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The School congratulates Professor Saw Seang Mei, Dr Pavan Kumar Verkicharla and Professor Kyoko Ohno-Matsui on receiving the Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award. Presented by the College of Optometrists, the Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award honours the most highly regarded paper from those published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics in the last five years. It is one of the College’s prestigious Research Excellence Awards that recognise achievement and celebrate outstanding contributions to research in the fields of optometry, optics and vision science. Prof Saw, Dr Verkicharla and Prof Ohno-Matsui’s award-winning review paper,Read more

Primary care doctors play an important role at the front line in chronic disease management. Yet their relationships with patients have not evolved much over the decades, even as technology, payment systems and delivery models continue to evolve dramatically. Most patients still view the relationship as one where they list static updates on their condition to their doctors, then passively receive instructions on how to manage the condition until the next visit. “Doctors continuing to give generic instructions without a deeper level of behavioural context and insights into a patient’s

Since their discovery, antibiotics have served as the cornerstone of modern medicine. But the persistent overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human and animal health have encouraged the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Organised by the Singapore Social, Lifestyle and Infection Networks Group (Singapore SLING), the annual World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) library outreach is part of the School’s efforts in to educate the public about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and promote the correct use of antibiotics.A/Prof Hsu, Sonny and Prof Tambyah answered some tough questions asked by adults and

Recently, the Ministry of Health announced new measures to reduce sugar consumption in Singapore: mandatory display of graded nutrition labels for high-sugar beverages, and a total advertising ban on drinks that receive the worst grade. These measures aim to curb demand, promote healthy lifestyles and push manufacturers to offer healthier options. Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying said rising consumption in Asia of food and drinks high in sugar is a “reflection of rapidly modernised societies”. Most people now work in offices, take no or little physical exercise, do not cook,

Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used properly, they can save lives. But there is a growing problem of antibiotic resistance, which happens when bacteria change and become able to resist the effects of an antibiotic. To raise awareness about antibiotic resistance while engaging students in Singapore, the School jointly organised the Antibiotic Resistance Competition 2019 with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore General Hospital and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering. Students could choose to write in any format or approach (fiction, scientific communication with references, etc.). The two themes

As a rapidly developing country, Vietnam is increasingly confronting challenges such as an ageing population and a rising chronic disease burden that impact on national healthcare. Worker health and safety are also coming to the fore as critical public health issues that need to be addressed. To this end, the School, in its capacity as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, embarked on public health programme in partnership with the Health Environment Management Agency (HEMA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, Vietnam and Temasek Foundation. Started

Singapore may be the first country to impose a total advertising ban on beverages that are considered high in sugar. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health introduced two strategies as part of the War on Diabetes. The first is a mandatory display of front-of-pack nutrition summary labels for pre-packed beverages that are high in sugar. The second is a total advertising ban on those drinks that receive the lowest label grades. These measures aim to help consumers identify less healthy beverages and make more informed choices. “The World Health

Assistant Professor Mary Chong was conferred the 2019 Nutrition Society Silver Medal Award for her research on ‘Influences of the perinatal diet on maternal and child health in an obese world’. Using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, Dr Chong illustrated the importance and urgency of maternal and child nutrition and health in a modern, industrialised setting. At her award lecture, she presented insights from the GUSTO study, evidence of the relationships of critical nutrients in combination with dietary patterns for optimal maternal and

Congratulations to Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian, who was conferred the College of Public Health and Occupational Physicians (CPHOP) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Singapore Public Health and Occupational Medicine Conference on 15–16 October. The CPHOP Lifetime Achievement Award honours exceptional public health and occupational medicine (PHOM) leaders and visionaries who have distinguished themselves through their accomplishments and contributions to the PHOM field in Singapore, and served as role models to the PHOM community. A/Prof Wong has devoted more than 20 years of her career researching marginalised and vulnerable women