APSR Assembly Fund Projects

The APSR supports Assembly Fund Projects to promote the research activities of APSR assemblies. A project team should comprise some of its APSR assembly members and include at least one assembly leader (Head, Head-Elect, Deputy Head).

The duration of each Project is one year in principle, and can be extended up to two years of fund support, for the research and report of the results.

Enquiries to APSRinfo@theapsr.org

Planned, current and past projects

1. 2024-2025 Pulmonary Circulation Assembly

   Prognostic Model for Long-Term Cardiac Function after Pulmonary Embolism Based on Dynamic Electrocardio Signal and Biomarkers

   Team members:

   Principal Investigator:	Dr Dingyi Wang （China）
   Principal team members:	Dr Zhenguo Zhai（China） Dr Guohui Fan (China)

   Project term:
   1 June 2024 - 31 May 2025
2. 2024-2025 Clinical Respiratory Medicine Assembly

   A survey on the practice and interpretation of various diagnostic tests for tuberculous pleuritis among respiratory physicians

   Team members:

   Principal Investigator:	Dr Ka Pang Chan （Hong Kong）
   Principal team members:	Dr Roland Leung Assembly Head (Hong Kong) Dr Chin Chung SHU (Taiwan) Dr Ying-Chun Chien (Taiwan) Dr Larry Elle Ak Nyanti (Malaysia) Dr Nai Chien Huan (Malaysia) Dr Cary Amiel G Villanueva (Philippines)

   Project term:
   1 June 2024 - 28 February 2025
   Project summary:

   Tuberculosis is a major infectious disease with a high mortality burden in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide. Among various types of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous pleuritis (TBP) is amongst the most common manifestations. TBP is also a major underlying cause among patients hospitalised with new-onset unilateral pleural effusion. The workup of TBP frequently involves thoracentesis to retrieve pleural fluid and pleural biopsy for microbiological and histological interpretations. However, the diagnostic accuracy of these tests is of unsatisfactory sensitivity, making diagnosing TBP challenging. In addition, certain tests, including pleural fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA), Mycobacterium tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction (MTB PCR), advanced biopsy procedures (e.g. real-time image-guided biopsy, pleuroscopy) are not readily available in developing regions due to scarcity of resources and lack of expertise. All these factors lead to heterogeneous practice in approaching new-onset pleural effusion, interpretation of pleural TB investigations, and timing of TBP treatment initiation among respiratory physicians in different Asia-Pacific regions. The proposed multinational survey aims to understand the real-world clinical practice in approaching patients with new-onset unilateral pleural effusion and diagnosing TBP in Asia-Pacific regions with intermediate to high TB burden. The results will reflect the current practice of diagnosing TBP, clinical and resource discrepancies in investigating TBP, management of TBP and help prioritise the need for further research in TBP.
3. 2022-2024 Cell and Molecular Biology Assembly

   Developing a novel synthetic lethal treatment with targeting long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) for KRAS-mutated lung cancer

   Team members:

   Principal Investigator:	Dr Mitsuo Sato (Japan), Assembly Deputy Head
   Principal team members:	Dr Ichidai Tanaka (Japan) Dr Kazuhide Sato (Japan)

   Project term:
   1 April 2022 – 31 March 2024
   Research Achievements will be presented at APSR 2024 Hong Kong Congress.