News

At the Commencement ceremony on 14 July 2024, the School’s newly graduated students celebrated their remarkable achievement at the University Cultural Centre auditorium, in the proud presence of their schoolmates, faculty, and distinguished guests. This momentous occasion marked the triumphant culmination of their academic journey and the auspicious beginning of a new chapter, filled with boundless opportunities to make a significant impact on public health.

Close to 200 graduates, alumni, and faculty came together on the delightful evening of July 10, 2024, at the One Farrer Hotel for the AlumNite 2024 Pre-Commencement Celebrations. The atmosphere was filled with joy and excitement as attendees gathered with their loved ones to celebrate this significant milestone.

In Malaysia, a newly identified malaria parasite similar to HIV has already infected thousands. Originating from monkeys, this mosquito-borne parasitic threat is emerging from the lush rainforest to infect humans. Scientists are now investigating the situation amid fears that it could eventually spread between humans. While Malaysia has eliminated ‘normal’ malaria, since 2011, over 25,000 people in the region have contracted the simian parasite, which causes intense nausea, malaise, fever, and sometimes death.Will there be a persistent spread of this monkey malaria and human-to-human transmission in the near future? Hear from Assoc Prof Kimberly Fornace as she shares her expert opinion on disease transmission and malaria elimination.

The Modelling Infectious Diseases in Southeast Asia (MIDSEA) Summer School, Workshop and Symposium, a 10-day event focused on infectious disease modelling in Southeast Asia, commenced on 19 June, 2024, at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (CSE) in Vietnam. This collaborative effort, organised by the Vietnam Science Association and MIDSEA researchers, attracted over 70 scientists and postgraduate students from 17 countries. Throughout the event, prominent researchers presented a diverse array of studies and lectures on infectious disease models, with the ultimate goal of enhancing preparedness for future outbreaks in the region. Notably, Vice Dean (Research), Prof Alex Cook, delivered two lectures sharing his research and expertise on models and statistics of prevalent infectious diseases in Southeast Asia, including dengue fever, influenza, and other respiratory illnesses.

Depending on their choice of insurance provider, individuals who purchase an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) for private hospital treatment can end up paying a staggering difference of more than $85,000 over their lifetimes. This substantial disparity underscores the importance of careful consideration when selecting an IP provider. IP is an optional health coverage provided by private insurance companies, typically for stays in A or B1-type wards in public or private hospitals. Recent data published by MOH shows significant premium variations even among plans categorised under the same ward class, as both coverage and pricing are determined by the insurer. Hear from Assoc Prof Wee Hwee Lin and Asst Prof Cynthia Chen as they discuss how individuals can evaluate their options, in consideration of long-term healthcare expenses, when choosing insurers.

In April, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concerns about the spread of H5N1 bird flu. Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar highlighted that it has an "extraordinarily high" mortality rate in humans.

Although the current COVID-19 wave is declining, questions arise with each new variant. Should we wait for vaccines targeting the latest FLiRT variants before getting a booster shot? Hear from Prof Hsu Li Yang as he shares his expert opinion on this.

Negotiations for a new international Pandemic Agreement recently concluded without consensus among World Health Organisation (WHO) member states. This is concerning as the world has faced at least six pandemics, fuelled by the ease and frequency of international travel, in the last two decades.

ASM Microbe 2024, the annual conference of the American Society for Microbiology, took place in Atlanta (Georgia, USA) from 13 to 17 June 2024. It is the largest microbiology conference globally. With over 6000 attendees, it was a meeting of minds amongst scientists and physicians from hospital microbiology labs, technology companies, government and academia. The School was an exhibitor, led by Assoc Prof Yann Felix Boucher. Together with Dr Anna Szuecs from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, they presented the Lockdown! Game which was popular with delegates and flew off the shelves. The innovative card game was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to educate the public about how specific public health measures address the pandemic and how global cooperation is essential in addressing these issues. Assoc Prof Boucher also paid visit to Dr Christine Lee at the CDC, head of the reference laboratory for enteric pathogens and did a presentation the effects of climate change on vibriosis.

On 14 June 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the School and Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) to formalise the partnership between the two entities. The signatories were Dean, Prof Teo Yik Ying, and Ambassador Morikawa Toru, Executive Director of ASEF. It was witnessed by His Excellency Mr Ishikawa Hiroshi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Singapore, Embassy of Japan, and Professor Leo Tan, ASEF Governor from Singapore.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has rejected “egregious and false claims” that COVID-19 vaccinations are the cause of severe side effects including excessive deaths. Rebutting these claims, MOH said that there is a need to draw the right conclusions and follow scientific evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. It added that, while there are side effects to any vaccination, scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that protection from vaccines outweighs the side effects. Hear from Professor Hsu Li Yang as he shares his views on the vaccine.

ongratulating to our SSHSPH Faculty Awards AY2022/2023 recipients. Asst Prof Hannah Clapham, Dr Cecilia Teng and Asst Prof Saima Hilal have been awarded the SSHSPH Teaching Excellence Award AY2022/2023, which recognises faculty members who have excelled in teaching, and have shown a high level of performance, dedication and commitment to teaching and learning. Asst Prof Yvette van der Eijk is the recipient of the SSHSPH Young Researcher Award for AY2022/2023. This award recognizes junior faculty members who have demonstrated great potential in research and achieved research excellence.