“I graduated from the National University of Singapore (Pharmacy), before completing my pre-registration at the Singapore General Hospital. I wanted to pursue a PhD in cancer supportive care because I believe there are broader and tangible impact on patient care from the research work done in this area. With the increasing number of cancer survivors and prevalence of post-treatment side effects they are reported to experience, “treating cancer” is no longer limited to being just free of the disease. My present research interest lies in evaluating and correlating biomarkers levels with post-chemotherapy treatment side effects (such as cognitive impairment and/or cancer-related fatigue). Our findings will hopefully support the use of suitable biomarkers to monitor the related symptoms in cancer patients in clinical trials, which will be useful given how everyone’s experience can have wide inter-individual variability. In the coming semesters, I am also embarking on projects to look into changes in hormone levels and intervention programmes in the population of adolescents and young adults (AYA) cancer patients.”

– Toh Yi Long (Class of ’16), current NUS Pharmacy graduate student

“Prior to my postgraduate studies, I practiced as an oncology pharmacist for several years, working mainly with patients with hematological malignancies. Working with cancer patients taught me that treating cancer was not just about eradicating cancer cells. It was equally important to deal with complications that may arise from cancer treatment itself. From obvious side effects such as peripheral neuropathy to subtle issues such as memory impairment, these problems often affect how patients function in their daily lives. However, combing through guidelines and literature, one would quickly realize that there is still much to investigate and understand in this area. Wanting to contribute to knowledge in this field, I have decided to embark on a postgraduate research degree in order to gain training as a researcher. The research projects that I am currently involved in are related to the measurement of these side effects and how they may affect real world outcomes, such as work and employment. In the long-term, these findings will assist us to design strategies to manage treatment-related complications and improve the quality of life of cancer survivors.”

– Tan Chia Jie, current NUS Pharmacy graduate student

“After completing my pre-registration training at the National University Hospital, I have returned to the department to pursue PhD in the pharmacy practice domain. This decision extends from my participation in a multitude of undergraduate research projects pertaining to cancer supportive care and pharmacoeconomics. The enriching cumulative experience then grew into a concrete research interest that drove my current research focus on designing, implementing and evaluating a potential cancer survivorship care model in the local setting. This endeavour will be imperative in addressing the rising healthcare needs of cancer survivors resulting from a concurrent trend of increasing cancer incidence and better survival. Specifically, I will be working with the research team to pilot test an inter-professional community survivorship care model that engages community pharmacists and practitioners in care delivery.”

– Ke Yu (Class of ’17), current NUS Pharmacy graduate student