L’Oréal Singapore Awards 2015 For Women In Science National Fellowships

SINGAPORE – L’Oréal Singapore has awarded national fellowships to two female scientists, Dr Neo Mei Lin and Assistant Professor Ling Xing Yi, as part of the 2015 L’Oréal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowship programme. Each receives a grant of SGD$30,000.

The 2015 Life Science Fellowship was awarded to Dr Neo Mei Lin (梁玫霖), 29, Research Fellow at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore. Dr Neo won this year’s Life Science Fellowship for her work in “A Trifecta Integrated Assessment for Prioritizing Conservation of the Giant Clams”.

Leveraging on the current conservation framework of EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered), Dr Neo intends to develop conservation priorities combining phylogeny, threat level and functional diversity to primarily target old and endangered species lineages. This accounts for unique traits and ecological functions that may affect future evolutionary potential. Giant clams make significant ecological contributions in the coral reefs, and Dr Neo’s study can help allocate conservation resources that are urgently needed to safeguard the future of giant clams. 

She says, “I strongly believe in making a scientific contribution, no matter how small it may be, as that small effort will help make a big difference to the environment.”

The 2015 Physical and Engineering Science fellowship was awarded to Ling Xing Yi (林歆怡), 36, Assistant Professor, School of Physical and Mathematical Science, Nanyang Technological University. She was awarded the Fellowship for her research in “Plasmonic Colloidosomes Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering Sensors for Rapid and Sensitive On-site Detection of Environmental Pollutants”.

Prof Ling’s lab has introduced an ultrasensitive environmental sensing platform for quick on-site detection of the contamination of water and soil by environmental toxins. They develop “plasmonic colloidosome” SERS platforms, which are designed to achieve detection of environmental pollutants at trace level.

Prof Ling says of her work, “Women love to wonder, that is the seed of science. I wish to encourage women of tomorrow to plant these seeds, by showing that my research on fundamental nanomaterial chemistry is capable of solving real-world problems.”

Commenting on L’Oréal Singapore’s commitment to encouraging women in science, Vincent Ong, General Manager of Professional Products Division and Corporate Affairs at L’Oréal Singapore said, “Today, only 30% of the world’s researchers are women. We are convinced that science brings hope and fosters discovery, innovation and excellence, and all the best talents must be called upon to accomplish this mission. The L’Oréal Singapore For Women in Science Fellowships hopes to encourage and support more women to join this mission towards scientific excellence and serve as role models for the future of science.”

The fellows are selected by an esteemed jury, consisting of members who are former L’Oréal Singapore national fellows; and professors from A*STAR, the National University of Singapore, and the Nanyang Technological University.

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IMAGES

High resolution images of the fellows are available for download at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0r7f2j8p6g4uvpw/AAAI3DpupQ_2-A-RddDTKmHLa?dl=0.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Runners Up: The 2015 Life Science Finalists (in no order of merit)

i. Polly CHEN (陈蕾蕾, 36), Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore; Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, National University of Singapore

Research topic: Understanding RNA Editing Dysregulation in Human Cancers
Research summary: Cancer is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, and an extensive amount of in-depth research is required in hope to bring down the rate of cancer-related mortality. Using integrative genomic approaches, Dr Chen’s group recently discovered the link between RNA-editing dysregulation and liver cancer development. She currently focuses on the cause and biological significance of RNA-editing dysregulation as well as the crosstalk between RNA editing and other RNA processes. Her work provides new insights into the regulation of tumorigenesis, and holds great promise in the translation of these findings into clinical diagnoses and new treatment options for cancer patients.

ii. Lena HO (何慧敏, 34), Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Research topic: Discovering Novel Peptides with Crucial Biological Functions
Research summary: Dr Ho’s work is focused on finding new peptides required for normal development and health. These are very versatile molecular entities with many functions – such as intercellular communication, cellular defence and homeostasis – that work together with their larger protein cousins to maintain the delicate balance of life. Dr Ho and her colleagues have discovered a new hormonal peptide that is required for normal heart development and embryonic stem cells. It is also required during pregnancy to ensure healthy and successful fetal development. Going forward, Dr Ho aims to uncover one new peptide a year, for the rest of her career.

iii. WAN Yue (32), Junior Principal Investigator, Genome Institute Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Research topic: Targeting Infectious Diseases through RNA
Research summary: RNA is one of three major macromolecules in the cell and plays an important role in gene regulation. Through a new way of studying how RNA folds in a large-scale manner, Dr Wan is able to study how RNA shapes in drug-resistant bacteria and in dengue virus, cause infection. This then enables the development of novel therapeutic drugs for infectious diseases through RNA targeting.

2. Runners Up: The 2015 Physical & Engineering Science Finalists (in no order of merit)

i. CHEW Jia Wei (周佳维, 34), Assistant Professor, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University; Cluster Leader, Singapore Membrane Technology Center, Nanyang Technological University

Research topic: Innovation and Improving Fluidization and Membrane Technologies
Research summary: Prof Chew is interested in enabling practical, cost-effective engineering solutions to sustainability challenges related to water supply and minimizing the carbon footprint. Per the World Economic Forum 2015, water crisis is a top global risk. Her research focuses on improving the energy-efficiency of membrane-based water treatment processes as they promise to play an increasingly important role in water supply strategies. And in order to address the climate change issue, it is crucial to develop cost-effective ways to remove carbon dioxide emissions and improve the energy-efficiency of industrial processes. The fluidized-bed technology is promising for carbon capture and has widespread industrial applications. Hence Prof Chew focuses on understanding the fundamentals of hydrodynamics to improve mechanistic-based proficiencies.

ii. QIU Anqi (仇安琪, 39), Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore; Associate Professor, Clinical Imaging Research Center, National University of Singapore; Adjunct Principal Investigator, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences

Research topic: Computational Modeling of Brain Anatomy and Function Using Multimodal Neuroimages 
Research summary: Prof Qiu is devoted to innovation in computational models for complex and informative datasets comprised of disease phenotypes and brain images to understand the origins of individual differences in mental health throughout the lifespan. She pioneered neuroimaging research in infants and young children. Using neonatal brain images, she discovered the first evidence of increased risks for mental disorders that can be transmitted from mother to child during the fetal life and hence emphasized great impacts of quantitative medicine on clinical prevention and practice.

3. The jury members for 2015 included:

Professor Leo Tan, Advisor to theJury
Chairman, Science Sub-Commission Singapore National Commission for UNESCO
Director (Special Projects), Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore

Associate Professor Christina Chai, Jury Member
Assistant Dean, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore;
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore;
Principal Scientist, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, A*STAR

Associate Professor Gan Chee Lip, Jury Member
Director, Temasek Laboratories@NTU;
Associate Professor, School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University

Assistant Professor Melissa Fullwood, Jury Member
2009 L’Oréal Singapore For Women in Science Life Science Fellow;
Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute Singapore;
Nanyang Assistant Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University;
Joint Principal Investigator, Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR

Associate Professor Low Hong Yee, Jury MembeR
2010 L’Oréal Singapore For Women in Science Material Science Fellow;
Associate Professor, Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology & Design

Dr Mark Phong, Jury Member
Director, Advanced Research, L’Oréal Singapore;
Director, Business Development & Scientific Foresight, L’Oréal Asia Pacific

4. The L’Oréal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowship

The L’Oréal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowship programme was established in 2009, and is organized with the support of the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The programme recognizes talented women researchers in the scientific field, and aims to encourage women to not only pursue and maintain careers in science; but actively participate in Singapore’s research and development sector as well.

Since its inception in 2009, L’Oréal Singapore has consecutively awarded the fellowships over the past seven years; thus far, 16 women scientists have been honoured with fellowships. The fellows can use their grants with no restrictions.

5. 17 Years of Supporting Women in Science

Created in 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowships were established by the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation as the first international awards dedicated to women scientists around the world. 17 years later, the programme continues to be a benchmark of international scientific excellence and an invaluable source of motivation, support, as well as inspiration for women in the fields of science. Since it was founded in 1998, the program has honoured 87 Award Laureates (including two who went on to win the Nobel Prize), and supported more than 2170 Fellows - women who are making contributions in every field of research. By the end of 2015, more than 2250 women scientists from over 110 countries will have benefitted from the program.

6. L’ORÉAL

L’Oréal has devoted itself to beauty for over 105 years. With its unique international portfolio of 32 diverse and complementary brands, the Group generated sales amounting to 22.5 billion euros in 2014 and employs 78,600 people worldwide. As the world’s leading beauty company, L’Oréal is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, pharmacies and drugstores, hair salons, travel retail and branded retail.

Research and innovation, and a dedicated research team of 3,700 people, are at the core of L’Oréal’s strategy, working to meet beauty aspirations all over the world and attract one billion new consumers in the years to come. L’Oréal’s new sustainability commitment for 2020 “Sharing Beauty With All” sets out ambitious sustainable development objectives across the Group’s value chain. www.loreal.com

7. Singapore National Commission for UNESCO

Since Singapore re-joined UNESCO in 2007, the Singapore National Commission (SNC) for UNESCO was set up to coordinate Singapore’s activities and programmes with UNESCO. The SNC was officially launched on 28 May 2008. The Education, Science, Culture and Information Sub-Commissions were established to support the mission of the SNC. Members of the National Commission and Sub-Commissions include representatives from government ministries, educational, scientific and cultural institutions, as well as relevant agencies and organisations.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) is Chairman of the SNC and Mrs Rosa Daniel, Deputy-Secretary (Culture) is the Secretary-General. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth serves as the SNC Secretariat.

For more information on the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO, please visit www.unesco.sg.

8. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that spearheads economic oriented research to advance scientific discovery and develop innovative technology. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit society.

As a Science and Technology Organisation, A*STAR bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our research creates economic growth and jobs for Singapore, and enhances lives by contributing to societal benefits such as improving outcomes in healthcare, urban living, and sustainability.

We play a key role in nurturing and developing a diversity of talent and leaders in our Agency and Research Institutes, the wider research community and industry. A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis.

For more information on A*STAR, please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.

This release is distributed by PINPOINT Public Relations on behalf of L’Oréal Singapore.

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