News In Brief December 2019

​Professor Jane Clarke FRS makes special guest appearance for LKCMedicine roundtable

On 5 December, 10 LKCMedicine junior female faculty members attended a special roundtable with Professor Jane Clarke FRS FRSC FMedSci, President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. A distinguished biophysical chemist who was awarded the Biophysical Society U.S Genomics Award for Outstanding Investigator in the field of Single Molecule Biology in 2010 — at the time, the only non-US and still the only female recipient of this prestigious award — Prof Clarke also has great personal interest in the role of women, especially the younger generation, in science and research. The informal mentoring session was moderated by Professor Daniela Rhodes FRS and held at the Boardroom of Headquarters Building in Novena. LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best started the roundtable by introducing Prof Clarke, before leaving the ladies to engage in a spirited discussion over light refreshments.

Ong Tiong Tat Chair Professor in Diabetes Research Bernhard O. Boehm gives LKCMedicine Public Lecture

On 2 December, an LKCMedicine Public Lecture by Ong Tiong Tat Chair Professor in Diabetes Research Bernhard O. Boehm was held at Clinical Sciences Building. Hosted by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best, LKCMedicine Professor of Metabolic Medicine Boehm gave a lecture titled "Remarks on Healthy Eating" which was well attended by nearly 40 attendees, comprising faculty members, research staff and graduate students as well as clinicians from the School's clinical partners Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Healthcare Group. In his seminar, Prof Boehm highlighted the importance of healthy eating habits which can prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases especially with the holiday season just around the corner. During the lecture, Prof Boehm touched on the emerging field of personalised and precise nutrition as well as current principles of healthy eating. The lecture was well-received by the audience as they were able to learn and put into practice healthy eating principles which have clinical proof of effectiveness.

LKCMedicine student wins award at 7^th SingHealth Duke-NUS Obstetrics and Gynecology Academic Clinical Program

The 7^th SingHealth Duke-NUS Obstetrics and Gynecology Academic Clinical Program (OBGYN ACP) Research Day, conducted on 8 November saw a Year 4 LKCMedicine student take home an award. Mani Hemaavathi's Scholarly Project titled "Association of Postnatal Glycaemic Status with IADPSG Criteria Time Points of Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)", supervised by Professor Tan Kok Hian was one of two projects selected for oral presentation. Her project explored the predictive power of the antenatal Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) screening time-points on the postpartum OGTT outcomes for women diagnosed with GDM, in light of the adoption of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria for GDM in Singapore. After a round of judging, Hema's project was awarded the Best Oral Presentation. LKCMedicine congratulates Hema on her award!

Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Workshop

On 18 November, LKCMedicine organised the Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Workshop at the Toh Kian Chui Annex Lecture Theatre. The workshop was well-attended with some 70 scientists, faculty and researchers participating. The workshop opened with an address by Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor and Professor of Developmental Biology Philip Ingham FRS. George Barth Geller Professor and Duke University Professor of Cell Biology Brigid Hogan FRS, Sir Hugh Devine Professor and University of Melbourne Chair of Surgery Peter Choong, delivered their keynote speeches "The Life of Breath: Stem Cell of the Adult Lung in Steady State and Repair" and "Advanced Limb Reconstruction – From Machines to Molecules" respectively. In addition to the keynote speakers, the workshop also featured stem cell and regenerative medicine experts from LKCMedicine, NTU and A*STAR. LKCMedicine Vice-Dean of Research Professor Lim Kah Leong also gave a talk on "Human Umbilical Cord Lining-derived Stem Cells as a Novel Source for Neural Transplantation in Parkinson's Disease". The workshop concluded with a lively post-event networking session.