NUS clinician scientists obtain prestigious Singapore Translational Research Investigator Awards

04 Nov 2009

Prof H. Phillip Koeffler of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Prof David Bruce Matchar, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS GMS) were among the three clinician scientists to have received the prestigious Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Awards.

The Awards is an initiative under the Biomedical Sciences Initiatives Phase II and aims to recruit top-quality clinician scientists to conduct medical research so as to bring about better clinical applications and patient outcomes. STaR is jointly offered by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

A*STAR Chairman and Co-Chair for Singapore's Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee Mr Lim Chuan Poh said: “The recipients of this year's STaR Investigator Award have excellent track records of sustained and outstanding achievements in their respective fields of research. At the same time, they have also demonstrated their potential to transform Singapore's translational and clinical research landscape through their facilitation of strategic collaborations for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.”

Prof Koeffler's area of work is in research and education in cancer for the 21st century. Besides his appointment with NUS School of Medicine, he also serves as National University Cancer Institute's Deputy Director (Research) and the Institute's Senior Consultant in the Department of Haematology-Oncology. He is also Senior Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, NUS.

As for Prof Matchar, his area of work is in optimising health services and systems to promote humane, effective and sustainable health care. Prof Matchar is the Inaugural Director and Professor of the Programme in Health Services and Systems Research – one of the five Signature Research Programmes of the Duke-NUS GMS.

Said Permanent Secretary (Health) and Co-Chair for Biomedical Medical Sciences Executive Committee, Ms Yong Ying-I: “The STaR Investigator Award serves as a very important mechanism to attract both local and overseas outstanding TCR investigators to pursue cutting-edge research in Singapore. Their top-rate scientific programmes will contribute and facilitate the development of clinical research and eventually help enhance our care for our patients”.

Funded by the National Research Foundation and administered by the National Medical Research Council of MOH, the STaR Investigator Awards had its inaugural batch of recipients in 2008.