Research: Building the foundation for future research

By Eugene Woon, Senior Executive, Research Administration and Support Services

As part of LKCMedicine's commitment to address Singapore's future healthcare challenges such as an ageing population, LKCMedicine has recently hosted several prominent international and national symposiums and research workshops. Conferences such as the LKCMedicine-Google Collaborative Workshop, 1st LKCMedicine-Macrogen "Application of Genomics Advances in Healthcare" Conference, the Japan-Singapore Skin Conference, and MOM-TARIPH (Ministry of Manpower Singapore-The Academic Respiratory Initiative for Pulmonary Health) Joint Symposium held during the first half of 2019, strongly demonstrated LKCMedicine's research faculty and the Research Administrative and Support Services team's determination to reinforce the School's dedication to continuous learning, innovation and improvement for the advancement of healthcare in Singapore and beyond.

Through these research conferences, LKCMedicine becomes a gateway for outstanding local and international collaborators and talents to meet with the School's faculty to discuss avenues for future research. For instance, the "Antimicrobial Resistance in the Asia Pacific & Its Impact on Singapore" held in November 2018 featured  LKCMedicine's Associate Professor of Human and Microbial Genetics Eric Yap, and Associate Professor of Infectious Disease Yeo Tsin Wen. The faculty's outstanding research in infectious disease, microbial genetics and epidemiology, aligned perfectly with the conference theme. LKCMedicine's close proximity to the new National Centre for Infectious Diseases, positioned the School as the ideal venue for the conference.

Meanwhile, several LKCMedicine researchers have been under the media spotlight for their studies such as Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine Sanjay Chotirmall; Nanyang Assistant Professor and Provost's Chair in Medicine Luo Dahai; Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine Wang Xiaomeng; Director of Centre for Population Health Sciences, Associate Professor Josip Car; Director of Health Screening Centre, Professor John Chambers; and Irene Tan Liang Kheng Chair Professor of Diabetes Research and Professor of Metabolic Medicine Bernhard Boehm, which elevated the School's standing in the research community and positioned it as an institution that attracts and cultivates talents. LKCMedicine continues to do outstanding work in the research arena and its growing presence at research conferences is laudable, attracting the attention of organisers of world-class symposia and eminent scholars.

With its dual campus, one sited in Novena and the other on the NTU Main Campus, LKCMedicine is an ideal choice for academic conferences and research symposia. Strategically located in HealthCity Novena, which is located in the heart of the city, LKCMedicine's Headquarters and Clinical Sciences Building are well-positioned to host the target audience while linking clinicians, scientists and research facilities in the vicinity. On the other hand, the School's Experimental Medicine Building on the NTU Main Campus is poised to attract researchers and faculty members from the other schools and colleges in the wider NTU community, encouraging interdisciplinary efforts and interschool collaborations.

Being a relatively young medical school, LKCMedicine boasts new facilities, among which are spacious learning studios, seminar rooms, Toh Kian Chui Annex Lecture Theatre and the Ong Tiong Tat & Irene Tan Liang Kheng Auditorium, which seats 500 comfortably. Thus, the School's bespoke venues are able to accommodate a large number of conference attendees, making it more attractive as a conference or symposium venue.

The symposia and research events held at LKCMedicine are carefully aligned with key areas of the School's research strategy namely metabolic disorders, infection and immunity, dermatology and skin biology, developmental biology and regenerative medicine, and neuroscience and mental health. The conferences and symposia held at LKCMedicine provide opportunities for the faculty and researchers to learn from and leverage on new breakthroughs, knowledge, skills and expertise delivered by invited leading scholars. At the same time, these research events are excellent platforms for networking to develop synergistic partnerships that can lead to transformative, multidisciplinary and impactful research for better health outcomes.

With its growing reputation in research and conference schedule, a busy calendar awaits. LKCMedicine will continue to be committed to hosting research collaborations and the exchange of ideas at future conferences.