Recent activities

the 4th PharmSci@Asia Symposium

The 4th PharmSci@Asia symposium was held at the Multi-Purpose Lecture Hall on the China Pharmaceutical University (CPU) campus on 27th May 2009. A total of 140 students from Nanjing University (NJU), Fudan University (FDU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and CPU attended this symposium. In addition, several symposium attendees were from other institutions, namely Beijing University of Technology, Nanjing University Hospital , Simcere Research Department and Zhongke Co Ltd.

Participants registering their attendance at the registration desk of PharmSci@Asia09

The full-day event was off to a great start with opening addresses from the host, Prof Ping Qineng from CPU and A/Prof Go Mei Lin from NUS. In his address, Prof Ping extended a warm welcome to delegates from the four participating universities and expressed his delight in having this year's symposium at CPU, following the success of the past symposiums. Both Prof Ping and A/Prof Go acknowledged the numerous benefits, including the networking opportunities presented to both students and faculty by this symposium and emphasized the desire to have continual interaction between the universities in China and Singapore so as to share latest research developments, forge new friendships and renew existing ties.

A/P Go Mei Lin presenting a token of appreciation to Prof Ping Qineng

The event was soon followed by an informative presentation by Prof Sun Hongbin from CPU on the chemistry, biology, and clinical significance of pentacyclic triterpenes. Our guest speaker, Prof Chan Hak-Kim from the University of Sydney shared his pioneering work on the deposition of inhalation aerosols in the lung. He also regaled the audience with an introduction to his laboratory and experiences in Sydney . Next, Prof Hu Yiqiao from NJU spoke about her latest work on the synthesis, biological characterization of the bioreductive prodrug tirapazamine conjugated with transferrin and its enhanced potentiation.

Prof Hu Yiqiao from Nanjing University

A/Prof Go Mei Lin also provided a current account on the use of functionalized aurones as inducers of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1, EC 1.6.99.2) that activate AhR/ XRE and Nrf2/ARE signaling pathways in her laboratory in NUS. Her work generated a high degree of interest, judging from the number of questions that she received from the students and faculty in the audience.

One of several students posing a question to A/Prof Go Mei Lin

Shortly, A/Prof Victor Yu from NUS shared his latest research on the mechanism deployed by the enteroinvasive bacterial pathogens to inhibit host cell apoptosis during the early phase of infection. Assistant Prof Chew Eng Hui then presented her work on the novel interaction between thioredoxin and apoptosis inducing factor, which represents a potential novel anticancer drug target.

Dr Chew Eng Hui from NUS presenting her research on thioredoxin

Students were also given ample opportunities to showcase their research in the form of podium and poster presentations. Three students from CPU and 1 each from NUS, FDU and NJU were selected to make podium presentations based on the abstracts they submitted earlier. In addition, a total of 32 scientific posters from students were also presented at this symposium.

Symposium attendees viewing posters during tea break

To encourage and reward participation amongst the graduate students from the 4 universities, a competition was held for the top two podium and poster presenters on the day of the event. The judging panel comprised faculty members from both CPU and NUS. At the end of the event, the winners were presented with cash prizes by A/Prof Go.

A/Prof Go Mei Lin presenting a cash prize to graduate student Zhuang Jie (CPU), one of the two podium presentation winners

Upon conclusion of this highly interactive and successful event, Prof Ping hosted a celebratory dinner for the organizing committee from the 4 participating universities at a local restaurant, during which toasts were aplenty.

Prof Ping making his thank-you speech before commencement of the dinner

This symposium has indeed been a highly enriching experience for all participants, having grown in scale over the years to include more participants and the inclusion of pre-symposium workshops and invited overseas guest speakers. We thank the painstaking efforts of all the organizing parties and look forward to another stimulating and eventful sharing and networking session at the next symposium at next year's symposium at FDU.

Faculty ,award winners, organizing committee and symposium attendees posing for a concluding photo at the 4th PharmSci@Asia Symposium

Preceding the full-day PharmSci@Asia09 Symposium held on the 27 th of May 2009, a pre-symposium workshop comprising three sessions by Dr Kang Lifeng, A/Prof Victor Yu and Prof Chan Hak-Kim was conducted in an auditorium on the afternoon of 26 th May, 2009. In its fourth year now, this was the first PharmSci@Asia program to include a pre-symposium workshop.

Pre-symposium Workshop conducted on the 26 th of May 2009

The workshop started with Prof Chan Hak-Kim presenting a detailed and interesting story on the challenges faced in the development of the Aridol TM (mannitol dry powder inhalation) a commercial product. The product is used as a bronchial challenge test to help in the correct diagnosis and assessment of asthma. The presentation was very informative and was well received by the enthusiastic audience of about 50 students.

Prof Chan Hak-Kim from the University of Sydney presenting at the workshop session

Prof Chan Hak-Kim's presentation kick started a wonderful and interactive workshop which was followed by A/Prof Victor Yu's presentation on apoptosis. After a good dose of apoptosis and its application in cancer, Dr Kang Lifeng presented an interesting piece of his post doctoral work which was carried out in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The work on microarray application in cardiac tissue engineering was very interesting and also initiated a small discussion which was very intriguing. Thus, the workshop was successfully conducted covering different areas of pharmaceutical research. Furthermore, there was active student participation from the floor as the speakers fielded many questions during the Question & Answer segments.

NUS student Wang Zhe posing a question to Dr Victor Yu

The 4 th PharmSciAsia at Nanjing was not only about workshops and presentations, but it also provided an opportunity for symposium speakers and graduate students to have an outing and interact beyond the confines of the symposium. It was materialized in the form of a visit to the famous Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen situated at the foot of the second peak of Mount Zijiin, Nanjing . The trip was also educational as Dr Sun was considered to be the “Father of Modern China” as he fought against the imperial Qing government and established the Republic of China.

NUS faculty and NUS Students at the entrance of Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum

Following the pre-symposium workshop, NUS faculty staff members, including symposium speakers, along with students from the four universities were invited by one of our symposium sponsors, Simcere Pharmaceutical for a visit to their state-of-the-art facilities. The R & D facility was well equipped with facilities and laboratories covering different areas of pharmaceutical research. The visit was well coordinated, with a company representative explaining the development of the facility and the company since its establishment and eventually concluded with a dinner hosted at the Simcere facility.

Visit to a research laboratory at Simcere R&D facility

Faculty and students posing for a photo against the backdrop of Simcere R&D facility

5th ANSC-NUS Student Chapter Scientific Symposium on 1st April 2009

This year's symposium was held in conjunction the Department of Pharmacy's Research Awareness Week at the University Hall Auditorium. A huge turnout of more than 100 undergraduates, graduate students and faculty from the Department of Pharmacy, NUS participated in this full-day event.

Audience waiting for the symposium to begin

In line with the theme of this year's symposium, ‘Diversity in Pharmaceutical Research – Bridging minds, paving the way for excellent opportunities', we invited 3 of our new faculty to introduce their respective areas of expertise as well as to share their research experience.

The event started off on a high note with Dr Yap Chun Wei providing an informative presentation on basic data mining principles and techniques, followed by examples of its application to various pharmaceutical research areas. Next, Ms Christine Teng, a US board-certified pharmacist in pharmacotherapy and clinical faculty at NUS, brought to our attention the emergence of antimicrobial resistance as a major global public health issue.

Presentation on Data Mining by Dr Yap Chun Wei

An insightful discussion on the cause and the need to evaluate the clinical impact of various strategies employed by various local institutions was also provided. Dr Chew Eng Hui provided a captivating and delightful account of her academic journey and life as a post-doctoral fellow at Karolinska Institute in Sweden. She also shared with us her current research in evaluating cinnamaldehydes as potential candidates for cancer therapy and chemoprevention.

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Category Winner

FYP category winners and supervisors

In addition, Prof Go Mei Lin was invited to introduce the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS) to the undergraduate students, a first for this annual symposium. Senior students, Chee Kiang and CuiQin who have gone through this programme were present to share their experiences and thoughts, as well as to encourage participation amongst the undergraduate students.

Graduate and FYP posters

On the graduate level, 3 winners (Pharmacy practice: Ms Zhao Ying Jiao; Pharmaceutical chemistry/technology: Ms Sim Hong May and Ms Anumita Chaudhury) of the abstract competition held earlier shared their latest research findings. The various undergraduate and graduate podium presenters were awarded cash prizes at the end of the event.

Graduate students posing for a post-symposium photo

Participants of this symposium have indeed benefitted tremendously and gained awareness on the diverse areas of research, ranging from pharmacy practice to the various pharmaceutical sciences that are ongoing in our department on the various levels (i.e. undergraduate and graduate). We thank all the participants for making this symposium a success and we look forward to another engaging session of sharing and exchange of ideas at the next ANSC symposium.

Hands-on E-resources Workshop

On the 22nd of September 2008, 29 pharmacy graduate and undergraduate students attended the AAPS-NUS Hands-On e-Resources Library Workshop at the training room of the Medical/Science Library.

This training session was conducted exclusively for pharmacy students by the NUS librarians. The topics covered were tailored to the needs of the graduate and undergraduate students doing their final year research projects. As such, AAPS-NUS collaborated with the NUS Libraries in the selection of the relevant databases.

During the 3-hour workshop, the librarians provided a comprehensive explanation on the use of several databases, namely PubMed, Cochrane, SCOPUS and IPA. At the same time, they also highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each database.

Not only were technicalities of performing a search covered (i.e. profound things such as Boolean logic and the use of search operators), excellent advice on the formulation of a good search strategy was also dispensed generously.

Following the lecture on each database, participants had their hands-on practice with well-thought-of exercises designed by the librarians.

To wrap up the session, a step-by-step tutorial was conducted for the use of a popular citation software, EndNote X2. Participants of the workshop learned how to create a library, export citations from databases, perform online searches from EndNote X2 and finally, to add citations to a Microsoft Word document using this software.


In essence, participants picked up an invaluable, time-saving skill in learning how to let bibliographic software manage their bibliographies in the future.


Feedback from the workshop participants was excellent, with many agreeing that the hands-on approach facilitated the navigation of the various databases covered.


In particular, many of the participants felt that they would recommend other students to attend this workshop. Hence, kudos to the NUS librarians, in particular, Ms. Lee Seok Hong and Ms. Ong Hong Kiat for conducting this excellent workshop!

Past activites

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