Charting a new era for biomedical research: Meet two of NUS Medicine’s newest PhD graduates
Published: 06 Jul 2023
FOO SONG CHUAN, AARON
Valedictorian, Class of 2023, PhD Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Senior Resident, Neurosurgery, National University Hospital, National University Health System
With two years left in his Residency to become an attending neurosurgeon, Aaron’s decision to pursue his PhD surprised many, including himself. Clinicians, especially surgeons, typically focus on building up their clinical competency and techniques in their first few years after graduating from medical school and only consider doing research when they become experienced clinicians. That was the route Aaron had envisioned himself taking until his supervisor asked if he was keen to become a Clinician Scientist as he displayed the aptitude for it, having executed several successful clinical research projects for the department.
Despite having to pause his Residency, take a pay cut and forgo a promotion, Aaron decided to explore a new career pathway as a clinician scientist and pursue a post-graduate degree at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine). At the heart of it all, Aaron, who is also this year’s valedictorian for NUS Medicine Graduate Studies Programme, believes in delivering exceptional care to patients. By translating scientific discoveries into potential therapeutic solutions for patients whose current treatments are undesirably painful, long or non-existent, he wants to be able help patients by becoming the bridge between practice and research.
His PhD journey has also helped him become a better clinician. He is now more fastidious about surgical techniques, looks more critically at the information presented that led to lower patient complications and is overall more meticulous. Aaron also attributed his increased patience to having had to deal with nine out of his ten experiments giving him data that did not help him progress his project objectives. He also learnt to better manage his clinical team and resources as he had to utilise hard-earned funding optimally and efficiently to ensure he had enough to complete his project.
Having witnessed his transformation, a number of his colleagues are contemplating or have decided to pursue their PhD. Aaron views this as a good thing as he strongly believes that in order to raise the bar for practice, clinicians should do some research and can start small. Although he has resumed his Residency training, he still helps out with some of the clinical experiments at the lab he was stationed at during his PhD. Most recently, Aaron’s paper on SIRIUS, an ultra-Scintillating upconversion breast implant that is capable of large field, high intensity illumination for photodynamic therapy of deep-seated tumors was published in a highly regarded journal, ACS Nano.
“Aaron has risen above tough challenges, taken the bull by its horn, and succeeded. With this resilient mindset, I am confident he will benefit patients and be an asset to the healthcare and biomedical sector with his continued excellence in clinical practice and research work.”– Prof Soong Tuck Wah, Department of Physiology, Aaron’s Thesis Supervisor
Aaron hopes to work on research projects exploring topics like neuro oncology, molecular biology and perhaps even Artificial Intelligence in the future.
NG SOK HONG, ANGELIA SIA
Class of 2023, NUS Medicine PhD Graduate
Angelia always believed in the therapeutic benefits of nature and the positive impact nature interaction has on wellbeing. That belief led her to her very first foray into therapeutic horticulture where she worked on a project to improve the health of seniors alongside Professors Kua Ee Heok and Roger Ho from the Department of Psychological Medicine at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine). The programme saw good outcomes. Besides reported improvement in relations with others, there were positive changes detected in participants’ biological markers, such as reduction in the plasma interleukin-6 levels which suggested improved immunity. The therapeutic horticulture intervention programme received the green light to scale and Angelia was given the opportunity to conduct a second study.
Fuelled by the drive to bring about more health benefits for seniors and the community at large, Angelia felt that she needed to hone her research abilities further for her to contribute more meaningfully and effectively in the design of interventions. She deems a true collaboration one where everyone is equally involved and invested. With that goal in mind, she decided to pursue a post graduate degree at NUS Medicine, in addition to her Master of Business Administration at Imperial College (London). At the same time, there was also a strong push at NParks for officers to ground programmes in research and Angelia’s employer was very supportive of her decision to do her PhD. Angelia even managed to secure the prestigious Ministry of National Development (MND) EDGE Scholarship awarded to outstanding officers under MND and key statutory boards identified as future leaders that have the potential to shape the future landscape of the nation.
Angelia is well on track to making a difference through her research; by uncovering compelling evidence proving that interaction with urban greenery can result in many positive health outcomes in her PhD thesis, her findings will lay the groundwork for more nature-based interventions to take shape and be implemented in the coming years. With the escalation of worrying trends in youth and elderly mental health, Angelia’s research will no doubt provide useful insights that can help mitigate the rise.
“Angelia’s work paves the way for a greener, healthier Singapore. With her unwavering composure in the face of adversity and masterful planning, we can look forward to more ground-breaking research and meaningful collaborations that she will bring about in her drive to build a future where green spaces in the community can help uplift the nation’s collective well-being.” – Professor Roger Ho, Department of Psychological Medicine, Angelia’s PhD thesis supervisor
Her passion for plants, green spaces and sustainability is also evident in the pieces she writes and edits in her long running role as the Editor-In-Chief of CITYGREEN since its inception in 2012. Under Angelia’s stewardship, CITYGREEN, a bi-annual publication that covers issues relating to greening urban environments has won multiple APEX Awards for Publications Excellence.
Angelia truly exemplifies what it means to be a lifelong learner with her intense desire to learn new things, acquire different perspectives and perhaps, more importantly, create new knowledge that can help inspire health-promoting habits.
