WonderVision: A Leap of Faith
Living in our comfort zone, have you ever wondered what it would be like to suddenly take a leap and land in a wholly foreign environment to live and work?
In this edition of PharmConnect, we approached Professor Lim Lee Yong (Class of ’85), an affable professor well-versed in pharmaceutics, who is currently a faculty at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth, to explore her stories of ‘leaping into uncertainties’. An academic with experience spanning across three decades, her life experiences, career progressions and research have been filled with taking multiple leaps of faith.
In December 2020, Prof Lim was cordially invited to the Department’s 115th Anniversary Carnival, where she delivered her Last Lecture titled ‘The Faith for a Leap of Faith’. As a follow-up from her Last Lecture, we unveil, through our ‘WonderVision’, the sweet fruits of Prof Lim’s success, the inevitable bitter fruits of discouraging setbacks and how Prof Lim continues her journey to explore new and uncertain paradigms, bearing fruits from each leap taken.
The Successful Leaps
A seasoned academic, graduated from the Department in 1985, and subsequently, a 15-year tenure in NUS, Prof Lim is fondly remembered by many of her students, who are now pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, and leaders in the profession! When asked about her teaching philosophy, she believes that all her students are motivated learners with the desire to acquire knowledge and skills to prepare for a fulfilling career. She grounds her students in their fundamentals and ensures that she actively engages them in a safe environment; ‘All Questions U Ask R OK’ (AQUAROK), as Prof Lim calls it! She continues to practise this teaching philosophy till today.
Prof Lim (front row, right) in her Graduation Shot for Pharmaceutica ’85
Prof Lim invited as a guest lecturer for paediatric taste-masked medicines at UWA
During her ‘Last Lecture’, Prof. Lim shared of her two hopscotching experiences in the research field – first from nanotechnology to paediatric formulation, and then to taste-masking formulations for fish. Novice in every transition, Prof Lim was motivated to explore the unknowns in each of these specialties, including a one-year sabbatical at the University College London to learn about taste trials. As she coined it a ‘roller coaster ride’, she broadened her horizons and thoroughly enjoyed herself as she engaged with a multidisciplinary team to unlock exciting findings in each transition.
The Inevitable Setbacks
Amidst the great outcomes, which includes the award of a highly competitive Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant in 2012, Prof Lim’s journey was not without its bitter setbacks that tested her mettle.
At the peak of her career around 2005, Prof Lim took her first leap of faith where she moved out of the comfort of NUS, into the unknown at UWA – “An erratic move deemed as ‘career suicide’ in the eyes of many”, she said. Albeit the strong faith, the first hurdle was seemingly insurmountable. Tasked to set up the pharmaceutics curriculum in the new Master of Pharmacy program with limited resources, coupled with taking care of two young children in an unfamiliar schooling system, on top of getting her research programme going on limited funds and no graduate students, Prof Lim was confronted with professional, logistical and financial difficulties. If not for a timely divine intervention, she would have returned to Singapore.
Amidst the COVID-19 chaos in early 2020, Prof Lim’s 4-year collaboration with an industry partner to develop a product for chronic tympanic membrane perforation was prematurely terminated. More recently, after the ‘Last Lecture’ in December, Prof Lim’s two-year collaboration with another industry partner in developing chocolate-based taste-masked products for paediatrics turned precarious and was eventually cancelled. Unable to muster the resources for regulatory approval, pulling the plug at the final stage of product development was a devastating hit to her, and definitely a disappointing way to conclude a challenging year 2020.
Prof Lim (front row, second from left) at the UWA Open House 2015 with her Master of Pharmacy students.
Leap of Faith: A Bittersweet Journey
Never one to give up easily, Prof Lim has since embarked on two new research projects with industry partners and submitted competitive grant applications again! What helped her regain her footing so quickly? She attributed it to the positive forward-looking people in her research team that continue to motivate her and shared that:
Indeed, challenges and disappointments, even those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, will pass. Rather than perpetually worrying, Prof Lim believes in focusing on doing well with what she is called to do, and addressing the challenges as they come, to take one day at a time; “resilience will help us recover from every difficulty!
Exploring New, Unfamiliar Lands
Prof Lim (third from left), celebrating Diwali dressed in a sari, during her sabbatical at UCL.
In chartering new, unfamiliar paths, Prof Lim encourages everyone – you and I – to take our own leaps of faith! She is confident that deep convictions and beliefs can overcome our instinctive aversion to risk, driving us to make the change we want to see. Much like how she wanted to see progress in making medicine access more equitable for young children, she challenges us to be passionate about our convictions and take the step of faith to drive change.
To the students, she adds that students who learn to secure good grades and marks in examinations are short-changing themselves with the opportunity to explore and takeaway vast experiences from the university. She also mentioned that:
An afterword by the authors…
‘WonderVision’ is all about bringing out the child in us by staying curious and asking questions (‘Wonder’) and sharing our takeaways to broaden all our horizons (‘Vision’). Through our questions and Prof Lim’s valuable life sharing, we hope everyone is inspired to charter our own paths and seek opportunities to take leaps of faith in our lives and profession!
We thank Prof Lim for sharing her leaps of faith stories, the advices given and wish her all the best in bearing new fruits of success in her research projects and teaching!
Authors
Tan Cheng Keat & Tan Seh Yi Joseph
(Class of ’22)
Currently Year 3 Pharmacy students, Cheng Keat and Joseph helmed the roles of Project Directors & Vice Project Directors for RxAG’19 and Vice Presidents of the 59th Executive Committee in NUS Pharmaceutical Society. As avid food lovers, they celebrate every end of CAs and examinations with a feast of Budae Jjigae at Kent Ridge MRT. You can find and know more about Cheng Keat & Joseph on their LinkedIn!
Share this article:
Stay connected with NUS Pharmacy!
Receive PharmConnect Newsletter & announcements by NUS Pharmacy.