Celebrating early and mid-career Clinician-Scientists at NUS Medicine
Published: 03 Sep 2026
Front row, seated left to right: Head of CS Academy A/Prof Catherine Ong, Prof Chng Wee Joo, CSDU Director Prof Koh Woon Puay, Dean Prof Chong Yap Seng, NUHS CE Prof Yeoh Khay Guan, NUH CMB Adj Prof Mark Edward Puhaindran, Prof Lee Eng Hin, Dr Shen Liang. Back row, standing left to right: NMRC Talent Awardees A/Prof James Hallinan, Dr Eng Pei Chia, Dr Emmett Wong, Dr Tham Yih Chung, Dr David Lu, Dr Velda Han, Dr Cinnie Soekojo, Dr Bernice Oh, Adj A/Prof Tor Phern Chern and Dr Samantha Yang. Absent with apologies: A/Prof Victor Koh, Adj A/Prof Mo Yin, Dr John Loh, Dr Liu Zengping, Dr Jocelyn Chew, Dr Eugene Tan and Dr Daryl Chia.
On 27 August 2026, the Clinician Scientist Development Unit (CSDU) hosted a congratulatory lunch for the latest National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Talent Award recipients from the January and July 2025 grant calls. The event recognised early and mid-career investigators who received the NMRC’s human capital awards, including Research Training Fellowship (RTF), Transition Award (TA), junior Clinician Scientist Award (CSA), Health Promotion, Preventive Health, Population Health and Health Services Research (HPHSR) Clinician Scientist Award (HCSA) and Clinician Innovator Award (CIA), which support clinician-scientists as they progress through their research careers.
Bringing together awardees and leaders from NUS Medicine, NUHS and NUH, the event celebrated not only research excellence, but also the resilience and perseverance behind every successful grant.
More Than a Grant
Opening the celebration, Professor Koh Woon Puay, Assistant Dean (Faculty Development) and Director of CSDU, reflected on the work behind each award, from refining ideas and gathering data to rewriting proposals and preparing for interviews. Prof Koh congratulated the awardees on their persistence, noting that success in research is as much about resilience as it is about good science. Since the establishment of CSDU in 2021, a growing number of young investigators have received these awards, strengthening the pipeline of clinician-scientists poised to advance research and patient care in Singapore.
Strong Mentorship, Stronger Grants
A key pillar of support is CSDU’s Grant Enhancement Masterclass (GEM). Launched in 2021, GEM provides aspiring clinician-scientists with structured grant critique, methodological guidance and interview preparation. To date, GEM has supported 67 applications, of which 44 were funded, representing an impressive success rate of 66%. This includes 22 of 27 CSA/HCSA/CIA applications and 22 of 40 TA applications. Special appreciation was extended to Emeritus Professor Lee Eng Hin, GEM’s anchor mentor, and Dr Shen Liang, whose expertise in biostatistics and research methodology has helped investigators sharpen their proposals.
An Ecosystem of Support
The celebration also reflected the strong institutional commitment to developing clinician-scientists. NUHS Chief Executive Professor Yeoh Khay Guan, NUS Medicine Dean Professor Chong Yap Seng, and NUH Chairman Medical Board Adjunct Professor Mark Edward Puhaindran joined the occasion to congratulate the awardees and encourage them on the next stage of their research journeys.
The afternoon concluded with a toast by Professor Chng Wee Joo, Group Chief Scientist, NUHS, and a fittingly playful dessert: a matcha chocolate cactus. Hardy, adaptable and able to thrive in challenging conditions, the cactus was an apt symbol for the clinician-scientist journey. Like the cactus, clinician-scientists persevere through long dry spells between grants and the occasional prickly review, while continuing to grow, innovate and make meaningful contributions to research and patient care.
Beyond celebrating individual achievements, the event recognised the collective effort behind Singapore’s clinician-scientist ecosystem. It highlighted the investigators, mentors and institutional leaders who support and strengthen the pipeline of clinician-scientists, as well as NUHS’ shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of researchers who will translate scientific discoveries into better outcomes for patients.
