Dr Andy Tay, Senior Tutor from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at NUS Engineering, received the Yamaguchi Medal during the recent 2019 Asian Pacific Association of Biomechanics meeting held in Taipei, Taiwan. He was awarded the medal in the category of Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics for his research in developing novel nano and micro tools for the study of mechano-sensitive ion channels.

During the meeting, Dr Tay also gave a talk on designing bioresorbable magnetic hydrogels as tissue-machine interfaces and regenerative medicine. 

The Yamaguchi Medal aims to encourage promising young researchers at the early stage of their career in the field of biomechanics and is named in honour of the founding president, Professor Takami Yamaguchi.

NUS Senior Vice President (Health Affairs) Professor John Eu-Li Wong has been elected to the prestigious US National Academy of Medicine. Regarded as one of the highest honours in the fields of health and medicine, election to the academy recognises outstanding individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, healthcare and public health.

Prof Wong, who is also Chief Executive at the National University Health System (NUHS) and the Isabel Chan Professor in Medical Sciences at NUS, is a renowned medical oncologist-haematologist. Deeply involved in the development of Singapore’s health and biomedical sciences, he serves as a member of the National Health and Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee. He has held many key leadership roles locally and internationally, including being the Past President of the World Health Summit and helming the expanded NUHS through excellence in care, research and education.

Dr Toh Tai Chong, Lecturer and Academic Director at the NUS College of Alice & Peter Tan, has been conferred the inaugural ASEAN Youth Eco-Champions Award. This prestigious award recognises the efforts of youth in promoting environmental education and sustainable development towards a clean and green community.

Dr Toh was commended for his contributions to environmental education through three major areas, namely, education, research and service. As an educator, he is active in developing modules related to conservation and sustainability. By integrating experiential learning in his modules, his students were able to evaluate environmental issues in multidisciplinary settings. As a marine biologist, his research focuses on coral reef conservation and his integration of social sciences to biological conservation was crucial in developing novel approaches to environmental education.

Dr Toh has also collaborated extensively with local agencies and overseas institutions to enhance environmental education efforts. Many of the ASEAN youth whom he mentored went on to develop award winning environmental projects and offered Fullbright Scholarships.

In addition, the passionate environmentalist co-founded Our Singapore Reefs, a community initiative that galvanises support from the public, businesses and government agencies to remove Singapore’s underwater marine debris. To date, the collective effort by the volunteers has removed more than 8,500 pieces of trash in the last two years. For his impactful work, he won the EcoFriend Award 2018 (Non-Governmental Organisations and Grassroots Volunteers) presented by the National Environment Agency of Singapore.

NUS scientists have been recognised with the President’s Science and Technology Awards, Singapore’s highest research and innovation accolades. These researchers and engineers are honoured for their outstanding work and contributions that have resulted in significant scientific, technological or economic benefits for the country. Recipients of the President’s Science Award are Professor Toh Kim Chuan from NUS Mathematics; and Singapore Eye Research Institute team comprising Duke-NUS Medical School faculty – Associate Professor Audrey Chia, Professor Saw Seang Mei, Professor Roger Beuerman and Adjunct Professor Donald Tan. Recipients of the Young Scientist Award are Dr Charles Lim from NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Centre for Quantum Technologies at NUS; and Dr Shao Huilin from NUS Biomedical Engineering and Principal Investigator at NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology.

Professor Teo Chung Piaw, Provost’s Chair and Director of the Institute of Operations Research and Analytics at NUS Business School, has been honoured by The Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS) as a fellow, one of a mere dozen selected worldwide annually. He is also the only fellow ever named from an Asian institution in the fellowship’s 17-year history.

Associate Professor Marcus Ang of Duke-NUS Medical School has been awarded the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s 2019 Artemis Award for his work in creating free vision care for people across Asia, particularly the elderly in Singapore. The Artemis Award honours a young ophthalmologist in recognition of the tremendous work he or she has done to help disadvantaged communities obtain vision care. It is named after the Greek goddess Artemis, who was the protector and nurturer of the vulnerable and suffering.