The Gap Between Science and Practice Is Where I Want to Contribute

5 July 2026

For over a decade, Sheng Jie built a successful career translating complexity into clear direction. As a Client Development Manager at Kantar, she guided clients across diverse industries through research design, survey methodology, and team delivery. She excelled at it. Yet, over time, she felt a growing pull toward problems with higher stakes. The rapidly accelerating field of precision medicine—and the AI transformation driving it—captured her attention and refused to let go.

The Catalyst for Change

As she closely observed how AI was reshaping healthcare and where Singapore was placing its long-term bets, a distinct pattern emerged. The science was advancing at lightning speed, but the distance between what precision medicine could offer and what actually reached patients remained vast. Bridging that divide required professionals who could seamlessly navigate both sides.

This intellectual curiosity was soon grounded by a profound personal catalyst: a close friend's cancer diagnosis.

"That experience made me pause and ask whether I was working on things that actually mattered," Sheng Jie reflects. "The move felt less like a risk after that, and more like something I had to do." She knew then that her next step had to contribute directly to something she genuinely cared about—human health and wellbeing.

Finding Her Edge in the Unknown

The MSc in Precision Health and Medicine (MScPHM) at NUS offered the perfect entry point. It was rigorous enough to build a rock-solid scientific foundation, yet applied enough to connect directly to clinical practice.

Entering a cohort of clinicians, bioinformaticians, and engineers, Sheng Jie's non-traditional background initially felt like a leap into the unknown. The curriculum covered formidable ground, from medical science and statistical coding to applied machine learning. Coming from a different starting point meant working twice as hard to find her footing.

However, her unique profile quickly became an undeniable asset. Years of coordinating complex, multi-stakeholder projects enabled her to drive group work forward, hold tight timelines, and seamlessly translate highly technical builds into accessible concepts for any audience. "I was glad to be useful in ways I hadn't expected," she shares.

What carried her through the steep learning curve was her relentless drive to understand the why. Grasping the mathematics and underlying logic of machine learning models was a breakthrough moment where theory and application finally converged. Understanding the science made it possible to understand the reasons behind the limitations in practice, and suddenly, the real-world constraints clicked into place.

Bridging Theory and Industry

The MScPHM programme also served as a crucial bridge between academic theory and industry reality. Guest lectures and industry sessions provided a firsthand look at the myriad decisions sitting between research, clinical practice, and patient access.

One standout session with a medical affairs team illuminated a function perfectly positioned at the intersection of clinical evidence and practice—focused entirely on ensuring the right information reaches the right people. Those conversations sharpened her trajectory and clarified exactly where she wanted to be.

A Life in Motion

Outside the classroom, Sheng Jie stays grounded by staying in motion—running half marathons and scuba diving. These pursuits reflect the very instinct that drew her to precision medicine: a drive to keep moving forward and courageously push into unfamiliar terrain.

For future students considering the programme, her advice is twofold. First, stay relentlessly curious, because the learning never stops. Second, own the value you bring: if you are coming from an unconventional background, be confident in your foundation. For Sheng Jie, years of strategic and analytical work forged a problem-solving mindset that transferred far beyond her expectations.