Launched in 2005, the Nanyang Alumni Awards are presented to alumni with exemplary achievements in their field of specialisation nationally, regionally, or internationally, or have contributed significantly to the University, the community or society.
Dr Ku Chee Wai, one of the proud and deserving recipients of the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award this year, graduated from NTU School of Biological Sciences (SBS) in 2009 with a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (Accelerated). He is now an Associate Consultant in the Department of Reproductive Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and is also pursuing a PhD in Clinical And Translational Sciences with Duke-NUS Medical School. Congratulations! Let’s hear more from Chee Wai himself.
Dr Ku Chee Wai featured on a poster in SBS in 2009
Why did you join NTU SBS back then?
The old cliché of “do what you love, and love what you do” holds true for me. Since young, I have been passionate about research, clinical science, and education. I still remember when asked during medical school interview “what do you see yourself in 10 years” and I said “I see myself doing translational clinical research”. Even though I did manage to achieve that, it took me a little longer to do so. In many ways, I was glad I didn’t make it to medical school then because my passion for research was ignited while pursuing my undergraduate studies and working on research in Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Biological Sciences, under A/Prof Andrew Tan Nguan Soon. Back then, there were two local universities that offered a life science degree, but the contemporary curriculum in NTU SBS with a focus on molecular science and clinical translation was the main catch for me.
How did your education with NTU SBS help shape who you are and what you do today?
The education in NTU SBS provided me with a solid foundation to understand science, research, and more. I was part of the Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) which allows me to spend 40 hours a month in my mentor’s lab, and that was where I met two inspiring research officers, Mr Tan Ming Jie and Mr Kelvin Chong. They taught me many research techniques that even though I don’t run experiments myself anymore, it remains useful to have a keen understanding of the possibilities in the lab and to understand the lingo when I work with my basic science collaborators now. I also met many other passionate scientists, including A/Prof Li Hoi Yeung and A/Prof Koh Cheng Gee, who has taught me a lot about science and life in general.
A/Prof Andrew Tan and Mr Tan Ming Jie are not only mentors to me, but they are also my friends, and we still remain in close collaboration more than a decade later now. The skills that I learnt, including hypothesis generation, asking the right questions, bench research, grant and manuscript writing etc, have remained highly relevant and useful to me as a Clinician Scientist now. In fact, I think I would never be able to achieve what I have today without this solid foundation and I remain grateful to all my mentors and teachers whom I have had the fortune of meeting over the years. In the spirit of connecting the dots, looking back now I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
Can you share with us some of your fondest memories while pursuing a degree with us?
I spent most of my time in the lab with my mates and the long hours working on cell cultures and animals was unforgettable. The highs of anticipated findings, the lows of contaminated cultures or negative results, were all part of the collective effort. Of course, the icing on the cake was the academic recognition when I was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal at convocation.
What do you do now at work?
I am an Associate Consultant in the Department of Reproductive Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. I am also pursuing a PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences at Duke-NUS Medical School. My clinical work involves working with couples who have difficult conceiving and helping them with artificial reproductive techniques including IVF. My research interests include early pregnancy complications such as miscarriage and creating a health plan for the population across the life-course, for adolescence, to preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods. My PhD study is on Healthy Early Life Moments in Singapore (HELMS), which aims to deliver a mobile health intervention throughout the life-course from preconception to postpartum, to improve metabolic and mental health of overweight and obese women and break the vicious cycle of transgenerational non-communicable diseases.
Dr Ku Chee Wai (second from left) with his Early Pregnancy Research Group colleagues
Any tips or advice for anyone interested to pursue a career in the healthcare industry?
Medicine is a calling, not just any career. It involves a lot of personal sacrifice, and support from people around us. If medicine is your calling, please go for it and never give up! Do not let anyone put you down or tell you otherwise. There is no singular route to be a clinician and as you can tell I took a path less travelled too. It is important to have the resilience and tenacity and you will get there. Similarly, the research path may be an opportunistic journey without a one-size-fits-all approach that brings us to find the magical solution to every clinical question. Hence, while tough, the research journey can still be extremely rewarding if you possess an innate curiosity and desire to do things better. Finding the right mentors is also extremely important as they can provide you with the guidance and support that is required at different stages of your career.
About our SBS alumni: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/sbs/alumni