News In Brief: News roundup October 2020

LKCMedicine PhD student wins NSmen award

On 1 October, LKCMedicine PhD student Wee Soon Keong was awarded Formation National Serviceman of the Year Commendation and National Service (NS) Excellence Award. These awards are presented to NSmen who have demonstrated excellent performance and consistently set exemplary standards in training, discipline, and attitude towards NS. Soon Keong would like to thank the School, his supervisor, Associate Professor of Human and Microbial Genetics Eric Yap, and colleagues for their strong support to allow him to fulfil his NS responsibilities.

Engagement session with LKCMedicine Community based at Experimental Medicine Building, NTU Main Campus

On 29 September, LKCMedicine's leadership conducted an engagement session over lunch for faculty, researchers, and corporate staff to improve the vibrancy and work culture at the Experimental Medicine Building (EMB). Organised by RASS, the session was held at EMB's Learning Studio and attended by about 50 participants, starting with the opening addresses by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best.

He highlighted the School's efforts and commitment to reinvigorate the culture at EMB. This sentiment was echoed by the Vice-Dean for Research Professor Lim Kah Leong, Vice-Dean for Education Professor Jennifer Cleland, Vice-Dean for Faculty Affairs Associate Professor Andrew Tan and Chief Operating Officer Dr Serene Ng.

This was followed by a presentation by Assistant Dean for Research Associate Professor Kevin Pethe who outlined plans on how to improve the vibrancy of EMB, such as regular scientific meetings for researchers and joint symposiums with other schools within NTU.

During the engagement session, Research Fellow Dr Giuseppe Alessandro D'Agostino introduced the attendees to LKCMedicine Early Researchers Network (LEARN) of which Dr D'Agostino is the President. He presented the network's plans to develop the skills of LKCMedicine early career scientists, as well as introducing the network's first organising committee. The session ended with a Q&A session, where the attendees shared the challenges they faced and gave ideas on how to better integrate EMB within LKCMedicine Community and NTU.

LKCMedicine staff wins ICHERK award

On 23 September, the International Conference on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge (ICHERK) announced the 'Best Presentation Award' to Ms Rebecca Lavanie David, LKCMedicine's medical librarian.

She received the award for her outstanding virtual presentation entitled, "Abandoning 'One-Time' Optional Information Literacy Workshops for Year 1 Medical Students and Gearing towards an 'Embedded Librarianship' Approach". Ms David presented at ICHERK on 17 September under the 'Human and Social Sciences Research' category attended by academic scientists, researchers and research scholars from across the globe including Vietnam, Thailand, United States, Israel, India, Ukraine, Egypt, Romania, South Africa, Azerbaijan and Germany.

She was the only representative from Singapore at the conference and presented a research study on information literacy in collaboration with the medical library, selected faculty, and Team-Based Learning educators. The conference provides an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered, and solutions adopted in the fields of Higher Education, Research and Knowledge.

Ms David wishes to thank her project team members - then-Vice-Dean for Faculty Affairs Professor Michael Ferenczi as principal investigator and co-principal investigators, NTU Head of Teaching, Learning and Pedagogy Division Dr Preman Rajalingam, NTU University Librarian Ms Caroline Pang, and LKCMedicine Lead for Educational Engagement and Student Wellbeing Mr Emmanuel Tan, who are part of an 18-month NTU EdeX grant research study that set sail in 2017. LKCMedicine congratulates Ms David for her achievement!

State of University Address and NTU Professor Installation Ceremony 2020

On 15 September, LKCMedicine LKCMedicine Vice-Dean for Research Professor Lim Kah Leong and Vice-Dean for Education Professor Jennifer Cleland were conferred the Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Medical Education respectively at the NTU Professor Installation Ceremony held at the Nanyang Auditorium.

NTU President and Distinguished University Professor Subra Suresh presented them the titles following citations read by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best. The ceremony was held in a hybrid in-person and virtual style to adhere to COVID-19 precautionary measures, with a small audience in the auditorium and thousands more watching online.

In the State of University address delivered by Prof Subra earlier, he gave a review of the University's achievements in the past year, highlighting the resilience shown by every member of the NTU community in the face of the current pandemic; and outlined future goals and challenges.

Professor Lim is highly regarded internationally in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's disease. He was the recipient of the Singapore's President's Science Award (Team) in 2018. Professor Cleland is well-recognised internationally in the field of medical and health professions education research. Among her many honours and awards, she was elected a member of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2018.

Farewell for Professor Michael Ferenczi

On 8 September, LKCMedicine held a farewell event for Professor Michael Ferenczi, former Vice-Dean for Faculty Affairs. Attended by colleagues via Zoom and in-person at the EMB Learning Studio, the farewell was a complete surprise for Prof Ferenczi, who had no hint of the programme.

A video capturing the familiar sights and sounds of Prof Ferenczi's daily morning route taken from the LKCMedicine Novena CSB carpark to HQ Building and well-wishes recorded by some colleagues was played to start the event. This was followed by an appreciation address from Dean Professor James Best, sharing his sentiments on Prof Ferenczi's invaluable contributions to the development of the School.

Several others, including current LKCMedicine Vice-Dean for Faculty Affairs Associate Professor Andrew Tan, Professor Philip Ingham, Professor Balázs Gulyás, and Mr Darren Lim then expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the friendship forged and the respect they had for Prof Ferenczi. Associate Professor Andrew Tan and Ms Susan Chang then handed Prof Ferenczi gifts including a card and penholder made of charcoal with Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid. 

It was a bittersweet farewell, with Prof Ferenczi saying he is deeply touched by the messages and presence of everyone through his journey in LKCMedicine.

"I am so grateful for all of you, mainly for the friends who are here and on the screen, who have contributed to my time here. It has been a real pleasure to see some of you grow into your positions in LKCMedicine."

Associate Professor Koh Nien Yue wins NHG's Special Commendation Award

Assistant Dean for Year 3 Associate Prof Koh Nien Yue has been awarded a Special Commendation Award which is given to NHG faculty and educators who went the extra mile to teach and made significant education contributions to postgraduate training and pre-employment clinical training during the crisis period.

The NHG Teachers' Day Awards 2020 honoured healthcare professionals from medical, nursing, allied health and pharmacy for their contributions in nurturing and mentoring students and junior staff. Awards were presented across 11 categories, including a new Special Commendation Award.

LKCMedicine Alumni Association welcomes a new Executive Committee

The LKCMedicine Alumni Association (LKCMedicine AA) was formed in July 2018 with 52 members from the inaugural MBBS Class of 2018. Led by the inaugural President, Dr Leon Tan, the LKCMedicine AA saw its numbers grow almost five-fold to 238 to date. The majority of the alumni are from the MBBS programme with alumni from the Graduate Diploma in Sports Medicine and the PhD programmes.

During the last two years the alumni, despite busy schedules as house officers and medical officers, have come back to their alma mater to mentor their juniors and plan mock OSCEs for them.

On 7 August 2020, the call for volunteers for the 2nd Executive Committee (ExCo) was made and five new faces stepped up. The new ExCo's term started with effect on 22 August 2020. LKCMedicine extend our warmest welcome to the newly appointed ExCo members and appreciation to the 1st ExCo- Dr Leon Tan, Dr Aishwarya Narayanan, Dr Lavisha Punjabi, Dr Joey Wong and Dr Gabriel Wong - for their efforts and contributions.