Winners Of Asian Scientist Lab Tech of the Year 2019 Award Announced

Ten laboratory technicians received cash and prizes worth over S$10,000 at the inaugural Asian Scientist Lab Tech of the Year 2019 award ceremony held in Singapore.

AsianScientist (Apr. 16, 2019) – Acknowledging the critical role laboratory technicians (lab techs) play in keeping the engine of science ploughing on, Asian Scientist Magazine commended ten outstanding individuals at its inaugural Lab Tech of the Year 2019 award ceremony, held at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore, on April 16, 2019.

More than S$10,000 worth of cash and prizes were given out in a ceremony graced by guest-of-honor Professor Sir David Lane, chief scientist of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore. Abcam, World Scientific Publishing and Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts sponsored the prizes and award ceremony.

Between February to March, principal investigators and research supervisors at schools, universities, research institutes, hospitals or companies across Singapore were invited to nominate their lab techs online.

Out of more than one hundred nominees, ten were selected by a panel of judges consisting of Professor Wong Tien Yin, deputy group CEO (research & education) at SingHealth; Professor Daniela Rhodes, director of the Institute of Structural Biology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Professor Dean Ho, provost’s chair professor at the National University of Singapore and co-founder and chairman of KYAN Therapeutics; Dr. Juliana Chan, editor-in-chief of Asian Scientist Magazine; and Dr. Ryan Chong, director and regional head of channel management at Abcam Singapore.

Each winner received a S$500 cash prize, a certificate and an Asian Scientist Magazine goodie bag that includes Sydney Brenner’s 10-on-10: The Chronicles of Evolution, published under the Wildtype Books imprint owned by Wildtype Media Group. In addition, each awardee secured for their respective labs discounts from main sponsor Abcam and S$500 in book vouchers from World Scientific Publishing.

The Grand Prize winner, Ms. Cheong Kum-Foong, a laboratory technologist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, also walked away with a 3D2N stay at Banyan Tree Bintan Villa Resort. Over a career spanning 46 years to date, Cheong has made several notable contributions to Singapore’s healthcare sector. For example, in 1997, she helped build the first cytogenetics laboratory at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital from scratch and subsequently led the technical team there. Cheong is also passionate about educating the younger generation—she serves as an adjunct lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic and patiently mentors new technologists.

“We were very touched and impressed by the dedication of all the nominees. They have made invaluable contributions to their respective labs, and some had to even overcome personal challenges while doing so,” said Chan. “The reason we began this competition is to honor the unsung heroes of our labs who deserve our utmost appreciation.”

“It’s a very special relationship we have with our lab techs, and they play a big part in making science happen,” said Sir David.

Here are the top ten winners of the Asian Scientist Lab Tech of the Year 2019 award:

  1. Ms Cheong Kum-Foong, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (Grand Prize winner)
  2. Ms Amanda Ng, Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
  3. Ms Wong Liang Yean, Innovative Diagnostics Pte Ltd
  4. Ms Eugenia Hong, National Neuroscience Institute
  5. Mr Bryan Cassidy Tan, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School
  6. Mrs Visalatchi Thiagarajan, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
  7. Mr Poon Kok Siong, National University Hospital
  8. Mr Gil Gerald Lasam Gammad, Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology, National University of Singapore
  9. Mr Tan Yaw Bia, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University
  10. Mr Michal Kucharski, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University

  11. For more information, please visit www.asianscientist.com/labtech or write to [email protected].


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    Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine.
    Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

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