News

The Department of Pharmacology congratulates Professor Fred Wong, Director of the Drug Discovery and Optimisation Platform, on securing S$2.13 million (US$1.66 million) in funding through 65LAB.

Serving as Co-Principal Investigator, Prof. Wong will lead efforts to accelerate the optimization and pre-clinical development of a potential first-in-class, airway-delivered biologic therapy. The treatment is designed to combat Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other immune cell-driven lung diseases. Preclinical studies have already shown highly encouraging results, demonstrating the biologic’s ability to reduce lung inflammation, improve lung function, and slow disease progression.

This funding will not only advance critical pre-clinical milestones but also pave the way for the creation of a new biotechnology company, bringing this innovative, real-world healthcare solution one step closer to patients.

Full Story: https://sbr.com.sg/healthcare/news/65lab-backs-nus-biotech-venture-213m-funding

NUS Department of Pharmacology was pleased to welcome Professor Bian and colleagues from Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) for a visit and research exchange session.

During the meeting, both teams shared their research strengths and academic initiatives, engaging in fruitful discussions on areas of mutual interest. The exchange highlighted potential opportunities for future collaboration in fields such as drug delivery, lipidomics, and biomarker research, while also providing insights into SUSTech’s strong expertise in cardiovascular research.

The department look forward to strengthening ties and exploring collaborative opportunities that advance biomedical research and innovation.

The visit was also featured on SUSTech’s website. Read their coverage here: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/r533ZXuMuA_l5tOU9nCT5g

We are pleased to announce that Dr TRAN Thi Tuyet Trinh has been awarded the Lilly Medal and Prize in Pharmacology 2026 in recognition of her outstanding PhD research.

This annual award was established through a donation from the Lilly-NUS Centre for Clinical Pharmacology Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, to honour students who have excelled in pharmacology studies and training. The prize includes a gold medal and a cash award of S$250 for the PhD student with the best PhD research thesis in Pharmacology.

Dr Tran’s thesis, “RNA Therapeutics Targeting Driver Mutations in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Delivered by Extracellular Vesicles,” was supervised by Associate Professor LE Thi Nguyet Minh from the Department of Pharmacology and the Digital Medicine (WisDM) Translational Research Programme.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr TRAN Thi Tuyet Trinh on this well-deserved achievement, and our sincere appreciation to the principal investigators for their strong support of this prize.

Congratulations to faculty members from the Department of Pharmacology who have been featured in the latest Research.com global rankings of Best Scientists by Discipline. These prestigious rankings recognise leading experts worldwide based on their research performance, impact, and scholarly contributions.

We are especially proud to share that Professor Guillermo C. Bazan was ranked 2nd in Singapore and 98th globally in Chemistry, underscoring his outstanding influence in the field.

Notably, most of the recognised faculty demonstrated improvements in their global rankings, while their national rankings remained unchanged, reflecting continued strong standing within Singapore alongside growing international research impact. Distinguished faculty members recognised across disciplines such as Medicine, Neuroscience, and Biology & Biochemistry include Associate Professor Gautam Sethi, Dr Alan Prem Kumar, Dr Mitchell Lai Kim Peng, Associate Professor Gavin S. Dawe, Professor Manjunatha Kini, Dr Muthu Shanmugam, Associate Professor Edward Manser, Associate Professor Shabbir Moochhala, Professor Phillip K. Moore, and Professor Christopher Chen Li-Hsian.

These achievements highlight the Department of Pharmacology’s sustained excellence in biomedical research and its rising global visibility, while maintaining leadership at the national level.

We are proud to congratulate our faculty members — Prof. Christopher CHEN Li Hsian, Prof. GOH Boon Cher, and Dr. Saima HILAL — on receiving prestigious awards under the 2026 National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Awards.

Prof Christopher Chen and Prof Goh Boon Cher were awarded the Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (STaR), while Dr Saima Hilal received the Clinician Scientist Award – Investigator (CSA-INV).

These achievements reflect their outstanding contributions to medical research and their continued commitment to advancing healthcare and scientific innovation. We extend our heartfelt congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has achieved its strongest performance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 since the subject rankings were introduced in 2011. In the latest edition released on 25 March 2026, a record 28 NUS subjects were placed in the global top 10, with seven ranked among the world’s top three.

This milestone reflects a sustained upward trajectory, with the number of NUS subjects in the global top 10 rising from 14 in 2023 to 19 in 2024, 22 in 2025, and now 28 in 2026—effectively doubling over three years.

Notably, Pharmacology continues to lead Asia, maintaining its position as Asia’s #1 while ranking 9th globally in 2026, underscoring NUS’ strength and consistency in this field.

For more details: https://news.nus.edu.sg/nus-leads-asia-in-the-qs-world-university-rankings-by-subject-2026?utm_source=Corpsite&utm_medium=FeaturedBanner

Photo caption: Dr Mitchell LAI Kim Peng (left) being presented the PSS Promising Educator Award 2026 by A/Prof Gavin Dawe, President of the Pharmacological Society (Singapore) [PSS] and Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

PSS Promising Educator Award 2026 – Pharmacological Society (Singapore)

The Department of Pharmacology congratulates Dr Mitchell LAI Lim Peng on winning the inaugural Pharmacological Society (Singapore) [PSS] Promising Educator Award 2026.

The PSS Promising Educator Award was bestowed upon Dr Mitchell Lai in recognition of his sustained and impactful contributions to pharmacology education. At the National University of Singapore, he has played an important role in integrating pharmacology within systems-based curricula, particularly in the cardiovascular and mental health system blocks during the restructuring of the curriculum at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and in revitalising the Dental Pharmacology curriculum. His teaching is consistently highly regarded by students for its clarity and engagement in explaining complex concepts. Importantly, Dr Lai is also an active research scientist and exemplifies the mutually reinforcing relationship between research and education. By modelling how pharmacological knowledge advances through scientific inquiry, he inspires students to view pharmacology not only as a body of knowledge but as a dynamic field of discovery. He is also engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning, with initiatives including the co-creation of learning resources with students and the use of mind-map frameworks to support structured understanding of drug classes. Beyond the classroom, Dr Lai contributes to educator development through workshops and symposia, including on core concepts and the teaching of pharmacology within integrated curricula at the Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference (APMEC).

We are proud to share that the National University of Singapore Department of Pharmacology actively contributed to the Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference (APMEC 2026), held from 23–26 January 2026 in Yiwu, China.

Co-organised by NUS and Zhejiang University, APMEC 2026 brought together close to 1,000 medical educators from over 30 countries and regions, creating a vibrant platform for cross-border dialogue on the future of medical and health professions education. The conference was also featured in the Chinese media, highlighting its growing regional and international impact.

Faculty from the Department of Pharmacology contributed through hands-on workshops, symposia, and scholarly presentations, sharing practical innovations in teaching, assessment, faculty development, and the use of accessible educational technologies. These sessions reflected our ongoing commitment to advancing pedagogy-led innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the preparation of future-ready healthcare professionals.

We are honoured to be part of this global educational community and to contribute to meaningful conversations shaping medical education across diverse cultural and institutional contexts.

Congratulations to Dr. Alan P. Kumar on the publication of his newly edited book on CRISPR/Cas9 and cancer research.

This book brings together leading international perspectives on how CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology is transforming cancer research and redefining therapeutic possibilities. Covering advances from fundamental mechanistic insights to translational applications, the volume highlights the growing importance of genome editing as a cornerstone of next-generation oncology.

A central focus of the book is drug resistance, one of the most pressing challenges in cancer treatment. Several chapters examine how CRISPR/Cas9 is being applied to dissect genetic mechanisms underlying therapeutic resistance, offering new strategies to address treatment failure, particularly in patients who have exhausted conventional options.

For more details: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/14690#t=aboutBook

Assoc Prof Sng, one of the earliest to be promoted to an open-contract position in the preclinical educator track at NUS Medicine, is a strong proponent of going beyond meeting teaching requirements to actively innovating in medical education. With 16 years of teaching experience, she believes that meaningful improvement in curricula and pedagogy must be grounded in education research. Regularly reflecting on her teaching practice, she identifies gaps in effectiveness and explores new approaches and technologies, driven by the need to prepare students for a rapidly digitalising healthcare landscape where tools such as AI are increasingly embedded in clinical practice.

Coming from a science research background, Assoc Prof Sng credits education research with accelerating her growth as an educator and shaping her leadership in teaching innovation. Her commitment led her to establish the NUSMed Educator Club to support faculty development across disciplines, and to pursue a Master of Medical Sciences in Medical Education at Harvard Medical School in 2023. Through the programme, she deepened her expertise, challenged her own assumptions about teaching, and built international networks with fellow medical education leaders—experiences that continue to inform her work at NUS Medicine and open doors for future collaboration.

Full Article: https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/newsletters/issue57/insights/learning-to-teach-better/