Opening Address by PS (Health) at NMRC Award Ceremony for STAR, CSA and Fellows

25 Feb 2011

By Ms Yong Ying-I

Venue: NUHS Tower Block Auditorium

A very good evening to everyone. Thank you for joining Chairman A*STAR and myself in this evening’s event. 

NMRC Award Ceremony

2 The NMRC Awards Ceremony is an annual event, and a very special one, as we give out a full spectrum of NMRC talent awards aimed to nurture and support Clinician Scientists in Singapore.  

3 These awards range from the Research Training Scholarship and Fellowship programs, intended to groom the younger generation of scientists towards the Clinician Scientists Award (CSA); to the very prestigious STAR awards given to outstanding talents in translational research, from both local and overseas.

4 Our young Clinician Scientists have told us of the need for networking platforms they can use to foster research collaborations and intellectual exchanges. I hope that this evening’s event will also provide an excellent opportunity for networking and interaction for all of you. 

Awardees for STaR, CSAs and Fellowships & Scholarships

5 Since its inception, the STAR, or the Singapore Translational Research Award, has attracted eight internationally-renowned scientists to take up key research leadership positions in Singapore. Our latest addition to the STAR family is Prof Dario Campana, who is the Vice Chair for Laboratory Research in the Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is with us here tonight and will share on his work and experience as a Clinician Scientist.

6 Internationally-recognised scientists such as our STAR awardees not only bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience to the medical and research scene in Singapore, they also play important roles as mentors, teachers and role models to budding clinician scientists and the younger generation of researchers. They help to attract other talented scientists to Singapore and influence the next generation to choose clinical research as a career.  They also anchor new research capabilities and, over time, help us build a sustainable first class R&D eco-system.

7 Prof Campana is joining a top talent team that is already doing us proud.  One example is past STAR award winner Prof Wong Tien Yin who was recently conferred the 2010 National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award and the President’s Science Award in recognition of his sterling contributions to medical research in Singapore. Prof Wong’s pioneering research has resulted in the development of a suite of advanced computing imaging software and diagnostic platforms, which allows scientists and clinicians to assess a patient’s cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk through a simple retinal photograph. This simple eye scan is a unique and non-invasive way to understand, screen and detect early cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This has great public health significance for Singapore and other countries where cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the leading causes of death and morbidity.

8 Our budding clinician scientists are likewise doing well in the scholarship and Fellowship program, and many have caught the attention of the global scientific community.  Our current AST PHD Scholar, Dr Iain Tan from NUS, was awarded the Young Investigator Award by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May 2010. Dr Teo Wan Yee, an NMRC Fellow from KKH, was awarded the Young Investigator Award at the 3rd Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology, during her research attachment at Texas Children’s Cancer Centre, Baylor College of Medicine, USA. Meanwhile, three MCI scholars from the pioneer batch of seven students have successfully secured competitive national research grants upon their graduation. We are doing well. 

New Program from RIE2015 – Transition Award

9 During last year’s award ceremony, I spoke about the major strategy review underway on our national biomedical sciences research approach as part of the budget planning for the next phase of funding – this is for Phase III of our national biomedical sciences effort from 2011 to 2015. 

10 The budgeting effort is largely over, and you are generally aware that there will be an increase in funding and support for the biomedical research community. There is an expectation overall that we have moved beyond the foundation period of our Biomedical Sciences effort, and there is correspondingly a push for demonstrable outcomes, whether better health outcomes or economic outcomes. However, there was general acceptance that the translational and clinical research thrust started later so it is in the growth phase. So a key focus of the Phase III TCR effort is to grow our talent pool by attracting more of our best and brightest to take up careers as clinician scientists.

11 In line with this, I’m happy to announce today that NMRC will be launching a new program – the Transition Award, to support clinicians who have just completed their research training or their PhD. We feel that this is an important step towards building the pipeline of clinician scientists.

12 This is a $43mil program that provides research grant of up to $450K per project over 3 years, in addition to salary support, for outstanding postdocs, scholars and fellows upon completion of their research training, to continue to pursue their interest in research. This facilitates their transition towards becoming an independent Principal investigator who can compete for research grants such as Clinician Scientist Award, and can be an important step towards a career as a clinician scientist.  

13 This program will likely be launched in the 2nd quarter of 2011, and we will share more details then.

14 Going forward, there remains much work to be done, in the design and implementation of various funding programs that will provide research training opportunities as well as support our clinician scientists in their research.  NMRC is working on other grant programmes such as salary or FTE support for clinicians and funding support for clinical trials. Not ready yet for announcement, but coming soon.

Conclusion

15 Let me end by saying that this past year’s intense work on the biomedical sciences research strategy review has strengthened my conviction that biomedical sciences research is a long-term investment which will help us achieve better healthcare and economic outcomes for Singapore. The key to realising these aims is commitment and investment in our human capital, and that is what tonight’s awards are about. 

16 Please allow me to offer my heartiest congratulations to all our award winners. I wish you all success in your research career in Singapore. I look forward to your contributions to medicine and science, building better health and a better future for our people, and people all over the world.