NUS researcher and graduate win the inaugural L'Oreal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowships 2009

31 Aug 2009

Dr Melissa Jane Fullwood, researcher at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Ms Le Thi Nguyet Minh, a graduate from NUS and a researcher at the Genome Institute of Singapore, received the first-ever L'Oreal Singapore For Women In Science National Fellowships. Ms Le is currently a final year student at the Singapore-MIT Alliance..

Dr Fullwood and Ms Le, together with Nanyang Technological University's nanomaterials scientist Dr Lam Yeng Ming, are the three outstanding women scientists in the field of Life Sciences who have been awarded the Fellowships - a partnership between L'Oreal Singapore, the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

The theme of this year's Fellowships is "Life Sciences" and the three awardees were selected from a total of 22 applicants by a panel of eminent scientists from different fields in recognition of their contribution to research. Each winner will receive S$20,000 for her research work.

At the awards ceremony held 28 August 2009 at Chijmes, Guest-of-Honour Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, and Chairman of the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO, said: "Science is a priority for the Singapore National Commission and for Singapore as a whole. Talent is key to the success of science and research and role models are important in encouraging our young people to strive for excellence in their chosen fields of endeavour. These fellowships represent another important avenue to groom talent in science and research, serving as a catalyst to encourage more young women to pursue their interests in this area."

Managing Director of L'Oreal Singapore Mr Christopher Neo said that the Fellowships aims to emphasize and demonstrate the importance of women in the development of science in today's world and by publicly recognising their achievements, they hope the programme will inspire future generations of young women to embark on the adventure of science.