made great strides, but treatment of GBM in particular has not changed much and the prognosis remains very poor. We hope this gift will support more research and teaching and its ultimate goal will be to extend the duration and quality of life for victims of this disease."
Made possible by a generous gift from the Siow family, this professorship is funded through the estate of Willie Siow Fung Wai Ying, the family matriarch. She was born in Hong Kong and moved to Singapore after her marriage and was widowed at age 39 when her husband Vincent Siow died of a brain tumour in 1963. Willie was a lifelong philanthropist inspired by the example of her own parents, who endowed several schools in Hong Kong for children from low-income families. Throughout her lifetime, Willie supported a range of charitable causes, including contributions to Dover Park Hospice, a few nursing homes, a bursary for students from low-income backgrounds at the Institute for Technical Education in Singapore, and donations to healthcare and education initiatives in Hong Kong and Nepal. Willie’s deep interest in medicine, education, and the elderly led her to dedicate a large portion of her estate to charity following her passing in April 2022.
The Professorship is named in memory of Willie’s second youngest child, Ellen Siow, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2021 and passed away six months later in March 2022 at the age of 62. The Siow family chose to endow this professorship to support further research and medical advancement in the treatment of glioblastoma, a devastating and currently incurable brain cancer. It is an aggressive malignancy arising from astrocytes—cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells—in the brain or spinal cord. With no existing cure, current treatments focus on slowing the disease’s progression and alleviating symptoms, underscoring the urgent need for research into more effective therapies.
Professor Chong Yap Seng, Lien Ying Chow Professor in Medicine, Dean of NUS Medicine, said, “We are deeply grateful to the Siow family for their vision and generosity. The Ellen Siow Professorship in Neurosurgery will have a profound impact on advancing research and clinical practice in neuro-oncology, with the potential to bring renewed hope to patients and families affected by glioblastoma in Singapore and beyond.”