Duke-NUS today celebrated
the launch of the Duke-NUS COVID Stories book that chronicles the milestones charted in this timeline alongside the personal stories of the researchers, clinician-scientists and alumni who made the discoveries
.
“[COVID] was a challenging time for everyone around the world and for the staff and faculty. But I am so proud of the way we responded, the resilience, the way we supported one another. And scientifically, we really punched above our weight,” said Duke-NUS Dean
Professor Thomas Coffman in a pre-recorded message.
“What you are going to see in this book are some wonderful stories. And not unexpectedly they focus on our Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, they focus on our BSL3 [biosafety level 3 lab] and the staff that kept that going and all the terrific work they did. But I want to acknowledge in addition folks that didn’t end up in this book that did some amazing things in the past three years,” added Professor Patrick Casey, Senior Vice-Dean for Research in his remarks at the event.
From volunteering at quarantine facilities and staffing wards to ensuring that research work could continue, everyone at Duke-NUS pitched in, said Casey.
“It just reminds us every day that people matter. People can make a difference. Everybody can make a difference in the end. And hopefully this is going to make a difference in helping us be ready for the next time [a pandemic] comes because it probably will come again in our lifetimes and we’re going to be much more ready.”
Joining forces, Casey and representatives from the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, the Centre for Outbreak Preparedness along with Senior Vice-Dean for Corporate Affairs Ms Karen Chang unveiled the book.
When asked to name her highlight of the evening, Principal Research Scientist Eugenia Ong, whose story is captured in the book said, “Seeing the book and receiving these thoughtfully drawn portraits.”
“We are used to writing our own experience in journals,” reflected Dr Danny Tng, an adjunct research fellow and Duke-NUS alumnus from the Class of 2019, “having a third person tell our story is very different. But I hope my juniors will be encouraged to take up similar roles next time.”
Speaking about the motivation behind the book and this microsite, Director of Communications & Strategic Relations Mr Anirudh Sharma said after the event: “Throughout the pandemic, our people—scientists, clinician-scientists and educators alike—provided solutions, clarified mis- and disinformation and went the extra mile to help the world. Now that we are emerging from the immediate shadow of COVID, we wanted to pay tribute to all their great work by capturing those hectic and intense early days and sharing the moments of inspiration that led to their discoveries. We are delighted by the amazing feedback we have received from readers so far.”
