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Tuesday, 13 Aug, 2024
Duke-NUS honours its academic luminaries at the 2024 Faculty Recognition celebration
Duke-NUS Dean Prof Thomas Coffman delivers his welcome remarks
A memorable afternoon unfolded as Duke-NUS and the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) recognised the School’s distinguished faculty at the annual faculty recognition event.
The ceremony, held on 8 August at the Amphitheatre, saw 27 senior faculty members honoured for their academic achievements and long-standing commitment to excellence. This event also marked a significant milestone, awarding tenure to three deserving professors while celebrating 127 long-serving clinical faculty members.
Duke-NUS Dean Professor Thomas Coffman elaborated on the significance of the event in his opening remarks: “This is one of a series of events that we’ve tried to do over the past few years to give appropriate recognition to the value and contributions of our faculty. We did it for a while just for the AMC faculty and last year, we appropriately also started including faculty from the School.”
In addition to honouring promoted AMC faculty, the School also recognised the contributions of faculty from other Offices. This includes Senior Associate Dean Professor Silke Vogel from the Graduate Studies department and neuroscientist Professor Lee Tih Shih from the Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders programme who were promoted to full professor on the practice track, along with Associate Professor Lena Ho from the Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disorders programme, who was promoted and also awarded tenure.
“We are very proud of every one of you,” said Prof Coffman. “You embody the Duke-NUS values of courage, integrity, compassion and collaboration, and I’m confident you will continue to proudly carry the banners of Duke-NUS and our AMC as leaders and shining stars in academic medicine.”
Prof Chay Oh Moh reflects on her journey as a clinician-educator
Among the recipients recognised at the event was Professor Chay Oh Moh from the Paediatrics Academic Clinical Programme who was bestowed the title of Emeritus Professor.
Reflecting on her journey as a clinical educator which began in 1979, Prof Chay drew a parallel between educating the next generation of clinicians and nurturing saplings as she shared the intricacies of teaching, noting that “nurturing people takes a much longer time”.
Before concluding her remarks, Prof Chay also shared some words of encouragement with the aspiring educators in the audience: “It doesn’t matter how long, how short, how big the impact, or how small the impact. You will impact someone along the way.”
In recognition of her impact, Prof Chay received a token of appreciation, which was presented by Vice-Dean of Academic Medicine Clinical Associate Professor Chow Wan Cheng, a former student of Prof Chay’s.
Vice-Dean of Academic Medicine Clin Assoc Prof Chow Wan Cheng presents her mentor with a token of appreciation. The Chinese phrase, which translates to “do not forget the aspirations that you had when you first began” is one of Prof Chay Oh Moh’s favourite phrases
Clin Assoc Prof Chow giving the closing remarks
Emcee for the day, MD-PhD student Mr Charles Tiu from the Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme
Thanking her teacher, as well as many others at the School for their dedication, a visibly moved Clin Assoc Prof Chow said: “I want to take this opportunity to thank her and many of you who contribute to our AMC in so many different ways.”
As the celebration wound its way to a close, it transformed into a vibrant networking session post-event as the attendees engaged in lively discussions, fostering camaraderie and professional relationships.