The Year 2003

Dec 2003

Assoc. Prof. Rudolf Meier, has been invited as this year's Griswold lecturer to the Department of Entomology of Cornell University. He will present two seminars on his research on the conservation biology, evolution, and DNA taxonomy of Diptera on 1 and 2 December 2003. His research is part of an international research initiative on the evolution of Diptera that has recently been awarded a 5-year, S$4.2 million grant by the US National Science Foundation. The award is supported by one of the most ambitious special programs of NSF dedicated to "Discovering the Tree of Life" The project on Diptera will be coordinated by five PIs from the US, Australia, and Singapore and involve an additional 10 collaborators from 8 countries and all continents.

Dr Adrian Elangovan, previously a graduate student of our Department and now a lecturer at the Singapore Polytechnic was featured in Lifestyle magazine focussing on his work as a volunteer. >> more

Nov 2003

28 Nov 2003 - The Department had a Year-end Lunch get-together with our beautiful garden as a backdrop. Gourmet food was served in the outdoor tent set up. Though the rain came down hard towards the end of the event, staff and students bravely mobilised all the unbrellas and tried to keep everyone dry. It was certainly a wet and 'wild' party! >> picture gallery

21 Nov 2003 - GloFish, the world's first genetically engineered pet by A/P Gong Zhiyuan took the world by storm. >> more

21 Nov 2003 - The department's Indian community celebrated Deepavali witha lunch in tthe new foyer. This practise was initiaited some 13 years ago as a gesture of appreciation to the department's staff and students. Click for picture gallery (courtesy of Sivasothi)

11 Nov 2003 - The 4th Sino-Singapore Conference on Biotechnology was a resounding success with more than 250 attendees. NUS is proud to be the host of this fourth Trilateral Conference which have widened the network of cooperation to include 5 additional top universities from China. this is the first time that such a conference involving multiple universities from China is being held here in Singapore. The occasion was also to officiate the Opening of the Structural Biology Research Corridor and Appreciation of the Lee Hiok Kwee donation. click for picture gallery

Ms Lee Wan-Jean, a graduate student of DBS was recently awarded the 2003/04 President Graduate Fellowship. More>>

Oct 2003

17 Oct - A paper in Science by Dr Ng Huck Hui - Comment on “ ‘Stemness’: Transcriptional Profiling of Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells” and “A Stem Cell Molecular Signature” (I) >> paper

21 Oct - The Straits Times, Getting their hands dirty for science (Shifting through piles of rotting fish is par for the course for a group of researchers looking for rare finds) >>more

19 Oct - Principal Laboratory Technologist Kok Oi Yee received the National Blood Centre's Ruby Award from the Minister of State for Health and Transport Dr Balaji Sadasivan. The recognition is awarded to women who have donated 50 units of blood.

Sept 2003

Congratulations to Dr Low Boon Chuan, the winner of the YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD 2003 - DR LOW'S research helps in identifying parts of proteins, called domains, that play an important role in controlling human cells.Domains can, for example, cause a cell to change shape or move, and play a part in cell division, growth and death, and in how tissues form and organs develop. By understanding how cells respond to environmental cues, scientists can learn better how to control cells, by, say, stopping them from dividing if they are cancerous, or getting them to congregate at a wound site to promote healing. >>more


Loh Tze-lynn, our Science graduate and research assistant at TMSI is featured in the Sept issue of Her World. Click for more....

Wong Yueat Tin, one of our 3 yr major, is the winner of the HSBC/NYAA Youth Environmental Award 2003 (Merit). The Award was presented by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry on 20 Sept 2003. Yueat Tin received a plaque and a $300 book voucher. Congratulations!

The department is proud to announce that the following colleagues have been awarded the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award 2002/2003 by the Faculty of Science. The Award ceremony will be held on 29 October 2003, with Prof Chong Chi Tat as the guest of honor. Heartiest congratulations to:

Heartiest Congratulations to Professor Lam Toong Jin who has been conferred the title of Emeritus Professor by the University Council and Chancellor. This is the highest honour the university can confer. "Prof Lam's distinquished scholarship and leadership has been instrumental in shaping the Faculty into what it is today" quote Dean Tan E C. Prof Lam is a world-renowned researcher in fish reproductive and larval physiology, endocrinology and aquaculture. His 165 internationally-refereed papers, 24 book chapters and 4 patents have contributed significantly to the development of aquaculture in the region and the world. His research and academic achievements earned him numerous awards and honours as well as significant professional involvement.

The US National Science Foundation has awarded a SGD 4.2 million grant to a team of five principal investigators (3 from the US, 1 from Australia, and A/P Rudolf Meier). The award is part of one of the most ambitious special programs of NSF dedicated to "Discovering the Tree of Life" The project will be coordinated by the five PIs and involve an additional 10 collaborators from 8 countries and all continents. Prof Meier's share of the grant will be SGD 260.000, because NSF will only fund materials and travel expenses for researchers employed by foreign institutions. Several postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows funded through US institutions will spend time in DBS and students from DBS will have the opportunity to work abroad.

Aug 2003

9 Aug 2003 - Two of our graduate students are listed in a Straits Times National Day news feature on "38 under 38", youth who are 'remaking Singapore'. Leong Tzi Ming ("The Frog Prince") and N. Sivasothi ("Nature Crusader")

Prof Alex Ip, Department of Biological Sciences, and an international team of co-workers had their research work on the local freshwater stingray featured in "INSIDE JEB" as well as in the 7 August 2003 issue of NATURE. Each issue of NATURE features only 4-5 articles from all non-Nature journals. This would set a good platform for the freshwater stingray to be used as a specimen to study the up- and down-regulation of urea transporters, which would have application values to research on mammalian kidneys.

Congratulations to A/P Sodhi N who has been appointed as an Associate (Honorary) at the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University. Such positions are supposed to be extremely rare at Harvard.

The following staff members has been recognised as NUS Excellent Teachers, 2002/03: Congratulations to:

A/P Tan Tiang Wah, Hugh
A/P Loh Chiang Siong
Prof Ip Yuen Kwong, Alex
Dr Chew Fook Tim

Dr Yang Daiwen is one of the lecturers at the JASS'03-Winter school in Osaka, Japan on NMR Spectroscopy at the Frontier of Progress in the Life Sciences from January 19-31, 2004 (web-site http://www.protein.osaka-u.ac.jp/biophys/nmr-school.html). The list of international lecturers includes Ikura (Toronto), Wright( Scripps),Opella (UCSD) and Griesinger(Max Plank Inst), as well as, several top Japanese and Korean scientists. This put NUS on the map among the top NMR research establishment.

On 22 August 2003, the Department hosted a visit by Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State for Education and Community Dvelopment and Sports and LG (NS) Lim Chuan Poh, Second Permanent Secretary, MOE. This is their first official visit to the University.

 

 

July 2003

Visitors to the Department: Professor Xu Zhi Hong (President, Peking University China) and Professor Zhu Zuoyan (Deputy Director, National Natural Science Foundation, China)

Horseshoe crab study pays off for S'pore researchers - a Sunday Times (29 June 2003) feature on Prof Ding Jeak Ling and A/P Ho. "Husband and wife team set to profit from work on enzyme substitute, which is being marketed as a diagnostic tool" Click for newspaper article.

A/P Gong Z was invited to speak at the 19th International Congress of Genetics in Melbourne. His presentation on GM fish was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) on 8 Ju 03 and The Age (Australia) on 10 Jul 03. Click for article in both the newspapers. His work was also mentioned in the New Scientist July 03 issue. Click for article

24 Jul 2003 - A letter to the nature, co-authored by Navjot S. Sodhi and Peter K. L. Ng, entitled "Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in Singapore" is published in Nature Vol. 424, July 24, 2003, and subsequently transmitted around the world by wire agencies and the media.

14th International Biology Olympiad July 2003 : We have done it again! NUS team ranked 5th among 41 participating countries.
Russia, Thailand, China - 3 Golds, 1 Silver
Belarus (host country) - 2 Golds, 2 Silvers
Singapore, s. Korea - 1 Gold, 3 Silvers
Singapore team beats USA and Taiwan (no Gold)

The team of four won 1 Gold and 3 Silver medals.
Shirleen Soh Ying Qi, Gold, Ranked 8th of 164
Hong En Ping, Silver, 18th
Ho Jiang Hai, Silver, 25th
Chew Guo Liang, Silver, 30th

June 2003

Lancet, Jun 14 - Dr Chew Fook Tim et al has published in this prestigous medical journal. Click for published article.

The Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium 2003 - will be held on 11 and 12 July 2003. Held at LT 25 of the National University of Singapore, the guest of honour will be Minister of State for National Development Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan.Co-organised by the Singapore Institute of Biology(SiBiol) , Nature’s Niche and the Raffles Museum for Biodiversity Research (RMBR), this symposium, to be attended by academics, administrators, civil servant and conversation workers, will provide a platform for discussions on biodiversity research, education, management and conservation in Singapore. This Symposium will be held in conjunction with a book launch of the new “Chek Jawa Guidebook” by Ria Tan & Alan Yeo (eds.), published in association with the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, NUS.

Reena Han Nian-lin (a postdoc under A/P Sheu Fwu-Shan) is awarded a SMS Post-doc Fellowship.

Tam Wai Leong, a graduate student, is the winner of this year's NUS President's Graduate Fellowship. He will receive a monthly stipend of $700. Congratulations!

Prof. Hew Choy Leong was appointed as a member, College of Reviewers, Canada Chair Professorship Programe, Canada. He was also appointed as member, External Reviewer Panel, National Natural Science Foundation, China.

April 2003

A paper by A/P Lim Tit Meng has been featured as part of the the cover page of a special issue of the International Journal of Developmental Biology. Click for cover page of journal... An newspaper article (NewPaper 7 April 2003) about the second edition of a book A/P Hugh Tan co-wrote with Chua Keng Soon on growing native plants. This was published by the Singapore Environment Council and will be at bookstores soon. Click for article...

February 2003

Recruitment Trip to Vietnam. A trip to the two major cities in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, was conducted from 16th to 20th February 2003. Click for more..