Issue 54
Jul 2025
DOSSIER
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) co-hosted “A Dialogue with Nobel Laureates: Transforming Scientific Breakthroughs into Real-World Solutions” on 8 January 2025, in collaboration with the Faculty of Science at NUS, the National Research Foundation, Singapore (NRF) and Global Young Scientists Summit 2025. The event featured Nobel Prize recipients Professor Sir Richard Roberts (Physiology or Medicine, 1993) and Professor Aaron Ciechanover (Chemistry, 2004), who discussed the real-world applications of scientific breakthroughs with NUS academics.
The main session, open to students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty, featured speakers NUS Medicine Dean, Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dr Pauline Tay, Director, National Health Innovation Centre, Singapore, Ms Juliana Lim, Executive Director, SGInnovate, and Associate Professor Benjamin Tee.
At the heart of the event was a dialogue, moderated by Professor Chng Wee Joo, Vice President, Biomedical Sciences Research, NUS, that delved deep into the personal journeys of the two Nobel Laureates, motivations behind their scientific pursuits and the impact of their work. They stressed the importance of mentorship and underscored the need for resilience, perseverance and critical evaluation of their own work in achieving groundbreaking discoveries. Both laureates also discussed the evolving landscape of scientific research and the integration of artificial intelligence in science.
Professor Sow Chorng Haur, Vice-Dean (Outreach and Admissions), NUS Faculty of Science, closed the event by reflecting on the profound insights shared during the day and emphasised the diverse paths to success in science.
Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine delivering the opening address.
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