Professional background

Professor Kwee Yong was educated at Oxford University and University College London (UCL).  She completed doctoral studies at UCL, and was awarded a PhD in 1993 for her work on growth factors. Professor Yong returned to UCL as senior lecturer and honorary consultant in 1999, since when she has been clinical and academic lead in multiple myeloma at University College Hospital and the North London Cancer Network (NLCN), and wrote the NLCN guideline for the management of this cancer.
 
Prof Yong is a member of the NCRI Myeloma Clinical Studies Group, and is chief investigator on several NCRN phase 2 studies addressing novel treatment regimens and strategies in multiple myeloma.  She is member of the R & D and steering committees of the clinical trials network established in 2009 to run early phase studies in the UK. She has contributed to the recent revision of the UKMF/Nordic myeloma guidelines 2011, published in British Journal of Haematology. She is a member of the executive board of the UK Myeloma Forum, and acts as clinical expert for NICE technology appraisals. She is a regular speaker at national and international meetings.


Prof Yong also runs a laboratory programme working on aspects of myeloma biology and the mechanisms of bone disease.  This programme has received funding from Cancer Research UK, Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. She has published over 70 original papers in peer-reviewed journals, and is a reviewer for international journals and grant-awarding bodies.  Prof Yong runs the undergraduate programme in haematology at UCL Medical School. 

Research interests

  • Haemato-oncology multiple myeloma: biology
  • Cell cycle regulation and bone disease

Publications

Glassford,J., Rabin,N., Lam,E.W.F., Yong,K.L. (2007) Functional regulation of D-type cyclins by insulin-like growth factor-1 and serum in multiple myeloma cells. British Journal of Haematology.139, 243-254       
 
Kyriakou,C., Rabin,N., Pizzey,A., Nathwani,A., Yong,K. (2008). Short term homing of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in a xenogeneic animal model is influenced by animal age and is increased by enforced expression of CXCR4. Haematologica 93(10), 1457-1465. ISSN: 0390-6078        
 
Rabin,N., Kyriakou,C., Coulton,L., Gallagher,O.M., Buckle,C., Benjamin,R., Singh,N., Glassford,J., Otsuki,T., Nathwani,A.C., Croucher,P.I., Yong,K.L. (2007). A new xenograft model of myeloma bone disease demonstrating the efficacy of human mesenchymal stem cells expressing osteoprotegerin by lentiviral gene transfer. Leukemia 21, 2181- 2191       
 
Kyriakou,C.A., Yong,K.L., Benjamin,R., Pizzey,A., Dogan,A., Singh,N., Davidoff,A.M., Nathwani,A.C. (2006). Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) expressing truncated soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (tsFlk-1) following lentiviral-mediated gene transfer inhibit growth of Burkitt's lymphoma in a murine model. Journal of Gene Medicine 8(3), 253-264. ISSN: 1099-498X PubMed link   
 
Kyriakou,C., Thomson,K., D'Sa,S., Flory,A., Hanslip,J., Goldstone,A.H., Yong,K.L. (2005). Low-dose thalidomide in combination with oral weekly cyclophosphamide and pulsed dexamethasone is a well tolerated and effective regimen in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. British Journal of Haematology 129(6), 763-770. ISSN: 0007-1048 PubMed link    
 
Rew,S.B., Peggs,K., Sanjuan,I., Pizzey,A.R., Koishihara,Y., Kawai,S., Kosaka,M., Ozaki,S., Chain,B., Yong,K.L. (2005). Generation of potent antitumor CTL from patients with multiple myeloma directed against HM1.24. Clin Cancer Res 11, 3377-3384. ISSN: 1078-0432 [Online] [DOI link]       
 
Ahmed,F., Ings,S.J., Pizzey,A.R., Blundell,M.P., Thrasher,A.J., Ye,H.T., Fahey,A., Linch,D.C., Yong,K.L. (2004). Impaired bone marrow homing of cytokine-activated CD34+ cells in the NOD/SCID model. Blood 103(6), 2079-2087. ISSN: 0006-4971 [DOI link]