Dr Khor Chiea Chuen and Dr Nicolas Plachta are two of only five award recipients outside of Europe and its neighbouring countries.
Right: Dr Nicolas Plachta, Senior Principal Investigator, A*STAR’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
Singapore—Two A*STAR scientists have joined 21 other scientists as EMBO Young Investigators, becoming part of an international network that represents some of the best young researchers in Europe and beyond. They are: Dr Khor Chiea Chuen, Group Leader at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and Dr Nicolas Plachta, Senior Principal Investigator at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), who have been recognised as 2015 EMBO Young Investigators.
[pullquote]Dr Khor and Dr Plachta are also amongst only five scientists outside of Europe and its neighbouring countries to be selected for the Young Investigator Programme since its launch in 2000.[/pullquote]
Dr Khor and Dr Plachta are also amongst only five scientists outside of Europe and its neighbouring countries to be selected for the Young Investigator Programme since its launch in 2000. In fact, of the five Young Investigators, four have come from A*STAR and Singapore,
The EMBO Young Investigator Programme recognises young, promising researchers who are under the age of 40 and who have established their first laboratories in Europe or the EMBO cooperation partner countries in the past four years. Singapore has been an EMBO cooperation partner since 2011[2] and has recently become the first Associate Member State of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC)[3]. The agreement will facilitate stronger scientific interaction and collaborative research between Singapore and Europe. (Please refer to Annex A for more information on the EMBO Young Investigator Programme and EMBO.)
About Dr Khor Chiea Chuen
Dr Khor Chiea Chuen is the first Singaporean EMBO Young Investigator recipient. His research focuses on the identification of genetic markers for common human diseases such as exfoliation syndrome and typhoid sepsis. Dr Khor is a strong advocate of bridging discovery research and clinical applications. Through understanding the determinants that predispose healthy human beings to disease, Dr Khor seeks to advance medical science and transform existing clinical practices. He was awarded the 2013 Singapore National Academy of Science Young Scientist Award for Biological and Biomedical Sciences for his research excellence in genetics and heredity.
Dr Khor said, “It is indeed a privilege to be part of this community of distinguished young scientists from across the world. The EMBO Young Investigator Programme offers me greater opportunities to interact and exchange scientific ideas with top international scientists, and such network and collaborative activities are key to furthering the biomedical sciences in Singapore. I look forward to contributing to Singapore and A*STAR’s continued R&D success with the insights I will gain from this programme.”
About Dr Nicolas Plachta
Dr Nicolas Plachta joined IMCB under the A*STAR Investigatorship Programme, a platform that was established to support and promote early independence and career development of future world leaders in scientific research. Dr Plachta’s main research interest lies in understanding how mammalian life begins by studying living embryos in real time using cutting-edge cell imaging techniques. Through in-depth examination on the formation and development of mouse embryos, Dr Plachta’s research enables the identification of biological pathways and signatures linked to fertility hence pave the way to the development of novel therapeutic solutions to human infertility. Dr Plachta’s accomplishments and potential in the area of molecular biology was recognised by several prominent research organisations around the world, including fellowships from the Swiss National Science Foundation, EMBO, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Viertel Foundation.
On being selected for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, Dr Plachta said, “I’m humbled by the recognition given and honoured to be receiving this award as a representative of A*STAR and Singapore. The nurturing and integrative research environment here has benefited immensely in furthering my research and giving me the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists from various disciplines. Working and learning here has been an enriching experience and I look forward to continuing my work with A*STAR.”
Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, said, “I congratulate Chiea Chuen and Nicolas for winning this prestigious award. Having two world-class EMBO recipients this year is testimony to the success of A*STAR’s talent development strategy of nurturing a strong pool of local talent that is complemented by a rich diversity of outstanding international scientists. I look forward to the continued excellence and contributions of Chiea Chuen and Nicolas to drive the growth of our biomedical sciences R&D in the years to come.”
The three other recipients outside of Europe are Dr Bruno Reversade, A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology, Dr Florent Ginhoux, A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network, and Dr Yuki Nakamura, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
