LKCMedicine EArly Researcher Network

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About Us

LEARN
Formed on 28th October 2020, the LKCMedicine EArly Researcher Network, LEARN, is a club for, and run by, the research fellows at LKCMedicine. The goal of LEARN is to create an interactive community among the early career researchers through social and scientific events, professional development workshops and collaborations with other schools of NTU.

As a new initiative by the Office of Research and the Post-doc community, we hope that LEARN can offer our members a more enjoyable and fruitful time at LKCMedicine.

To provide an interactive platform for aspiring early career scientists to put forward vibrant ideas and values to spark the next generation of discoveries in research, medicine, and beyond.

We thank the LKC Research Community for your continued support of LEARN and interest to join our board of directors. We are pleased to announce the new committee members and their appointed roles below. Among them, we have 4 retainers who will serve their 2nd and final term to sustain our growth momentum and ensure leadership renewal. 

Main and Sub Committee FY24/26

  1. Ashwati Vipin (Dr), President
  2. Ng Wei Tian Alvin (Dr)
  3. Pritesh Rajesh Jain (Dr)
  4. See Jia Xiang (Dr)
  5. Arun Kumar Kaliya Perumal (Dr)
  6. Su Myat Phyu (Dr)
  7. Ivan Anticevic (Dr)
  8. Nazira Nasuha Binte Mohammad Nazri
  9. Lee Ser Lin Celine
  10. Smriti Ghildiyal
  11. Grace Ng
  12. Yang Hao Ning (Dr)

Committee Recruitment

This is a recognised role by the Office of Research with ample personal and career development opportunities. Diverse representation is essential to build critical mass for a more vibrant research culture and help lobby for various improvements.

Indicate your interest via shared link or QR: https://forms.office.com/r/eLLwiEFykN

Commitment Recruitment Image

News and Events

LEARN organises various events to build an interactive community for early career scientists. Interested to sponsor our events? Please drop us an email @[email protected]

LEARN Events

9 April – Themed “Multidisciplinary Approaches to Healthcare Research: Science, Technology and Precision Medicine, this year’s LEARN Symposium brought together eminent researchers and panelists from overseas and local institutions as well as LKCMedicine NMRC Young Investigators. With around 100 registrants, it was an exciting day for the School’s early career researchers to discuss their research and career paths. 

LEARN Events

ThermoFisher Scientific hosted a lively LEARN Happy Hour at NTU’s Experimental Science Building, featuring interactive games, networking, and hands-on showcases of their cutting-edge laboratory instruments. Participants enjoyed engaging demonstrations, learning opportunities, and a relaxed atmosphere fostering collaboration between researchers, students, and the ThermoFisher Scientific team.

LEARN

September – This year’s LEARN Grants were awarded to Dr Pritesh Rajesh Jain; Dr Haohuan Xie; Dr Su Myat Phyu; Dr Harsha Mahabaleshwar; and Dr Ivan Anticevic. Introduced in 2021, the grant empowers young LKCMedicine researchers to hone grant writing skills and lead projects as Principal Investigators, providing a transformative platform to drive innovative and meaningful clinical research.

LEARN

On 19 March, LKCMedicine Early Researchers’ Network (LEARN) organised the 3rd LEARN Symposium to highlight our early researchers’ work and spur interaction among our scientists to collaborate and exchange ideas across disciplines. Dr Alvin Chew, Dean Postdoctoral Research Fellow and President of LEARN, delivered the Opening Remarks to over 53 participants, consisting of Faculty members, PhD students, Research Assistants, Associates and Fellows. He shared about LEARN’s journey since its founding in 2020 and made a clarion call to fellow researchers to join the FY24 committee to sustain the momentum of LEARN as the incumbent members move on. He thanked the Faculty Advisors, namely Assoc Prof Kevin Pethe and Assoc Prof Christine Cheung, and the LEARN Committee Members for their efforts in supporting our early career researchers.

This year’s symposium featured keynote lecture by Asst. Prof. Lynn Yap, who stressed on the need for soft skills, networking and time management. This was followed by an engaging Career Development moderated by Dr Wee Soon Keong, Research Fellow and Vice-President (Industry) of LEARN, with panellist speakers, Asst. Prof. Lynn Yap, Dr Makhija Harshyaa (LKCMedicine Dean Postdoctoral Fellow, Cofounder & Director at LambdaGen Pte Ltd.), Dr Samantha Wong (Co-Managing Director of Nucleate SG, Biomedical Scientist at EDDC (A*STAR), and former Life Sciences Consultant, and Dr Natasha Ng (Senior Research Fellow at A*STAR, Advisor of Biotech Connection Singapore, Co-founder of BetaLife, and Co-founder, BioMe Oxford). The panel of women leaders led an insightful discussion on embracing innovation and diversity in career paths with the symposium participants. LEARN has also worked with LKCMedicine Office of Innovation and Enterprise (OIE) to include an Intellectual Property workshop and NTU I&E talk. The symposium concluded with LKCMedicine Researcher Town Hall chaired by Assoc. Prof. Sanjay Chortimall, Kevin Pethe, and Christine Cheung and moderated by Dr Alvin Ng, NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow and Vice-President (Academic) of LEARN.

During the Closing Remarks by Asst Prof Christine Cheung, the following presenters won the Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation awards (in no order of merit):

  • Best Oral Presentation Award:
    • Jo Yi Chow (Lim Jue Tao Lab)

      Quasi- experimental approaches for estimating epidemiological efficacy of non-randomised field trials

    • Yijin Leow (Nagaendran Kandiah Lab)

      Biomarkers and Cognition Study, Singapore (BIOCIS): Protocol, Study Design, and Preliminary Findings

      • Dr Cheng Hong Sheng (Andrew Tan Lab)

        MetaMASLD: a webtool for interactive exploratory analysis of MASLD liver transcriptomics

         

  • Best Poster Presentation Award:
    • Lee Khang Leng, PhD Candidate (Christine Cheung Lab)

      Deconvoluting Effects of Drugs on Endothelial Dysfunction using Human ‘Endothelial-Immune Cells-on-Chip’

    • Damien Chua, PhD Candidate (Andrew Tan Lab)

From Diet to Disease: The Impact of Dysbiosis and Dietary Fat on Angptl4-Mediated Gut Permeability in MASLD

  • Pricilia Tanoto (Nagaendran Kandiah)

    Usefulness of the Test of Practical Judgement for the detection of MCI in Southeast Asian Population

  • Nikita Bora (Joanne Ngeow)

Assessing protein structural properties of pathogenic missense variants using deep mutational scanning data

The following LEARN Awards were also given out to recognise the outstanding efforts of our researchers and our research support staff:

  • LEARN Research Excellence Award
    • Dr Andrew Teo
    • Dr Chih Hung Lo
    • Dr Yadollah Ranjbar Slamloo
  • LEARN Mentorship Award
    • Dr Theresia Handayani Mina
    • Dr Poh Zhi Sheng
  • LEARN Community Service Award
    • Dr Ekaterina Sviriaeva
    • Ms Dayang Asyiqin
LEARN
On 23 Feb, LKCMedicine EArly Researchers Network (LEARN) held a happy hour networking event in EMB Level 3 for 12 research staff and PhD students to unwind and discuss science over an assortment of Sushi delights. This monthly event alternates between EMB and CSB to better serve researchers in our dual campus.
LEARN
On 26 January, LKCMedicine EArly Researchers Network (LEARN) organised an Industry Career Sharing and Happy Hour where LKCMedicine PhD alumni Dr Lee Shuen Yee (Senior Clinical Research Scientist (Global), Dyson), Dr Kelly Wong (Investment Analyst, EVX Ventures, and Business Development Manager, Carcell Biopharma) and Dr Natalie Yeo (R&D Scientist, Verification and Validation, Thermo Fisher Scientific) returned to CSB in Novena Campus to share their work experiences with over 30 research staff and PhD students. The dialogue session was moderated by Dr Wee Soon Keong, Vice President (Industry), LEARN and had several insightful discussions on transferrable skills, industry opportunities and research that value-add to science and technology. The event ended with a networking session for attendees to mingle the alumni speakers.
LEARN
The LEARN Skills Award is a new initiative that underscores LKCMedicine’s commitment to fostering the professional development of our valued researchers and enhancing their skills crucial to our research community. In line with this commitment, we are offering a course reimbursement of up to $500. We encourage our peers to seize this opportunity to further our expertise.
LEARN

Rear, L-R: Alvin Chew (NTU, Singapore), Dewei hu (CPR, Denmark), Francesco Vicini (SEMM, Italy), Alessandro Davini (SEMM, Italy), Sidak Minocha (CPR, Denmark), Hoang Son Luu (MPG, Germany), Oliver Mehlkop (MPG, Germany), Kaustuv Ghosh (IRB, Barcelona),

Front, L-R: Vlastimil Kulda (FEBS, Czech republic), Femke Hout, Van (Radboud university, Nijmegen), Maria Quintana Verdaguer (IRB, Barcelona), Goh Mee Yee (NTU, Singapore), Andrea Rodgers Furones (Radboud university, Nijmegen).

FEBS IUBMB ENABLE Scientific Organizing Committee Handover Meeting, 22‐25 Nov 2023, University of Cologne, Germany

Dr Chew Bing Liang Alvin (President, LEARN), and Ms Goh Mee Yee (Vice-President of Academic Affairs, GSC), represented LKCMedicine at this year’s FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE (FIE) conference held at the University of Cologne, Germany. The FIE conference is uniquely organised by and for PhD students and postdocs from the host institution and counterparts in leading European institutes (Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands; IRB Barcelona, Spain; European School of Molecular Medicine, Italy; University of Copenhagen, Denmark; and the University of Cologne, Germany). During which, the ENABLE flag was handed over from Ms Franziska Baumann, Chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee 2023 (SOC23), to Dr Alvin Chew, Chair of the SOC24. This tradition signifies the change in leadership from University of Cologne to LKCMedicine, NTU, who was awarded the inaugural host rights of the first FIE conference outside of Europe in 2024. Dr Alvin Chew also presented an overview of Singapore, LKCMedicine and NTU, and our conference theme on “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Reshaping biomedical and healthcare research” which builds on our school’s interests and strengths. FIE24 will be held at the Clinical Sciences building from Dec 4-6, 2024. All faculty, PhD students, and postdocs are highly encouraged to support the LEARN and GSC committees and reach out to them to join in the local organizing committee. 

LEARN

LEARN x NucleateSG Meet-the-startups – Sep 2023

Exciting News for Life Science Enthusiasts, Innovators, and Biotech Entrepreneurs! On 26 Sep 2023, LEARN hosted NucleateSG’s first ever Meet-the-Startups event. We brought together two incredible local biotech startups, Dr Volker Patzel, PhDCo-founder and CEO of Avecris and Dr Natasha Ng, PhD Scientific Co-Founder and Advisor of BetaLife. During which, they reminisce about their startup origins, discuss opportunities for collaboration, and explore possibilities for individuals embarking on their journey into the industry. Stay up to date on Nucleate SG events and the latest Singapore science happenings via https://www.nucleatesingapore.xyz to receive first-hand updates.

LEARN

LEARN x Novogene Happy Hour – Sep 2023

The recent theme features Professional Photoshoot for LKC researchers, skilfully carried out by our esteemed NTU Photography Team. It’s an opportunity to spotlight campus talent through staff and graduate student’s profile. Check it out on our LinkedIn Page soon!

LEARN

2023 LEARN Grant Award Announcement

Congratulations to the following researchers for being awarded the LEARN Grant! We look forward to your oral presentations in our next LEARN Symposium!

LEARN

LEARN x Sciencewerke Happy Hour – Aug 2023

LEARN’s Happy Hour on 25 Aug 2023 was co-hosted with Sciencewerke at EMB! We had 43 registrants intermingling and learning over games facilitated by us. Up next: September 29 Happy Hour at CSB with Novogene and a chance to have your professional photoshoot taken!

LEARN

LEARN x LifeTech Happy Hour – 7 Jul 2023

On 7 Jul 2023, we celebrated 70 years of groundbreaking DNA discoveries at our Happy hour event with Life Technologies. Join us at our next event - 28th July at CSB, with Vazyme and Graduate Student Club next. Hope to see you there!

LEARN

Rear, L-R: Kaustuv Ghosh (IRB, Barcelona), Hoang Son Luu (MPG, Germany), Oliver Mehlkop (MPG, Germany), Alvin Chew (NTU, Singapore), Dewei hu (CPR, Denmark), Francesco Vicini (SEMM, Italy), Alessandro Davini (SEMM, Italy)
Front, L-R: Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan(NTU, Singapore), Vanja Cnops(NUS, Singapore), Vlastimil Kulda (FEBS, Czech republic), Maria Quintana Verdaguer (IRB, Barcelona), Femke Hout, Van (Radboud university, Nijmegen)

FEBS IUBMB ENABLE Scientific Organizing Committee Kickoff Meeting, 15‐16 May 2023, University of Cologne, Germany

The Scientific Organising Committee (SOC) of the 2024 FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE (FIE) conference held a 2-day meeting at the University of Cologne to officially kickstart the team and event organization.

Three representatives from Singapore, Dr Chew Bing Liang Alvin (President, LEARN), Dr Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan (Vice-President of Academic Affairs, LEARN), and Dr Vanja Cnops (President, NUSMed PDA) attended the meeting.

Alvin presented an overview of LKCMedicine, LEARN and about Singapore. All other SOC members presented themselves and their own institutions. Besides Alvin and Madhu, the SOC2024 consists of 10 representatives from leading European institutes (Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands; IRB Barcelona, Spain; European School of Molecular Medicine, Italy; University of Copenhagen, Denmark; and the University of Cologne, Germany) and 2 advisors representing FEBS and IUBMB. The advisors are Dr. Vlastimil Kulda, Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Czech Republic and Prof. James Murphy, IUBMB Representative (Chair Publication Committee); Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia. Team building activities were organised by FIE members Dr Fiore Francesca (SEMM, Italy) and Dr Clasien Oomen (Radbound University, Njimegen) to get to know each other better, set expectations and a strong team morale.

The SOC of the 2022 and 2023 conferences provided managerial and organisational insights based on their experience, and FIE representatives were present to provide further information and support. 

The theme, topics, and potential speakers of the conference were discussed, and the SOC 2024 provisionally agreed that the title of the conference would be “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Reshaping biomedical and healthcare research”. Working groups were formed, goals and responsibilities were established, timelines and communication channels were set up.

This initial in-person meeting was an effective way to get the SOC2024 on the same page and provided the foundation for a smooth and successful project collaboration.

LEARN

FEBS IUBMB ENABLE Team (FIET) visit to LKCMedicine

LKCMedicine was selected as the inaugural host of the first FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE (FIE) conference outside of Europe in 2024. The FIE conference is uniquely organised by and for PhD students and postdocs from the host institution and our counterparts in leading European institutes. The past editions were held in Barcelona 2017, Copenhagen 2018, Nijmegen 2019, and Milan 2021, Seville 2022, and the next would be in Cologne 2023.

On 27 – 28 Apr 2023, LKCMedicine’s faculty, RASS, LEARN and GSC members warmly welcomed the representatives of the FIE Executive Board for 2024 alongside NUSMed Postdoctoral Association members who visited LKCMedicine to meet the local host members planning for the conference to survey the proposed sites for the activities to be held. The FIE guests are:

  1. Ms Marie Sofie Yoo Tollenaere-Larsen, Research Program Coordinator, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) 
  2. Dr. Francesca Fiore, Coordinator SEMM IT
  3. Ms Leyre Caracuel, Academic Office Coordinator, IRB Barcelona
  4. Prof. Yang Mooi, Chair, IUBMB Education and Training Committee
  5. Prof. Irene Díaz-Moreno, Chair of the FEBS Working Group on the Careers of Young Scientists; Faculty of the Institute of Chemical Research of the Scientific Research Centre, University of Seville, Spain
  6. Prof. Jerka Dumić, FEBS Executive Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Assoc. Prof. Yusuf Ali opened the meeting with an overview of LKCMedicine, including a summary of the education system and the School’s research strengths. Asst. Prof. Wilson Goh expressed the firm commitment of the Graduate students and Ms Winnie Tay provided clarity and insights on our administrative processes. Following which, Ms Marie presented an overview and the organization of FIE followed by an opened discussion. Site visit supported by Gaius and Zinbo from the Facilities and Operations Office. Dr Alvin Chew (President, LEARN) and Dr Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan (Vice-President of Academic Affairs, LEARN) hosted the lunch, afternoon meetings, and dinner.

LEARN
In Day 2, the meeting was rounded off by Dr Alvin Chew and Dr Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan with closing remarks from Assoc. Prof. Kevin Pethe and Asst. Prof. Christine Cheung. The FIE guests shared that they are highly impressed with the LKCMedicine team and are excited for our planning progress towards the FIE2024.

LEARN
We thank the LEARN Committee 2022 who took over the helm from the founding committee on 7 Apr 2022 to co-create a vibrant and conducive research culture. The team has achieved much during their tenure including 10 LEARN Board meetings, organized 6 happy hour sessions, 1 photoshoot, 2 industry workshops, the 2nd LEARN Symposium, facilitated the LEARN Grants and Awards 2022, and secured the FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE 2024 (FIE 2024) conference for LKCMedicine to be the first out-of-Europe host institute.
LEARN

On 3 March, LKCMedicine Early Researchers’ Network (LEARN) organised the 2nd LEARN Symposium to highlight our early researchers’ work and spur interaction among our scientists to collaborate and exchange ideas across disciplines. Prof Lim Kah Leong, Vice-Dean (Research) delivered his Opening Remarks to over 64 participants, consisting of PhD students, Research Assistants, Associates and Fellows. He shared about his own early career researcher journey and key takeaways, thanked the Faculty Advisors, namely Assoc Prof Kevin Pethe, Assoc Prof Sunny Wong, Asst Prof Christine Cheung, and the LEARN Committee Members for their efforts in supporting our early career researchers. He also encouraged researchers to participate in the upcoming LEARN Grant Call, and to join the LEARN Committee.

The Symposium included an engaging Career Dialogue Session moderated by Dr Alvin Chew, President of LEARN, with panellist speakers, Asst Prof Christine Cheung (Nanyang Assistant Professor, LKCMedicine), Dr Vanja Cnops (President from NUS Medicine Postdoctoral Association) Dr Alvin Guo (former team lead of DUKE-NUS Early Career Scientists (DUNES) and Dr Michelle Dee (Country Medical Lead, Global Medical & Scientific Affairs, Malaysia, Singapore, & Brunei, MSD). Dr Vanja kickstarted the discussion by sharing on the results from National Postdoc Survey (NPS) 2021, and the panellists had an insightful discussion with the Symposium participants.

During the Closing Remarks by Asst Prof Christine Cheung, the following presenters won the Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation awards (in no order of merit):

  • Best Oral Presentation Award:
    • Mr Chia Xin Wei, PhD Candidate (Hiroshi Makino Lab)

      Emergence of cortical network motifs for short-term memory during learning

    • Mr Tan Yaw Bia, PhD Candidate (Luo Dahai Lab)

      Molecular architecture of chikungunya virus replication complex assemblies

    • Dr Oliver Meldrum, ICL Postdoctoral Fellow (Sanjay Chotirmall Lab)

      Haemophilus-driven microbial networks in COPD associates with airflow decline, frequent exacerbations and altered mucus

  • Best Poster Presentation Award:
    • Mr Loi Wen Zhao Gavin, Research Assistant (Zeng Jialiu Lab)

      Restoration of lysosomal function with acidic nanoparticles rescue cellular function in A30P α-synuclein neuronal model of Parkinson’s disease

    • Dr Wee Soon Keong, Research Fellow (Eric Yap Lab)

      The Urban Environment as a Hidden Reservoir for Acinetobacter baumannii with Clinically Relevant Sequence Type and Resistome

      The following LEARN Awards were also given out to recognise the outstanding efforts of our researchers and our research support staff:

  • LEARN Research Excellence Award 2022
    • Dr Tomoki Naito
    • Mr Tan Yaw Bia
  • LEARN Mentorship Award 2022
    • Dr Stefano Perna
    • Dr Alvin Chew Bing Liang
  • LEARN Community Service Award 2022
    • Dr Wee Soon Keong
    • Ms Lew Qiao Jing
LEARN
On 23 November 2022, research fellows Dr Wee Soon Keong, Dr Fang Yang and Dr Ekaterina Sviriaeva, represented LKCMedicine EArly Researchers’ Network (LEARN) to participate in Postdoctoral Level UP event organised by NUS Medicine Postdoctoral Association (PDA) at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine MD4 building. Aside from networking with counterparts from NUS and learning more about their initiatives over food and games, both committees explored ideas on how to better serve and support the early career researchers community. The LEARN team is looking forward to hosting NUS PDA team during the upcoming LEARN events as well as the many opportunities to collaborate and grow together.
LEARN

The LKCMedicine EArly Researchers’ Network (LEARN) committee is thrilled to announce that LKCMedicine has been selected as the inaugural host for the first FEBS-IUBMB-ENABLE Conference outside of Europe in 2024. ENABLE (EuropeanAcademy for Biomedical Science) is a unique initiative to support early researchers that was funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme that took off in Barcelona 2017. From 2022 onwards, it is sustained by funding from the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB). Two of our committee members, Dr Chew Bing Liang Alvin (President, LEARN) and Dr Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan (Co-Chair of Professional development, LEARN), attended this year’s conference held at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, Spain between 16-18 November 2022. This meeting paved the way to meet the ENABLE coordinators.

Group Photo featuring: (back row, left to right) Dr. Francesca Fiore, Coordinator SEMM IT; Prof. Irene Díaz-Moreno, Chair of the FEBS Working Group on the Careers of Young Scientists, University of Seville – CSIC; Dr Isabell Witt, Scientific Coordinator, University of Cologne; Dr Alvin Chew, Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow at LKCMedicine; (front row, left to right) Dr. Clasien Oomen, Policy Advisor Research, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands; Leyre Caracuel, Academic Office Coordinator, IRB Barcelona; Alba Echarte, Academic Officer, IRB Barcelona; Dr. Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan, Research Fellow, LKCMedicine; Dr. Moreno Papetti, Programme Coordinator, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Prof. Jerka Dumić, FEBS Executive Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia.

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On 2 November, LKCMedicine EArly Researchers’ Network (LEARN) and Singapore Business Federation (SBF) jointly organised a panel discussion and networking session titled, “Connecting Science and Business to Develop Bilingual Leaders" at the HQ Seminar Room. Nearly 40 young researchers, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as representatives from over 15 companies (MNCs, SMEs and start-ups) attended the discussion moderated by Ms Lisa Liaw (Council Member, SBF). The panellists include Dr Zhou Lihan (Co-Founder and CEO, MiRXES Pte Ltd), Dr Ronne Yeo (Co-Founder, Managing Director and CSO, Carcell Biopharma; Managing Director, EVX Ventures) and Mr Nilesh Wadhwa (Director, New Ventures & Transaction and Early Innovation Partner for Singapore, India and SEA, Johnson & Johnson). The participants had an insightful exchange with the industry leaders on their thoughts and experiences on leading and navigating through the biotech R&D and innovation space in Singapore and beyond.
LEARN
On 7 Apr 2022, the founding committee of LEARN held a handover meeting to the incoming committee. This marks a new phase of growth for LEARN and we seek your continued support to co-create a vibrant and conducive environment for all of us to enjoy. Please join us to thank the founding committee members for their contributions to the school community.
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On 14 and 15 February, LKCMedicine held a conference for our early career researchers to host and interact with accomplished scientists whose research would be of great interest to the School. Titled “New Frontiers in Biomedicine”, the two-day hybrid event was jointly organised by LKCMedicine Early Researcher Network (LEARN) and NTU LKCMedicine Graduate Students' Club. Over 60 participants comprising young scientists, research staff, and LKCMedicine Principal Investigators joined in the event. With a programme focusing on advances in neurobiology and cell biology, stem cells and developmental biology, public health and infection, and technologies in life sciences, the event featured 27 presentations, including talks and poster sessions. The conference culminated with the inaugural LEARN annual awards ceremony on 15 February that celebrated the outstanding efforts of early career scientists towards excellence in LKCMedicine and beyond. Seven brilliant young scientists were shortlisted for their contributions in research excellence, mentorship, and community service. On top of that, two LKCMedicine Doctoral Students won the Best Oral and Poster Presentation Awards. LKCMedicine Vice Dean (Research) Professor Lim Kah Leong and Assistant Dean (Research​)​ Associate Professor Kevin Pethe presented the awards to the winners. The event was concluded by Associate Professor Kevin Pethe, mentor of LEARN, who encouraged our young scientists to excel and stay forefront in medicine and public health. We look forward to seeing you in the next LEARN NFB conference in 2023!
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The fifth Fireside Chat held on 21st of October, featured Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor, and the Professor of Developmental Biology Philip Ingham, with the session entitled “Trithorax to Therapeutics”. Nearly 80 guests including faculty members, postdocs, PhD students and administrative staff from LKCMedicine, A*STAR and NUS, attended the online event. In a wide-ranging discussion, Prof. Ingham shared his motivation to be a geneticist and his journey to becoming a developmental biologist. He narrated the story of how as a young PhD student, after his work on the trithorax gene had been published, he naively applied to attend an EMBO conference. This enabled him to establish contacts within the small but insular Drosophila community, which served him well during later stages of his professional career. Prof. Ingham also revealed how he was persuaded to switch to a vertebrate model system – zebrafish, by the Nobel laureate Prof Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, and how the collaboration that he fostered at informal gatherings she organised, led to the seminal discoveries related to the Sonic Hedgehog pathway in the early 1990s. His experiences with patenting ideas in basic sciences and how that generated interest amongst the venture capitalists, followed by drug screenings by a start-up and a resultant FDA approved drug, brought home the importance of curiosity driven research to the audience. During the Q&A session, Prof. Ingham took questions about the differences in PhD programs during his time as a student and now, and noted that the graduate schools have now become more structured, perhaps at the cost of students’ intellectual freedom. He also emphasized that being able to pursue what you are passionate and curious about, eventually leads to success.
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On 29th June 2021, LEARN organized the fourth Fireside Chat featuring Professor James Best, Professor of Medicine and former Dean of LKCMedicine. The session, entitled “The Best of Both Worlds”, was attended by over 70 LKCMedicine members, including early career scientists, PhD students, and faculty members. The conversation began with Prof. Best sharing his motivation to become a clinician. Prof. Best’s enthusiasm in endocrinology and diabetes research was greatly shaped by his mentors during his early career, including Professor Thomas John Martin, Professor Donald Chisholm, Professor Rosie Young and Professor Daniel Porte Jr. In 2014, he was fascinated by the unique concept of a medical school jointly set up by two prestigious universities from the Eastern and Western world and decided to lead the development of LKCMedicine as the Dean. His personal trick to cope with multiple professional commitments and avoid burnout at work is to be smart with time management so that of the various aspects of his career could progress steadily while keeping him engaged on all fronts. When being asked about how he wants to be remembered for, Prof. Best expressed his gratitude to be part of a leadership team that has laid a strong foundation in LKCMedicine, allowing it to scale to a greater height. During the lively Q&A session, Prof Best encouraged the young scientists to be proactive, stay focused and collaborate with each other to keep up with the ever-changing world. The event concluded with a wish from LEARN to Prof Best as he begins a new chapter in his life.
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The third Fireside Chat held on 20th of May, featured University Distinguished Professor Joseph Sung, Dean of LKCMedicine and NTU’s Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences), with the session entitled “Shifting the Paradigms of Modern Medicine”. More than 80 LKCMedicine members, including faculty members, postdocs, PhD students and administrative staffs, attended the online event. Prof. Sung shared his motivation to be a clinician and his journey to becoming a clinician-researcher. His candid confessions of his travails as a clinician-PhD student resonated well with the audience. His experiences during the 2002/2003 SARS epidemic brought home the challenges encountered by our clinical staffs at the frontline of today’s Covid-19 pandemic and helped the audience to understand the situation better. In his free time, Prof. Sung practises Chinese calligraphy as a way to soothe his mind. He finds the pastime extremely useful to sharpen his thoughts and recharge him for facing more challenges. When queried about his diverse and evolving research interests, he revealed that his penchant for being constantly curious and open to ideas outside his expertise has enabled him to explore new research avenues. His ideas, concerns, and potential hurdles regarding the implementation of artificial intelligence in clinical practice garnered great interest from the postdocs and PhD students. During the Q&A session, Prof. Sung took questions about his own research setbacks and revealed how, it sometimes does not take long for the tide to turn! He also emphasized that being able to adapt to a world of constant changes is a crucial attribute to be successful not only in our profession, but also in life. 
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The second Fireside Chat held on April 13th featured Professor Helen Smith, Professor of Family Medicine and Primary Care. About 30 participants, including junior researchers, graduate students and faculty members, attended the sharing session entitled “A Career Built on Challenging Convention in Healthcare Delivery”. Prof Smith shared her journey from a clinician to clinician-scientist, how she uses her experience and skills from different clinical postings to shape her career in Family Medicine and Primary Care. Regarding work-life balance, she encouraged the young scientists to work hard and play hard, and at the same time, seize any opportunities so that one can craft a unique career path. As a successful woman scientist, Prof Smith thinks that a healthy work culture should motivate all female employers to cultivate and develop their career interests. She also highlighted the need to shape an organizational culture that is aware of, and able to, alleviate any unconscious biases. For all young scientists, she emphasized the importance of having good mentors and a deep professional network. Inspired researchers should be ever ready to communicate their ideas and receive feedbacks. She explained that being determined, broad-minded, ambitious, and, very importantly, to enjoy science are crucial qualities to kick start and sustain a successful research career. After her sharing, the audience took part in an interactive dialogue with Prof Smith to discuss further about the challenges encountered by junior researchers and women in workplace. A small token was given to Prof Smith to appreciate her efforts and conclude the event. 
LEARN
On 15th March 2021, LKCMedicine EArly Researcher Network (LEARN) kick-started a new event series, the Fireside Chat. This event aims to provide a glimpse into the scientific journey of a successful faculty for early career scientists. The inaugural Fireside Chat featured Assoc Prof Yusuf Ali, Associate Professor of Metabolic Disease. Close to 50 participants attended the event physically and virtually. During the event, Assoc Prof Yusuf shared his personal motivation to do science, as well as the memorable mentors who had helped him during his early career. He also gave a brief overview of his recent research projects and some major setbacks he encountered. Due to the ease to produce and access research data, he found that the barrier to do research has been significantly reduced, but at the same time, publishing research findings has become more and more challenging because of growing expectations from the scientific community. Therefore, Assoc Prof Yusuf encouraged all the young scientists who wish to pursue an independent career in academia to actively expand their horizons and skillsets so that they can keep up with the ever-changing world. The next Fireside Chat in April will host Prof Helen Smith, Professor of Family Medicine & Primary Care.
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In conjunction with the LEARN Grant Call 2021 initiative, LEARN organised a grant writing workshop on 23rd Feb 2021, aiming to help early career researchers to improve their grantsmanship and scientific writing. More than 40 enthusiastic young researchers attended the workshop physically and virtually via Zoom. 
The workshop featured the following speakers: 
• Prof Michael Khor, Director, Talent Recruitment and Career Support, NTU Singapore, who gave the introductory address highlighting the important ingredients of a successful grant proposal.
• Prof George Augustine provided tips on how to persuade reviewers and funding agencies to fund your research from a perspective of an experienced grant reviewer. 
• Asst Prof Sanjay Chotirmall dissected the manuscript review process and emphasized the importance of careful journal selection and a well-constructed cover letter in increasing the odds of manuscript acceptance.
• Asst Prof Marie Loh and Asst Prof Franklin Zhong shared their journey on transitioning from a postdoctoral fellow to an independent PI, and some of the challenges they had faced in grant application.
After the sharing sessions, the participants took part in a meaningful discussion with the speakers. Many crucial aspects, like the key determinants of an outstanding proposal, techniques to improve clarity and capture attention, the importance of obtaining support and having clear communication with current PIs, were raised and discussed. In-person participants also contributed towards building the LEARN researcher database as a platform to be able to identify researchers with specific or relevant expertise/techniques. The workshop concluded with an announcement of the LEARN grants and Innovation Awards, which all eligible full-time LKCMedicine postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to apply.
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LKCMedicine Early Career Network (LEARN) kicked off the New Year with “Beyond Academic Career”, a hybrid physical + Zoom networking event on 26th January 2021. Speakers representing 5 industry domains shared their career journey. LEARN had the pleasure of hosting the event together with A/Prof Yen Choo (Start-up and Entrepreneurship); Ms. Christina Gee (Intellectual Property, NTUitive); Dr. Bhuvana Raghavan (Regulatory affair, NTU IRB); Dr. Andrew Ang (Grant Administration, RASS) and A/Prof. Kevin Pethe (Pharma). A total of 27 attendees (14 physical, 13 Zoom) participated in this event. Questions include “What is a day in the office like?”, “valuable lessons when transitioning from academic career to industry”, “What would you advise your younger self?”. Personal reflection shared to early career researchers includes spending more years in research, or in different groups, before transitioning to industrial career to obtain specific skills or identify technological gaps. LEARN ended the afternoon by announcing the LEARN Grant Call, Grant Workshop (22/2/2021) and Fireside Chat series (18/2/2021).
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On 30 November 2020, LEARN organized the first post-launch event to introduce LEARN’s 2021 activity plans and gather useful feedbacks from the early career researchers at LKCMedicine. A total of 39 participants, including faculty members, research staffs, and graduate students, attended the webinar. There was great enthusiasm on the LEARN grant call, attracting many questions regarding judging criteria and mechanism, grant usage, and collaborative investigation. LEARN’s mentor, Assoc/Prof. Kevin Pethe emphasised that LEARN grant is designed for research fellows to prepare for their next career stage by sharpening their grant writing skills and administration. Additionally, Soon Keong, an Exco member of the LKCMedicine Graduate Student Club, welcomed further collaboration between the two clubs in future events. Prof. Lim Kah Leong, Vice Dean of Research, reiterated that LEARN has the full support of the core leadership of the school and encouraged all LEARN members to actively foster a mutually beneficial relationship among early career researchers.
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We proudly announce the official launch of LKCMedicine EArly Researcher Network (LEARN) on the 28th of October 2020. “The LKCMedicine EArly Researcher Network, LEARN, is a newly formed club for, and run by, the research fellows at LKCMedicine. The goal of LEARN is to create an interactive community among the early career researchers through social and scientific events, professional development workshops and collaborations with other schools of NTU,” said Prof James Best during the LKCMedicine 10th Anniversary Ceremony. As a new initiative by the Office of Research and the Post-doc community, we hope that LEARN can offer our members a more enjoyable and fruitful time at LKCMedicine.