Singapore
I am currently studying Biological Sciences in NTU under the CN Yang Scholars Programme, and am exploring a future in academic research. I am an ambitious individual and am always looking to push myself for a better future. My approach to working in a team is to adapt and take up whatever role the team requires of me. This has often presented as a somewhat confusing diversity of experiences. That said, my current research interests lie in computational methodology development and infectious diseases epidemiology. They are synergistic research areas: there remains a huge need for the continued development of computational methods for the analysis of infectious diseases data, for better treatment outcomes at the patient-level, and for better control at the population-level. Better yet, my goal is to make computational methods that can be used across research fields - this will greatly improve scientific insight. In my spare time, I try to do a bit of everything to keep up with life! Some of my personal interests include playing strategy games, keeping up with current affairs, and cooking (a form of instinctual and creative release). I am also a keen follower of sports, such as football, basketball, Formula 1, and tennis.
I interned in Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh’s lab in the Bioinformatics Institute of A*STAR. I performed phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis of 6 different viruses as part of the GISAID initiative, developing and implementing workflows to supplement the GISAID system with my findings. This in turn supported accurate surveillance of these viruses globally.
Based on best practices and the latest advancements in the field, I developed an analysis workflow for elucidating low-prevalence drug resistance mutations in the HIV-1 genome from Next Generation Sequencing data. This involved optimisation and modification of available tools, and writing scripts where needed. Apart from creating enough output for the thesis, I am also working with the lab and other collaborators, to make the pipeline open-source, and to share our findings in publications. I also had the chance to work with High Performance Computing environments.
Worked with the Medical Excellence and Operations Regional Director for the GCI region on specific special projects in regional medical affairs. Through it, I learned about the pharmaceutical environment in which medical teams operate, the different internal and external facing medical activities of the medical teams, and how strategic medical external engagement plan can be mapped and executed through DDCX (data driven customer experience) omnichannel engagement pilot projects. I also had the opportunity to be involved in data collection, data analytics, and visual performance management, with introduction to various tools and systems used within the company. I also learnt a lot from regular interactions with global, regional, and local teams related to the special project, including the GCI Medical Leadership Team, thus getting a big-picture view of global, regional, and country-level medical operations.
Gave tuition for A Level H1 GP