By David She (PhD student, Department of Physiology)
Creative-Design Director, Graduate Students Society
The 5th Annual Graduate Scientific Congress (AGSC 2015) was successfully held at the NUHS Tower Block Auditorium on 27 January 2015. Organised by the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Graduate Students Society, together with a group of highly dedicated medical, nursing and pharmacy graduate student volunteers, AGSC 2015 saw overwhelming participation from over 450 graduate students, faculty members and industry representatives from all relevant established and emerging disciplines coming together to communicate and exchange ideas on current scientific issues and to promote scientific advancements. Associate Professor Yeoh Khay Guan, Dean of NUS Medicine, welcomed the guests and participants with a speech on the importance of translational research and using AGSC 2015 as a platform to invoke collaborative ideas.
This year’s theme “Decoding Science, Translating Medicine” was inspired by the collaborative roles of the basic and clinical scientists in the realm of biomedical research and highlighted the pressing need to translate basic biomedical research into clinical practice. Students and staff from across NUS Medicine, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Heath, Faculty of Dentistry, Wong Hock Boon Society, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Department of Pharmacy and for the first time, NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering (NGS) came together for the congress. A total of 119 representatives from more than 18 different departments presented their research in posters and oral presentations.
AGSC 2015 was graced by the NUS Deputy President for Research and Technology, Professor Barry Halliwell, who delivered a keynote lecture, and NUS Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Professor Mohan Kankanhalli. The participants of AGSC 2015 were inspired by the two plenary lectures by Professor Yoshiaki Ito, Senior Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, who highlighted the current trends in cancer research; and Professor Lawrence Ho Khek Yu, Vice-Dean for Research, NUS Medicine, who shared with the audience the importance of translational research and innovation and how chilli crab had inspired the invention of a ground-breaking robotic surgical device.
The congress ended with an award ceremony for recipients of the 5th AGSC Best Oral and Poster Awards, NUSMed FY2014 Best International Graduate Research Publication and Oral Presentation Award and the AY2014/2015 Yeoh Seang Aun Graduate Prize (in Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases). Associate Professor S Thameem Dheen, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, presented the prizes to winners and congratulated them on their outstanding achievements in their respective fields.
Professor Lawrence Ho, Vice-Dean for Research, NUS Medicine, sharing his story on how chilli crab had inspired the design of the claw-like component of his robotic surgical device.
Aneesh Karkhanis, PhD Student, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, explaining his research to Associate Professor Rita Singh, University of Delhi.