2019 Outstanding Research Fellow Award

The award recognizes the efforts and achievements of NUS Med research fellow who have demonstrated a breadth of excellence in all areas of research, service, mentoring, and leadership at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

After an extensive evaluation, we are pleased to announce Dr. Cheah Kee-Mun Irwin from the Department of Biochemistry has been selected to receive the NUS Med 2019 Outstanding Research Fellow Award.

Irwin’s research work revolves around investigating the potential of ergothioneine in human health and disease, and in the process, he has initiated and fostered numerous research collaborations across many institutes and departments. He has also successfully written and clinched several grants as a co-investigator to support and further his research work and published extensively. His recent joint work on mushrooms and cognition was also widely featured on several sites. Irwin has also been a critical pillar of support for a large number of past and present graduate, undergraduate and exchange students, and research staff who he has actively mentored and provided guidance to over the years, and this was clearly evident in his mentees’ letters of support.

Below is some excerpt of what Dr. Cheah Kee-Mun Irwin’s mentees said of him:

“Dr. Irwin has been providing much support and guidance and gave regular feedback to my research and provided plenty of opportunities for me to consult him whenever I needed help. His attitude and work ethics showed that he is an excellent role model for everyone in our lab, and I am grateful to have him as my mentor throughout the past 5 years”

 “We have worked together on the publication of a paper about the transport of ergothioneine, during this, he assisted greatly with the planning of milestones for the project. Together we came up with a framework for what results we would require. During this time, he checked in periodically to make sure I was on track. This helped a lot, as is often the case with PhD students we can struggle with clarity of purpose”

 “I have become far better both as a person and also as a scientist under Dr. Cheah’s guidance. Dr. Cheah advises us on not only the technical aspects of research but also the philosophical questions of science. Some of his passion has rubbed on me I have to say. He stresses the importance of carefully conducted quality research. We are very lucky to have Dr. Cheah as a mentor”

2019 Outstanding Mentor Award for Research Fellows

This award recognizes outstanding research fellows who have demonstrated excellence in the mentorship and professional development of students and research staff at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. And we are pleased to note that we received numerous nominations from the mentees of well deserving applicants.

After an extensive evaluation, we are pleased to announce that the following candidates have been selected to receive the NUS Med 2019 Outstanding Mentor Award for Research Fellows.

Below is some excerpt of what Dr. Ooi Shu Qin Delicia’s mentees said of her:

“Dr. Delicia spent hours reviewing protocols and various administrative documents, and on occasions even stayed back as late as midnight to ensure that samples get processed appropriately”

“she instilled upon me the importance of doing things right and not taking short cuts; from simple tasks like pipetting and casting the electrophoretic gel, to dealing with data sets and subject samples”

“she has been an exemplary scientist displaying extraordinary research aptitude as well as mentoring capabilities. If we have shown that we are committed to research as our future path, she would plan, guide and advice our progress”

Below is some excerpt of what Dr. Fann Yang-Wei David’s mentees said of him:

“Dr. David is always available for consultation. I would always send him my updated thesis and poster during my FYP time, and he would get back quickly with the marking and comments”

“He takes active effort to put aside time out every day to lookup on everyone’s projects on PubMed to keep us updated on any new articles or review papers that are published – even if it’s independent of his research project”

“Do as you would be done by” ~ the golden rule very well describes David as a mentor. He ensures fairness and sets clear boundaries between encouraging students and being critical when it comes to Science”

Below is some excerpt of what Dr. Mei Yu’s mentees said of him:

“Dr. Mei Yu trained me to think like a real researcher. Besides, he also took care of my academic, personal and professional goals. As he knew I am going to pursue graduate study, he gave me advice and encouraged me”

“He always emphasizes on the high ethical standards required in research and to avoid scientific misconduct such as falsification of research data. He is also an understanding mentor that try to plan the experiments according to our different schedules”

“When some of the students are down as a result of a failed experiment, he will console them saying that it is a common situation that one would encounter while doing research, together with giving us advice on how to tackle the problem”