Current destination

Fast forward a few years later, Xinyi is currently a visiting scientist at the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA). She assists with patient preference and real-world evidence research at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Analytics and Benefit-Risk Assessment Staff. Her work involves conducting and evaluating research work that examines and quantifies how patients make trade-offs between the risks and benefits of treatments, and how these patients’ perspectives can be used to support regulatory decision-making. She also reviews real-world evidence studies submitted by sponsors for post-marketing commitments or requirements. She explains, “These studies are important as they allow for the evaluation of the real-world effectiveness and safety of treatments beyond the clinical trials, and this is important for the assessment of long-term safety as well as the detection of rare adverse events.”

NUS Pharmacy – where foundational knowledge, friendships and fond memories were made

Xinyi shared that the knowledge gained in disease areas, anatomy, drug names etc. during her Pharmacy education in NUS has allowed her to pick things up easily and quickly understand medical literature for her pharmaceutical-related research work. The broad-based curriculum in NUS and opportunity to do a thesis-based final year project also laid a good foundation for her graduate studies and career. She was exposed to research process and learnt how to use analytical software through the process.

Her times in NUS Pharmacy were also filled with many fond memories. As the cohort was fairly small at that time, everyone knew everyone so it was a close-knitted class. She took part in NUS Pharmaceutical Society activities such as the Pharmacy orientation camp, and met many of her close friends then. Another highlight of her student life was participating in the Department’s first NUS annual Rag and Flag event. When thinking back on that memory, she quips, “Some of us had to learn the Cha-cha-cha for the performance. I recalled practising and preparing for the event with our seniors and all the fun we had along the way.”

On working and living abroad and what she misses about Singapore

Xinyi has had a really enjoyable 11 years of working and living in the U.S. In her words, “Working in the U.S. has exposed me to many different cultures and working styles, and I have colleagues and ex-colleagues from various backgrounds and this experience has been really enriching and invaluable for my personal growth. Of course, I do miss home a lot as well. My family is in Singapore and I usually try to visit once a year to catch up with family and friends. And of course, the food – nothing beats the hawker center food that we have in Singapore!”

Tips on discovering and pursuing your passion

If you are thinking of pursuing health services research, Xinyi advises, “Just go ahead and try it! I believe there is always a need for more people with skills in this area.” Nowadays, you do not need to venture overseas like her to grow your career in this area. She observes, “It seems like Singapore is building capacity in real-world evidence and outcomes research. Back in 2011 when I left for my studies, I remembered there were not a lot of opportunities for a career in this area but these days, I have been noticing more and more opportunities. In fact, one of my friends from my graduate program recently moved to Singapore for his career. Therefore, I think this area is definitely growing and worth considering!” For students, you can learn from her experience and use the final year project to discover your research interest and get to know people working in these areas to find out more about the work that they do.