As part of their annual tradition, the Duke-NUS Medical School’ Centre for Clinician-Scientist Development (CCSD) celebrated the achievements of mentees who received the Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Transition Award and first-time Clinician Scientist Award. The celebration was extended to all who had been successful, with a total of 18 NMRC awardees who were honoured at the event. The awards are given out under NMRC’s Talent Development Programmes, which offer comprehensive support to budding clinician-scientists and innovators in the form of funding and protected time.
Held at the Duke-NUS campus on 30 September, the event marked the CCSD’s first in-person celebratory lunch in a while, and saw leaders from the School and the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) adding their congratulations.
“I hope this achievement will underline and support your decision to embark on this pathway,” said Professor Thomas Coffman, Dean of Duke-NUS, as he congratulated the awardees on their achievements. Reflecting on his personal experience as a clinician scientist, he added: “We’re fortunate to be able to do this—to be able to do our clinical work, but also to do research, which will help move the field forward.”
Pointing out the upward trajectory of the number of recipients from the AMC, Prof Coffman highlighted the “significant role” played by the CCSD team, as he thanked Professor Roger Vaughan, CCSD Director and Professor Wang Jie Jin, former CCSD Deputy Director for their contributions. “I’m really excited about the programmes that Prof Vaughan is developing with the team and look forward to more success going forward,” he said.
With almost double the number of awardees this time round compared with previous grant calls, it was a proud moment for the CCSD team who had supported them every step of the way, particularly since a majority of the awardees were mentees who had participated in the Centre’s various programmes Emphasising CCSD’s role in mentoring aspiring clinician-scientists in their research journey, Prof Vaughan remarked: “Our involvement with you doesn’t end with you getting the award.”
The awardees took turn to speak about the healthcare problems they hoped to address and how they had navigated the process of securing funding. Citing the mentorship and support provided by CCSD as crucial to their success, many expressed their gratitude to the team—thanking mentors including Prof Wang and centre managers Chen Meixuan, Fion Farn and Angie Tan.
Another highlight of the event was a fireside chat moderated by Prof Vaughan. Joining in the chat were CCSD’s team of faculty advisors: Associate Professor Darren Lim, Principal Lead Mentor for Clinician-Scientists, Associate Professor Deidre De Silva, Principal Lead Mentor for Clinician-Investigators and Associate Professor Derrick Chan, Principal Lead Mentor for Clinician-Innovators.
During the lively discussion, panellists shared their views and experiences of managing clinical work, research and other commitments as well as their tried-and-tested tips on how to overcome these challenges. Weighing in on the importance of networking, the advisors talked about how they went about building relationships that helped open doors to fruitful collaborations down the road.