NUS Logo

Yong Loo Lin
School of Medicine

Singapore Women’s Health Conference spotlights discussion on health and well-being of women and families

Published: 10 Nov 2023

The Singapore Women’s Health Conference, the inaugural conference organised by the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW) was launched on 10 November 2023. The event was graced by the Guest-of-Honour Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development (third from right).

Women face distinct and various challenges throughout different stages of their lives, one of them being conception and childbirth. Facing unparalleled risks through these stages of their lives, some outcomes include conditions such as hypertensive disorders in pregnancy gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, and more. Investing in women’s health ensures healthier and more productive individuals, happier families, and a better society in general. Yet, much remains to be done in the field of research on women’s health and wellbeing.

The Singapore Women’s Health Conference, is the inaugural conference organised by the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW), dedicated to the advancement of women’s health and longevity. Established under the auspices of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), GloW is a major research centre based in Asia, focusing specifically on health issues of Asian women worldwide, through a holistic and systematic approach to health, in relation to emerging public and family concerns. It conducts cutting-edge research on the health and well-being of women and their families and aims to narrow the gaps between research, policy and practice.

 “At GloW, we have the privilege to explore cutting-edge research, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and form collaborations that can shape the future of women’s health. Our ultimate mission is to improve women’s health in Asia and beyond,” said Prof Zhang Cuilin, Director of GloW at NUS Medicine.

Prof Zhang Cuilin, Director of GloW at NUS Medicine, spoke at the launch of the Singapore Women’s Health Conference.

 Prof Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, gave the opening address at the launch.

The four primary missions of GloW are:

  • Addressing common and important clinical and public health problems concerning women, children, and their families.

  • Identifying modifiable risk factors of common disorders related to women’s health by examining the complex interplay of factors, which range from dietary and lifestyle, to psychosocial, behavioral, environmental, genetic, and epigenetic.

  • Translating scientific knowledge into clinical and public health practices that can lead to advancements in early prediction, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common disorders concerning women’s health and well-being across their life courses and generations.

  • Training a new generation of medical and public health professionals to become leading transdisciplinary investigators and future leaders in women’s health with a life-course approach to health education.

The centre was officially launched by Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development at its inaugural three-day Singapore Women’s health conference.

Chef Dalton Fong, Cluster Head Chef of LINO, Singapore, will also be working with GloW for their upcoming diet and lifestyle intervention trial, which aims to improve women’s cardio metabolic profile and gut microbiome using an Asian-forward Mediterranean diet.

Themed “Promoting Women’s Health and Healthy Longevity: from Laboratory TO KITCHEN”, the conference gathered leading international and local scientists, experts, and practitioners in women’s health, maternal and child health, healthy longevity, public health, omics technology, and nutrition together to examine the myriad and unique health challenges women face across their span of life, and including cardiometabolic health and cancer, and more.

From topics on fetal and maternal health to diet and nutrition, as well as the role of omics in the etiology and prevention of diseases, the conference spanned a wealth of riveting discussions that added heft and direction to the current conversation on women’s health.

Featuring a programme that also looked at advances in food technology, mindful eating and sustainable menus, one of the conference highlights included an on-site cooking demonstration, featuring Chef Mai Pham from California, where she showcased her expertise through several easy and palatable dishes that used ingredients common to an Asian diet.

Read more in the press release here.

Latest Updates