Making the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list
Clockwise from left: Mr Kee, Mr Chua, Ms An, Mr Lim, Mr Leong, Ms Chaluangco, and Dr Monajemi
Seven members of the NUS community were honoured in the latest Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list, released on 1 April. Spanning the spectrum from food manufacturing and sustainable paints to AI voice-powered technology and AI-improved diagnosis, these young leaders were part of 300 young people identified for challenging conventional wisdom and rewriting the rules for the next generation.
Highlighted for his work in improving clinical trials through data and AI technologies was Research Fellow and Head of Clinical Trials at the NUS N.1 Institute for Health Mr Theodore Kee. Mr Kee was part of a team that developed an innovative software called CURATE.AI, which sifts through a patient's medical data and history to recommend a suitable combination and dosage of drugs for treatment. The team is currently designing and implementing clinical trials for tumors and blood cancer therapy development.
NUS Food Science and Technology PhD student Chua Jian Yong, co-founder of food company SinFooTech, was another honouree. SinFooTech focuses on recycling waste by-products from the food manufacturing industry. The company’s first product is a first-of-its-kind alcoholic beverage named Sachi that is made from soy whey — a by-product from the manufacture of tofu. The drink is currently being commercialised for Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries.
Also on the list is Ms Annie Dongmei An, an NUS Computing graduate, who works at Amazon Web Services as a Solutions Architect. In her role, she helps Southeast Asian enterprises innovate with Amazon's cloud computing and AI-powered voice technology. Ms An helped create the tech giant's first certification program for voice-enabled applications, which was launched in April 2019. She was named Future CIO of the Year 2019 at the Women In IT Awards.
Other members of the NUS community that were featured include:
- NUS Business alumni Mr Ryan Lim and Mr Lester Leong. They are co-founders of Gush, a sustainable paint and building materials company. The company’s flagship product, an interior paint which purifies the air, eliminates bacteria, regulates humidity and prevents mould, is used in multiple projects across Singapore and Southeast Asia.
- NUS Accounting alumna, Ms Shannon Lee Chaluangco who is the investment director of venture capital firm MDI Ventures. She has invested US$50 million into startups so far; and
- NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD alumna Dr Sadaf Monajemi, co-founder of medtech startup See-Mode Technologies, which aims to improve stroke diagnosis and treatment through AI.
This year’s Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list was selected from more than 3,500 nominations, researched by a team of reporters and vetted by an A-list panel of judges who are leaders in their industries. The members of the list are from 22 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific. Criteria that were taken into consideration included leadership, impact, potential of success and the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit synonymous with Forbes. Also considered were factors like innovation, disruption, as well as size and growth of their ventures.
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