The public University of Macau (UM) hosted the 2026 Dr Stanley Ho Memorial Lecture last Friday as part of its 45th anniversary celebrations, featuring a leading cancer immunology expert from the University of Oxford who discussed the potential of personalised vaccines to prevent cancer, according to a UM statement yesterday.
The lecture was jointly organised by the university’s Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), the Dr Stanley Ho Medical Development Foundation (SHMDF), the Centre for Personalised Medicine (CPM) and St Anne’s College of the University of Oxford, the statement said.
The keynote lecture, titled “Personalising Vaccines for Cancer Prevention”, was delivered by Tim Elliott, Kidani professor of Immuno-Oncology* and director of the Centre for Immuno-Oncology at the University of Oxford, the statement said, adding that the event attracted faculty members, students, researchers, healthcare professionals and members of the public.
UM Vice Rector Ge Wei thanked SHMDF for its long-standing support of the university, highlighting UM’s recent achievements and future development plans, the statement said. Ge said that the lecture would promote international academic exchange, strengthen research collaboration and contribute to medical innovation and the cultivation of healthcare professionals, the statement noted, adding that Ian Huen Chung Yuen, vice-chairman of SHMDF’s Board of Trustees, said that the foundation remains committed to advancing healthcare innovation and international collaboration.
Huen noted that this year’s memorial lecture was held at UM for the first time after previously being hosted at the University of Oxford, providing a new platform for academic exchange between Macau and the international medical research community, the statement said.
During the lecture, Elliott elaborated on how advances in immunology are creating new opportunities for personalised cancer prevention, the statement said. Drawing on more than three decades of research into antigen processing and presentation, he used coloured chocolate balls and chocolate beans to demonstrate how T cells distinguish abnormal cells from healthy ones, the statement noted, adding that this immune mechanism could be applied to develop personalised vaccines for individuals with specific cancer risks or pre-cancerous lesions.
Elliott also discussed recent progress in identifying tumour-specific antigens and outlined strategies for developing vaccine targets that avoid triggering harmful autoimmune responses, the statement noted, underlining that he examined the potential of preventive cancer vaccines to stop cancer at its earliest stages while addressing the scientific, clinical and ethical challenges of bringing personalised cancer prevention into clinical practice.
According to the statement, the lecture was moderated by Vinay Tergaonkar, chair professor in FHS. The statement said that the event formed part of its efforts to strengthen international collaboration in biomedical research and promote knowledge exchange in cancer immunology and personalised medicine as the university celebrates its 45th anniversary.
*The Kidani Professorship is an endowed academic chair in Immuno-Oncology and Immunotherapy at the University of Oxford, established through the Kidani Memorial Trust honouring cancer researcher Professor Yoshinori Kidani. - Gemini
This handout photo provided by the University of Macau (UM) yesterday shows Prof. Tom Elliot addressing last Friday’s “Personalising Vaccines for Cancer Prevention” lecture on the public university’s campus in Hengqin.
