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Chun-Lai TooMinistry of HealthMalaysia
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Dr. Chun-Lai Too is Head of the Immunogenetics Unit at the Allergy and Immunology Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Ministry of Health Malaysia. She obtained her PhD in Medicine from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and holds a degree in Biomedicine from Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Dr. Too is an established leader in immunopharmacogenomics and rheumatology-focused immunogenetics, with over 20 years of experience in translational and clinical research. She leads Malaysia’s participation in the Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA) in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet and has established one of Southeast Asia’s largest, well-characterized rheumatoid arthritis cohorts. Her work has generated critical insights into HLA-associated disease susceptibility, gene–environment interactions, and autoantibody-driven pathogenesis, directly informing risk stratification and clinical management of autoimmune diseases within Malaysia’s multiethnic population. Importantly, her findings have contributed to strengthening national research capacity and informing clinical awareness of rheumatoid arthritis risk factors in diverse communities.
Her current research focuses on optimizing therapeutic outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis in the era of biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs and tsDMARDs). Through the BITORA (Biologic and Targeted Therapy Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis) study, she leads efforts to generate real-world evidence by integrating clinical, serological, and longitudinal biomarker data, including treatment response trajectories. This work addresses critical regional evidence gaps and supports the development of more precise, equitable, and cost-effective treatment strategies aligned with Malaysia’s healthcare priorities.
Dr. Too has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and serves as an active scientific reviewer. Her research aims to refine treatment response stratification, address discordance in disease activity assessment, and elucidate treatment-associated effects, including metabolic changes. Collectively, her work advances precision medicine in rheumatoid arthritis while supporting evidence-based policy development, improving access to appropriate therapies, and enhancing patient outcomes across Malaysian healthcare settings.
| Date | Time | Room | Session Title | Lecture Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16 | 11:40-11:50 | Room 2 (3F) | Free Paper Session 8_Rheumatoid Arthritis (II) | (KO-069) Distinct Disease Activity Trajectories with BDMARDs and TsDMARDs in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Insights from the BITORA Prospective Study |
