Talent to thrive

From life-saving technologies to improved patient care and preventive health. These are but some of the reasons why Annie Cheung Hiu Lam, who hails from Hong Kong, is drawn to a career in the fast-growing medical technology (MedTech) field.

Annie gained her first insights into how pharmaceutics and technology play a key role in treating incurable diseases when she was a Research Assistant in a biotechnology company. This reinforced her interest in learning how disease mechanisms work – a takeaway from her undergraduate degree at UCL.

The desire to dive deeper into this realm of knowledge eventually led her to NUS’ MSc in Pharmaceutical Science and Technology programme, which she describes as “very relatable to what I have learned” and closely aligned to her career goals.

In her current role as an Application Specialist at Creative Medtech Solutions, Annie engages healthcare professionals and clients to train them on the company’s products,  collaborates with the commercial team and develops training and marketing materials to enhance customer engagement and product awareness. She also represents the company at workshops and medical conferences.

The advanced knowledge she gained from her postgraduate course has proven relevant on the job in more ways than one.

For instance, the experiential TechLaunch course, which essentially simulates the process of creating a technology startup, focuses on capturing value from technological innovation and commercialisation – an entirely new experience for her.

During the course, Annie also went on an internship at a MedTech startup company, which enabled her to apply her theoretical knowledge – especially how different imaging modalities work and the processes of quality and regulatory controls – to better understand the startup’s products vis a vis its’ competitors’. Designing marketing assets for an ultrasound from scratch was an unfamiliar challenge which allowed her to pick up creative skills.

Annie says, “From learning business facets on how startups launch products to networking with startup companies, product demonstrations, presentations and participating in multiple medical conferences – these gave me exposure to experiences I would not have gained otherwise.”

It was this programme which ultimately led to the personal discovery that she thoroughly enjoys the marketing and application aspects in the MedTech field, where she hopes to serve “as the bridge in bringing the product from the research and development phase to its launch.”

She says, “I look forward to promoting new technologies, such as the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics in healthcare. I hope to be part of the team in Singapore to deliver and introduce cutting-edge solutions and technologies to places around the world to help more more patients and clinicians.”