“SARS is gone and it won’t be coming back, so this is a waste of money,” immunologist Associate Professor Ashley St John was told many years ago when she applied for funding for a SARS-CoV-1 vaccine project. “It seems unbelievable now.”
So, she focused instead on flaviviruses, such as dengue, that have a large burden and display an interesting immunological basis in their disease progression. A choice for which St John from Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme was rewarded today with the Young Researcher Award from the National University of Singapore (NUS). She was one of two researchers under the age of 40 who were recognised for their impact and promise in research.
“Ashley is a brilliant young scientist who is already recognised among the top researchers in her field. As a viral immunologist, Ashley studies immune responses to viral infections and her work has significant translational impact,” said Professor Chen Tsuhan, NUS Deputy President for Research and Technology in his citation.
One example of the translational impact of St John’s work was the clinical trial of a novel therapeutic strategy against dengue that came out of her studies on vascular leakage.
Being singled out among her colleagues across NUS is humbling, said St John of her reaction at the time.
“This award also makes me feel challenged to continue contributing to science and making research advances that are meaningful. I hope that other young researchers who are just starting their careers, and particularly young women in science, can see that there are many rewards to pursuing research even as it requires significant effort and resilience,” she said at the time.
Part of her award includes a research grant of $10,000 that awardees can use to pursue a high-risk, high-reward project and St John already knows what she wants to investigate — the neuro-immune interface.
“The nervous system and the immune system communicate with each other in surprising ways and I hope to identify some novel communication signals occurring in the brain during infection using state-of-the-art single-cell sequencing,” she said.
In bestowing the award on her, Chen also cited St John’s passion for science communication and outstanding mentoring of graduate students, something that is central to her philosophy.
“I love working with other scientists to address big questions and one of the most fun aspects of that for me is training graduate students,” said St John, who hopes to continue building her research programme into one that addresses scientific questions and translates findings into products and therapeutics that can improve lives.
The University Awards recognise excellence in educating and nurturing talent, advancing knowledge, fostering innovation and contributing to country and society. Awards are presented across five categories — Outstanding Educator, Young Researcher, Research Recognition, Outstanding Service and Special Commendation.
Alongside St John, SingHealth Group CEO and Duke-NUS Governing Board member Professor Ivy Ng was also honoured. Ng, who was instrumental in shaping the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, received the Outstanding Service Award, which honours accomplished and respected individuals from the NUS community who have distinguished themselves through their sustained and exceptional contributions in serving the University and society.