Young Scientist Awards 2022
The Young Scientist Awards (YSA) recognises young researchers, aged 35 years and below, who are actively engaged in R&D in Singapore, and who have shown great potential to be world-class researchers in their fields of expertise. This award is administered by the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) and supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
There are two categories of Awards, namely:
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences; and
- Physical, Information and Engineering Sciences.
Below are the YSA winners for 2022.
Biological & Biomedical Sciences Category
Dr Bi Renzhe
- Senior Scientist, Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Physical, Information & Engineering Sciences Category
Dr Koh Ming Joo
- President’s Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore
YSA 2022 Ceremony Highlights
Two outstanding young individuals received the Young Scientist Award this year.
Biological & Biomedical Sciences Category
Dr Bi Renzhe
- Senior Scientist, Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
“For his work in developing and translating novel bio-optical technologies and medical technology innovations”
Dr Bi’s research focuses on advancing biophotonics for medical technology innovation and clinical translation. He develops novel optical technologies and devices that will help clinicians quantitatively evaluate more suitable treatment for patients in areas such as cardiovascular disease, skin disorders, and cancer diagnosis.
Dr Bi has developed a non-invasive, portable smart optical skin analysis device. It is able to measure the chemical composition of skin using optical spectroscopy, and has been used for quantitative eczema assessment, treatment efficacy evaluation and skincare product validation through the collaboration with the National Skin Centre. One of his inventions has been licensed to an A*STAR spin-off company and developed into a medical device for COVID-19 patients monitoring, to help clinicians better predict potential health complications. He is currently working on a hybrid photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system for breast cancer risk classification, which aims to significantly reduce the false positive rate of breast cancer diagnosis. The prototype is being tested in a clinical trial at the National University Hospital.
Recognising collaboration as key to translating biophotonics technologies from bench to bedside, Dr Bi works closely with clinicians from local hospitals to identify real-world challenges and explore potential solutions that can be easily adopted by healthcare staff and fit into current clinical workflows. He also collaborates with international scientists from the California Institute of Technology and University of Zurich to identify novel approaches to healthcare solutions.
Dr Bi also encourages the younger generation of researchers to pursue impactful and meaningful science through public talks and scientific outreach activities, and speaks regularly at international conferences and events.
Dr Bi has 34 peer reviewed publications with an h-index of 16 and total citation of 1,166. He also has 11 patent applications, and three granted patents that are assigned or licensed to Singapore-based medtech companies.
Physical, Information & Engineering Sciences Category
Dr Koh Ming Joo
- President’s Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore
“For his research in sustainable base metal catalysis and radical-based chemical technologies that revolutionise chemical synthesis”
Dr Koh focuses on the research of sustainable catalysis and radical chemistry by developing reaction technologies derived from abundant and nonprecious materials such as base metals. In the field of catalysis to drive chemical synthesis, many systems rely on the use of expensive and scarce precious metals to prepare catalysts, which can only mediate a limited range of reactions. Dr Koh’s work has led to the discovery of cheaper, energy-efficient catalysts and reagents that are capable of mediating unprecedented chemical transformations and radical-based reactions. These developments significantly enhance chemical synthesis efficiency and cut synthetic steps, benefiting chemists and companies in their applications.
Dr Koh and his team have leveraged their developed catalyst systems in innovative ways to transform cheap and abundant feedstock chemicals into value-added functional products with less energy consumption, less waste production and lower environmental footprint. This sustainable approach is sensitive to and aligned with critical global concerns, and is expected to revolutionise the way important chemicals are prepared, which will make a difference in many areas such as agriculture, therapeutics and plastic waste upcycling. Dr Koh also co-owns a number of patents, some of which have been licensed by XiMo AG, a Swiss-based company that develops catalysts for use across various chemical sectors.
Dr Koh nurtures the next generation of researchers by grooming talented post-doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students in his group. A number of members have gone on to win best student researcher awards or establish their own independent careers to become successful leaders in their own right.
Beyond research, Dr Koh has a keen interest to promote chemical science as a way of contributing back to society. He participates in local and international science forums as well as outreach programmes to share his research work and experiences with young science enthusiasts, inspiring them to pursue their interests in science.
Dr Koh has published over 50 papers in top-tier scientific journals including Nature, Science and Nature Chemistry, with a h-index of 24 and over 1,700 citations. For his research efforts, he is recognised as a rising chemistry leader by the American Chemical Society’s Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), and the first Singaporean among the Talented 12 cohort to receive the accolade in 2022. He is also a recipient of many prestigious research and teaching awards, including the NUS Inauguration Grant, Asian Core Program Lectureship Award, Excellent Young Teacher Award, TR35 Asia Pacific Award, TCI-SNIC Industry Award in Synthetic Chemistry, and Thieme Chemistry Journals Award.
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