Liang Shao Kai, Jeremy graduates with Honours (Highest Distinction) in Chemistry, with a specialisation in Medicinal Chemistry. He is a recipient of the A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) Undergraduate Scholarship, which is awarded to individuals with outstanding academic performance and a passion for scientific research. He also received the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Gold Medal as the best graduating student in Chemistry and was previously awarded the SNIC Prize for two consecutive years in recognition of academic excellence.

Jeremy has a strong interest in interdisciplinary research and spent the first two years of his candidature at a research group in the Department of Pharmacy, where he studied the cellular uptake mechanisms of a newly developed biohybrid nanodrug delivery system. He was listed as a coauthor for a manuscript (pending publication) for his contributions. Concurrently, he also coauthored a review article published in Seminars in Cancer Biology.

Jeremy spent the subsequent two years of his candidature investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in the assembly of the mycobacterial outer membrane. He received the Schering Plough Medal, Lijen Industrial Development Medal and the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize, for outstanding research work conducted across his Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS) and Honours projects.

Jeremy was a Teaching Assistant for CM1102 – The Central Science, a first-year introductory module for Chemistry majors in the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS). For his efforts, he received the Ang Kok Peng Memorial Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Jeremy is currently a Research Assistant in the Department of Chemistry where he is furthering his undergraduate research in mycobacteria. He will be applying for PhD studies in the next academic year.

Chan Mei Zhi, Alcine graduates with a PhD in Food Science and Technology, where she is a recipient of the NUS President’s Graduate Fellowship. Prior to her PhD, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree (Highest Distinction) in Food Science and Technology.

Recognising the multifaceted and influential functions of food, Alcine decided to focus her undergraduate and PhD research on creating novel vegan and dairy-free probiotic beverages. Together with Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan, she successfully enhanced probiotic survival in difficult-to-cultivate beverages, namely coffees and beers.

Alcine’s research has garnered widespread media coverage, including in Reuters and Channel NewsAsia. Her research has also spawned two patents, which currently serve as the technical foundations for two NUS spinoffs, to enhance public access to, and commercial value of probiotic coffees and beers.

To enable the scientific community to apply her findings to other novel probiotic food mediums, Alcine has first-authored eight publications in high-impact journals and book chapters, including Trends in Food Science and Technology. She has also shared her research at several conferences, as a panel member at Probiota Asia (2021) and at the Global Food Science Student Virtual Competition (2021) where she was awarded silver in the PhD oral presentation category.

Alcine is deeply motivated by challenges posed by unsustainable food production and supply chains, as well as climate change. She is currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Food Science and Technology, where she leverages her research expertise to convert difficult-to-cultivate mediums (food byproducts) into more hospitable environments for cultivating protein rich microalgae.

Quek Zheng Bin, Randolph graduates with a PhD in Biological Sciences. 

His research in the Reef Ecology Laboratory focused mainly on coral evolution based on DNA sequences, using cutting-edge methods he developed. During his tenure as a graduate student, he published a number of articles in international journals, including Molecular Biology and Evolution, Molecular Ecology Resources and Microbial Ecology, to name a few. He received the Best Graduate Researcher Award (2021) in recognition of his contributions. 

Beyond working on corals, Randolph mentored undergraduates in the Reef Ecology Laboratory on a number of different projects, such as the global phylogeny (evolutionary tree) of giant clams and a seaweed (Sargassum). He has also studied other marine animals such as anemones and sea stars, and engaged in collaborative research with scientists from Australia and Brazil.

Randolph’s interests extend beyond the reconstruction of evolutionary histories. He has worked on microscopic organisms in the marine realm, investigating both fungal and microbial communities in corals, mangroves and even marine sediment. He also has a keen interest in terrestrial ecology, finding time to publish his research on a common palm in Singapore during his PhD studies. 

Randolph is currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Biological Sciences.

Chin Synn Khee, Joash  graduates with Honours (Highest Distinction) in Data Science and Analytics (DSA) and a Second Major in Computer Science. He was nominated to the Dean’s List four times, and received the Singapore Prison Service Data Science and Analytics Prize thrice (2019, 2020 and 2021) as the top DSA student in his cohort year.

Beyond academics, Joash pursued a wide variety of interests, from making games to music and cooking in his free time. For his final year project, he combined his academic areas of interest with his passion for music, by investigating the possibility of using machine learning to automatically transcribe piano music accurately.

Joash enjoys helping his fellow students. Besides being a Teaching Assistant, he also organised a voluntary training session to teach his course mates how to use a particular tool for a module.

He is now working at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), where he uses the skills learnt in his course to contribute back to his living environment.

Zhou Jun graduates with a Master of Science in Data Science and Machine Learning. He also obtained his Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Quantitative Finance from NUS in 2015.

During his undergraduate studies, he was awarded the Lim Soo Peng Book Prize (2011), the Tan Siak Kew Gold Medal (2011 and 2013), the Singapore Mathematical Society Medal and Prize (2015) and the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal (2015) in recognition of academic excellence.

He also completed the Special Programme in Mathematics, which is specially designed for students with a strong passion and aptitude for the mathematical sciences.

Upon graduation, he joined a leading global investment bank as a fixed income trader where he was able to apply the quantitative finance knowledge he acquired during his studies. As a strong advocate of lifelong learning, he also took the initiative to pursue the part-time Master’s programme in Data Science and Machine Learning.

Zhou Jun currently works as a Sub Portfolio Manager at global hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management, where he invests in various financial instruments including fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and equities.

He has a passion for sports, especially badminton. 

Lim, Joel graduates with Honours (Highest Distinction) in Pharmaceutical Science. He is a recipient of the NUS Merit Scholarship and was placed on the Dean’s List for two semesters.

For his Final Year Project (FYP), Joel embarked on a project to optimise the biosynthesis and purification of novel peptides to obtain sufficient amounts for bioassay testing. His work helped to validate the laboratory’s innovative strategy to discover and develop potent natural product antibiotics that were found to be selective against Gram-negative pathogens, a key driver of antimicrobial resistance.

Joel was actively involved in student activities, particularly in the NUS Pharmaceutical Society (NUSPS). He served as the Programmes and Games Head for the Pharmacy Orientation Programme (2019), spearheading the planning and execution of two camp activities. He was also an Engineering Committee Member in Pharmacy RxAG and he went on to serve in the Scheele House Committee where he organised events to promote senior-junior bonding. In his third year, he took on the role of Academic Director, leading initiatives such as the NUSPS Beyond webinar series and the healthcare current affairs telegram channel “An Essential Dose”. Joel was also instrumental in developing and running the Department of Pharmacy’s inaugural mentorship programme, InSPIRxE.

In his two years at Tembusu College, Joel served on the Arts Council as Quartermaster, taking charge of Tembusu’s performance space “The Abbey” and organising the biannual Arts Week for students to learn about different art forms. He also headed the Tembusu Christian Fellowship and was Tembusu’s tennis team representative in the Inter-College Games.

Joel and his team clinched first place in Beyond! Health Hack (2020), a bespoke online hackathon involving over 200 healthcare students from some 20 countries, where he designed a multipronged approach to generate awareness of the importance of influenza vaccination. He continued to serve on the Executive Committee of the 2021 edition where he liaised with startup ecosystem leaders, and organised and moderated sharing sessions with distinguished guests.

Joel also contributes to volunteerism. Under the Seeds of Good Programme, he and his team partnered with International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) to create a series of educational videos showcasing Singapore’s biodiversity and the importance of coastal cleanups. Joel also provides free weekly mathematics tuition to secondary school students.

Joel is currently a Medical Engagement Executive at Sanofi.