Hello everyone!

Wishing you all a very happy new year. Time has certainly flown and we are already mid-way through the academic year of 2023/2024. When I look back at the year that was, I am proud of the achievements of our colleagues and students. In this year, a bumper crop of external research grants (NMRC, MOE Tier 2) were won and awarded to A/P Wu Wei, Dr Tian Chong, Dr Tang Wei, Dr Liu Boxiang, and Dr Gloryn Chia. We also celebrated the promotion of a number of our support staff: Ms Tan Bee Jen, Ms Brenda Tan and Mr David Chong. We also welcomed Dr Lisa Brennan (recruited from Wingate University School of Pharmacy) as Senior Lecturer, Dr Liu Shi (University of Wisconsin-Madison) as Asst Prof, Dr Donavan Neo (Harvard University) as Lecturer, Dr Elaine Lo (NUHS) as adjunct Asst Prof and Mr Yap Chien as Teaching Assistant to our Pharmily. Dr Tan Kar Tong from Harvard University will also be joining us as Asst Prof in late January 2024. In terms of awards, Dr Chng Hui Ting won the NUS Annual Teaching Excellence Award (ATEA) for Year 2023, and Dr Tian Chong was part of a team that won the 2023 Organic Chemistry Horizon (Perkin) Prize. The Department also won the NUS Safety Excellence award – much thanks to A/P Chew Eng Hui (Safety chair) and Ms Winnie Wong (Safety coordinator) and their team for keeping us in check!

In July 2023, we graduated the first batch of full time Masters of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (MPST) students, and graduated the last cohort of the BSc (Pharmacy) students. We look forward to graduating the inaugural cohort of the Bachelor of Pharmacy students in July 2024; this will be a significant milestone for us in the history of our Pharmacy education, marking our transformation in the Pharmacy curriculum which was launched in AY2020. This curriculum hopes to be a game changer in Pharmacy education and training, in that it integrates science and practice; knowledge and skills; university learning with on-site workplace training. In 2023, we also saw the formal retirement of A/P Chan Sui Yung, who is now an Honorary Fellow. Sui Yung has demonstrated that it is never too late to be an entrepreneur as she co-founded a start-up (PharLyfe+) upon her retirement. Sui Yung joins the ranks of our colleagues who have retired, whom we continue to miss each day: A/P Paul Heng, Prof Paul Ho, A/P Go Mei Lin – they are all legends in their own right! We also say goodbye and thank you to those who have moved on from the Department to pursue other opportunities; Dr Han Zhe, Dr Leroy Koh, A/P Wee Hwee Lin and Dr Erica Grasso. We also thank Prof Wong Tin Wui, Dr Emina Obarcanin, Mr Lam Pin Woon and Dr Kwan Yu Heng for their contributions as visiting or adjunct Faculty members. Once you are a member of our Pharmily, you will always remain as part of our Pharmily!

Life, post-COVID lockdowns, has largely returned to normal though it is evident that normal does not mean the same as pre-COVID. This has especially impacted on education (how we teach and what we teach) and healthcare. For the latter, there is realization that our arsenal of drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases is still woefully scarce, and new technologies for the prevention of infection are critical. Perhaps one of the defining outcomes of the COVID pandemic was the public awareness of the importance of scientific research, specifically that related to pharmaceutical sciences. In addition, the practice of pharmacy was catapulted into prominence – leading to innovations in practice that ranged from tele-health to automation, to name a few. The significance of what we do as a Department (research, education and practice), in the context of understanding disease, drug development and delivery, and pharmacy practice, has become evident. To better reflect our research and educational activities, we are delighted to announce that the Department will be re-named as the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, from January 2024. We look forward to pushing the frontiers in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences in the areas of research, education and practice!

2024 is a special year, notwithstanding that it will be the Year of the Dragon (!) but that the Faculty of Science also celebrates its 95^th anniversary. We hope that you will join us in our alumni celebrations that will take place in 2024.

Until then, wishing you all a very fruitful and happy 2024.

Best wishes,

Christina Chai