Let’s Talk Public Health

I am currently pursuing a major in Pharmacy and a minor in Public Health at the National University of Singapore. Pharmacy is a professional degree and typically leads to immediate employment as a pharmacist after graduation. I wanted to gain a broader understanding of Singapore’s healthcare system and so undertook an internship at the Practice Office in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Practice Office places an emphasis on translational work which really appealed to me. This is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of integrating theoretical researchRead more

Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes. The four dengue serotypes are all endemic in Singapore. In 1968, Singapore initiated its dengue control programme. This control programme includes environmental management, source reduction, public health education, inspection of premises and fines for identification of mosquito breeding sites. Novel tools, such as the use of Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress urban mosquito populations, are also being developed to enhance the programme. The School has developed a set of teaching case studies to develop in-depth understanding and critical thinking on public

Today we talk with Associate Professor Adeline Seow. Adeline’s academic career has focused on public health and epidemiology, particularly the influence on health of environmental and genetic factors. Her research has been primarily on the causes and prevention of cancer. Recently, Adeline ventured into public health ethics as part of her sabbatical leave, including undertaking a research attachment with the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Georgetown University, Washington DC. Adeline is also Acting Director at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) at NUS. Adeline and colleagues at SPH and CBmE

Let’s Talk with … Students who have just completed their research project on barriers to seeking support for mental health concerns in Singapore As part of the School’s undergraduate module on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, students have an opportunity to undertake a group research project. Andrea Chua Wei Ming, Claire Yan-Ling Karmakar, Jaden Rafael Yan, Lai Yixin, and Nurhusna Alifia Bte Suhaimi talk to us about their research project exploring the barriers young adults face in seeking mental health support in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mentorship was

Saima in Switzerland After completing my medical training in Pakistan, I came to Singapore to undertake a Master’s in Public Health and subsequently completed a PhD in medicine. I have also undertaken post-doc studies at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. My work focuses on improving our understanding of dementia and cognitive impairment through analysis of biomarkers (like blood, MRI brain scans, and genetic analysis). Through analysis of biomarkers, we can work towards developing tools to try and identify people at risk of dementia. Why is dementia

Timothy Liu is currently undertaking a Master’s in Public Health at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, in addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer of Dover Park Hospice. For the past two years, he has also been handling and managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 2016, I’ve helmed Dover Park Hospice and I come from an engineering and business background. I wanted to gain further insights into health and healthcare and learn public health concepts and tools that I could bring back to Dover

Assistant Professor Dr Jasper Tromp has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Singapore over the past seven years. These experiences have given him insights into the impact of different health systems and cultural differences on health and healthcare, particularly in the area of his research expertise in cardiovascular disease. He has been working in Singapore for the last five years, with a focus on identifying differences in quality of care or cardiovascular disease between countries and Digital Health interventions to improve care.

The School is currently developing case studies to use in education, one of which will be on palliative care. Part of the case study development involves gathering perspectives and insights from experts in the field. We spoke with Dr Mervyn Koh, Medical Director at Dover Park Hospice, about how this important field is evolving to meet the needs of Singaporeans. Dr Koh initially trained as a geriatrician and went on to complete specialist training in Palliative Medicine. He is a senior consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and headed up

Dr Melvin Seng is the Country Lead Physician in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), overseeing employee health and well-being across commercial offices and manufacturing sites in the private sector. He obtained his Master of Public Health from the School in 2016.

Associate Professor Ng Wee Tong has spent most of his career working in Occupational Medicine, first in the Republic of Singapore Air Force and then in the commercial sector. He is also a specialist in Aviation Medicine, which was a core requirement during his time in the military.