Sharon Mei Mei WONG
Profile
Biography
Dr Sharon Wong completed her Ph.D. in 2011 at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine-NUS. She is a full time clinician at the Division of Radiation Oncology, NCCS and an Associate Professor at Singapore Institute of Technology (Health and Social Sciences Cluster). She has been involved in education, research and clinical work related to cancer for over 15 years. Sharon is currently the Vice-Chair for Postgraduate Education of SingHealth, College of Allied Health and the Co-Chair for Allied Health Professional Residency program. She is also the Program Director for SingHealth Medical Dosimetry Residency Program. Sharon serves in various roles and committee in the Ministry of Health (MOH) to develop training and educational frameworks for health care professionals.
Sharon is a strong advocate for continuing education and life long learning. She participated heavily in the evolution of radiation therapy education including the developing of the first BSc(Hons) program in Radiation therapy at SIT, the Advanced Practice RT Program and AHP Residency Program at SingHealth. Sharon is a passionate and active academic with strong national and international links in the field of radiation therapy. Dr Sharon Wong is also extensively involved in clinical research work and is on the editorial board of the Technical innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology and reviewer for many leading radiation oncology and imaging journals. Deeply passionate about both medical education and teaching, Sharon is also clinical faculty with the European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO).
SIT Appointments
- Associate Professor– Present
Education
- PhD (Medicine)Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, SG , Singapore
- MSc (Biomedical)Nanyang Technological University, SG , Singapore
- Bachelor of Health Science (Medical Radiation Technology)The University of Sydney, AU , Australia
Achievements
- Merit Award- Risk Management Category at Singapore Healthcare Management 2019
- Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to Radiography and Radiation Therapy profession–Singapore Society of Radiographers (SSR)
- 9th Allied Health Innovative Practice Award; SingHealth Academy
- SingHealth Duke-NUS Harvard Macy Programme-Health Profession Educators Essentials Award
- Best Educator in field of Radiography/Radiation Therapy, The Cancer Institute – National University Hospital, Singapore
- Innovative Excellence Award - Nanyang Polytechnic
- Best Research Project - Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR)
- Service with a Heart Award for Outstanding Service Quality - Singapore General Hospital
- Gold Medal Award for Best Overall Performance in Clinical Practice - The Singapore Society of Radiographers
- Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Performance - Ministry of Health
Professional Certification
- Allied Health Professionals Council Singapore
- American Association of Medical Dosimetrist – Certified Medical Dosimetrist
Professional Memberships
- European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology– Present
- American Association of Medical Dosimetrist– Present
- International Society of Radiation Technologists (ISSRT)–
- Singapore Society of Radiographers (SSR)–
Research
Research Interests
-
Breast cancers
-
Head and neck cancers
-
Urological and gynaecological cancers
-
Clinical workflow projects
Current Projects
- Influence of high fibre dietary on rectal volume reduction for prostate cancer radiotherapy.– Present
- Relationship between Psychological factors and somatic symptoms among Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients– Present
- A Phase 3 trial of accelerated whole breast irradiation with hypofractionation plus concurrent boost versus standard whole breast irradiation plus sequential boost for early-stage breast cancer– Present
- Evaluating the effects of a home-based seated exercise program on the quality of life (Qol) of breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy (CIRB Ref: 2012/840/D)– Present
- Impact of speech and dietary interventions on Quality of Life in Head and neck cancer patients undergoing Radiotherapy– Present
- Healthcare Quality Improvement and Innovation Fund– Present
($52,000) MOH
- A Randomized phase 3 study of standard vs IMRT pelvic radiation for post-operative treatment of endometrial and cervical cancer. RTOG 1203– Present
- Development of Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist (APRT) role in Singapore– Present
- To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational video to improve the understanding of Computer Tomography (CT) Simulation for patients undergoing breast radiation therapy (Awaiting CIRB approval)– Present
- Androgen Deprivation Therapy and High Dose Radiotherapy with or without whole pelvic radiotherapy in unfavorable intermediate or favorable high risk prostate cancer: A Phase 3 randomized trial. RTOG 0924– Present
- Effectiveness of a Nasogastric Tube insertion and feeding clinical care pathway for patients with Head and Neck Cancers undergoing radiation therapy– Present
- A quality of life (QoL) study on the acute and late effects of radiotherapy in gynaecological cancer patients (CIRB Ref:2013/005/B)– Present
- NCC Research Grant for Quality of life study in gynaecological cancer– Present
($44,876)
Publication
Journal Papers
S.Wong, HL Lee, LH Lim, Z Master. A case report: The role of Breath Hold Intensity Modulated Proton therapy for a case of left sided breast cancer with IMN involvements. How protons compare with other conformal techniques? Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology (pending publication)
L.H. Lim, E.P.P Pang, J Hansa, S.Wong. Perception on site-specific advanced practice roles for radiation therapists in Singapore - A single centre study. Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology 13 (2020) 17-20
S. Wong, I Kristen. RTTS time to prepare for the advent of proton therapy. Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology 13 (2019) 16
A Ong, Z Master, S. Wong, J Tuan. Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Whole Pelvis Irradiation in Prostate Cancer: A Dosimetric and Plan Robustness study between Photons and Protons . Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology 6 (2018) 11-19
S. Wong, H.H. Chor, M. Sathiya, C.T. Ong, T.T. Phan, J.J. Lu. Human epidermal keratinocytes death and expression of protein markers of apoptosis after ionizing radiation exposure. International Journal of Cancer Therapy and Oncology. 2013: ISSN 2330-4049
S. Wong, M. Back, W.P.Tan, K.M. Lee, S. Baggarley, J.J. Lu. Can Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning System accurately predict for Surface doses in Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy Patients? Medical Dosimetry 2011;5762
S. Wong, A. Kaur, M. Back, K.M. Lee, S. Baggarley, J.J. Lu. An Ultrasonographic evaluation of skin thickness in breast cancer patients after undergoing postmastectomy radiation therapy. Radiation Oncology 2011; 6:9
Conferences
S.Wong. Advanced Practice: Implementation of APRT program. An Asia experience. ESTRO meets Asia 2019. December 6-8th, 2019
S. Wong, F Ngoi, J Chua, C Lim, G. Lim, T Tan. Achieving Zero harm in the delivery of Radiation Treatments requiring Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Technique for Left Sided Breast Cancers. Singapore Healthcare Management 2019.
S.Wong Expert panelist . IGRT and Beyond. ESTRO Meets Asia 2019. Singapore December 7th-9th, 2018
S. Wong. Expert panelist. Advancing education for RO Professionals. ESTRO Meets Asia 2019. Singapore December 7th-9th, 2018
S.Wong, AHK Ong, P Huang, TTan, Effective Management of Unintended Radiotherapy Treatment Interruptions for Better Cancer Control Outcomes. 27th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. Orlando Florida, USA December 6th -9th, 2015.
S.Wong, CJC Lim, F Ngoi, I Chan, TM Tang. Integration of Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) into Radiation Incident Investigations. 40th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Medical Dosmetrists. Orlando, Florida, USA June 21-25, 2015.
27th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care 6-9th Dec 2015, Orlando USA
27th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care 6-9th Dec 2015, Orlando USA
People Skills for Managers and Supervisors. Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc. 7th February 2014
Creating Flow in Ambulatory Settling Workshop at Virginia Mason Institute. 9-11th February 2014. Seattle USA
Design Thinking (Stanford Biodesign Process) for Allied Health Professionals, 4th June – 6th June 2014. SingHealth Device Development Office
Healthcare Design Conference, 15th – 18th November 2014. San Diego USA
Human Factors Master Class. “Managing Human Error in Complex System: A System Safety Approach” 24th – 25th February 2014
S. Wong, Fong KW, Wong ZQ. Redesign the scheduling process for patients needing radiotherapy CT Simulation procedures in order to reduce waiting time. Poster presentation in the SingHealth BMJ Symposium 12th November 2014
Healthcare Design Conference, 15th – 18th November 2014. San Diego USA
12th Healthcare operations research appreciation course. National Healthcare Group. 18-19th July 2013
PTCOG 52 (52nd Annual Conference of the Particle Therapy Co-operative Group) – Scientific meeting, Essen, Germany 5-8 June 2013
Patient Safety in Radiation Oncology. ROSIS (Radiation Oncology Safety Information System). Melbourne 4-5th October 2012
Z. Master, S.A.Gan, S. Wong, K.W.Fong. A novel method for the efficient extraction of dose volume histogram parameters from radiotherapy treatment planning systems. Poster presentation in the World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Beijing, China from May 26 to 31, 2012.
Harvard Business School – In house program. NCCS Strategy and Creating Competitive Advantage. 10 – 13th February 2012
Singapore Guidelines to Good Clinical Practice (SG-GCP) 2012. SingHealth Academy and SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit. 24-25th September 2012
Chen J., S.Wong, R Yeo. Development of institution-wide cancer data management system to support cancer research with ABSID. Poster presentation in the World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Beijing, China from May 26 to 31, 2012.
EPIC (Enhancing Performance, Improving Care) SingHealth Academy. 19-21st March 2012
S. Wong. The Future of Radiation Technologists' Training and Education in Singapore. Oral presentation in the 15th Congress of the Asean Association of Radiology on 18-21st May 2011
S. Wong et al. Can radiation therapy treatment planning system accurately predict surface doses in postmastectomy radiation therapy cancer patients? Poster presentation in the American Radium Society’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Florida on April 30-May 4th 2011
S. Wong et al. Epidermal keratinocytes death and expression of marker proteins of apoptosis. Oral presentation in National University Hospital – Department of Medicine on 16th Feb 2006
S. Wong et al. A dosimetric comparison of three dimensional CT planned Radiotherapy versus conventional Techniques for left sided breast cancer in Asian Population, Poster presentation in the 17th Annual Asia-Pacific Cancer Conference (APCC) in Bali October 8-11, 2003
Teaching
Teaching Modules
Radiation Therapy, BSc (Hons)
- RTY4801 - Honours Thesis
- RTY2001 - Cancer Pathology
- RTY2004 - Principles of Radiation Therapy Practice (Breast, Genitourinary & Gynaecological)
- RTY2005 - Radiation Oncology (Breast, Genitourinary & Gynaecological)
- RTY3001 - Principles of Radiation Therapy Practice (Respiratory, Endocrine & CNS)
- RTY3002 - Radiation Oncology (Respiratory, Endocrine & CNS)
- RTY3003 - Principles of Radiation Therapy Practice (Head & Neck, Paediatric & Lymphomas)
- RTY3004 - Radiation Oncology (Head & Neck, Paediatric & Lymphomas)
- RTY4001 - Principles of Radiation Therapy Practice (Systemic Diseases & Oncologic Emergencies)
- RTY4002 - Radiation Oncology (Systemic Diseases & Oncologic Emergencies)