Our Event Speakers

Le Thi Nguyet Minh, Keynote Speaker

Dr. Le has served as Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director at the NUS Medicine Department of Pharmacology since 2019. She holds editorial positions as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Extracellular Biology, Associate Editor of the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, and Associate Editor of Cancer Nanotechnology. Dr. Le earned her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from NUS, a Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology from the Singapore-MIT Alliance, and completed five years of postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. She has received prestigious awards, including the L’Oréal Singapore for Women in Science National Fellowship (2009), the Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship (2011), the NUS Graduate Mentor of the Year Award (2022). Additionally, she was featured in the book "Stories of Integration" as an impactful Singaporean (2021). Dr. Le’s research group pioneered a strategy using extracellular vesicles derived from red blood cells to deliver nucleic acids, laying the foundation for her startup, Carmine Therapeutics, in 2019.

Alex Mitchell, Panellist

Alex Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore. His research investigates defamiliarization in gameplay, motivations for replaying story-focused games, authoring tools, and collaborative storytelling. He is a founding member of the executive board of the Association for Research in Interactive Digital Narratives (ARDIN).

Clarissa Sastrawidjaya, Panellist

Clarissa is a final-year undergraduate student of biomedicine from Lund University in Sweden. She grew up in Vancouver, Canada and moved to Sweden at the age of 16. Clarissa first came to Singapore on exchange in 2022 and is now completing her thesis research at the lab of Professor Minh Le. Her academic journey has been enriched by pursuing holism in her education, leading her to diverse experiences, from the Amgen Scholars’ Programme at NUS, to writing and illustrating her first scientific publication, to winning “Best Creative Solution” with her team at the Lund Innovation Challenge. Her interests are strongly rooted in both the sciences and the arts, and she seeks to cultivate both rigour and creativity in her approach to learning. She is deeply interested in questions of philosophy, metascience and epistemology.

Grundy Warr C E R, Moderator

Dr Carl’s research interests are focused on transboundary environmental cooperation and conflict in the Mekong region, and Mekong River environmental geopolitics (various international peer reviewed papers). He has also been engaged in projects concerning the geopolitics of borderlands in mainland Southeast Asia (edited books and various peer reviewed papers). Another long-term project arena is in inter-disciplinary work with colleagues from medicine, public health, ecology, parasitology, and geography focusing on the life-cycle of an endemic liver fluke parasite (Opisthorchis viverrini) which is a contributory factor in a fatal bile duct cancer, particularly in the countries of the Mekong region. Dr Carl’s contribution has focused on the cultural, social, and environmental linkages relating to this underestimated disease and public health issue (various peer reviewed papers and book chapters). Dr Carl is passionate about field-based pedagogy and experiential learning opportunities for students. He has pioneered a field studies since 2001, and undertaken field studies courses in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. These field courses are between 4-6 weeks and involve fieldwork, home-stays, buddy programs with host institutions, team-based problem-based enquiry projects, and individual contributions from students. He coordinates a field investigation course in human geography which combines class-based learning with fieldwork. This has led to the development of a River Wetlands project involving students in community-based projects that focus on social and environmental issues, particularly along the Mekong River and Tonle Sap ‘Great Lake’ of Cambodia. His other teaching spans geopolitics, development and environment in Southeast Asia, and natural resource politics and practice.

Lim Zhi Han, Panellist

Zhi Han Lim received his PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2011. His research focus is on synthesis of nanomaterials and their applications Currently serving as a senior lecturer at the Special Programmes in Science within the Faculty of Science at NUS, he is actively engaged in teaching interdisciplinary science and promoting science communication. He enjoys making science kits and toys and using them to communicate scientific concepts through hands-on activities.

Natalie Pang, Panellist

Dr Natalie Pang is Associate Professor and Deputy Head at the Communications and New Media Department (CNM), Principal Investigator at the Centre for Trusted Internet and Community, and University Librarian at NUS Libraries, at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Prior to joining academia, she worked on research projects as a consultant in The Gallup Organization. She is a researcher and educator in digital citizenship and well-being, and digital humanities. She works on translation research with government and intergovernmental agencies, tech companies and non-profits, and internationally, serves as an expert member of the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, expert in the Pacific Forum Women Experts Directory, and Global Fellow at Missions Publiques. Other than her teaching and research work, she is also faculty advisor to the NUS Political Association as well as ExCo member of the Singapore Heritage Society.

Ratnala Sukanya Naidu, Panellist

Sukanya is the Cluster Head of Education, Research and Enterprise Partnerships at NUS Libraries where she oversees the implementation of library programmes into the curriculum by working with various faculties. She joined NUS as a Medical Librarian more than 10 years ago. Before joining NUS, she worked as a public health researcher. She actively seeks avenues to enhance the contribution of librarians to academic learning and research which led to her working with a group of librarians to create an edX MOOC titled "The Art and Science of Searching in Systematic Reviews, an initiative aimed at bolstering evidence-based practice programs. She holds a Bachelor degree in Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Information Studies.

Loy Hui Chieh, Keynote Speaker

Associate Professor Loy Hui Chieh is from the Department of Philosophy at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He is currently the Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) and Master of Cinnamon Residential Wing for NUS College, the honors college of the National University of Singapore. A/P Loy is also the Chair of the NUS Philosophy, Politics, and Economics joint program committee. A/P Loy received his BA (Hons) and MA in Philosophy from NUS, and PhD in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. His published research is mainly in early Chinese philosophy, with forays into cognate fields in collaboration with others, such as the history of science in East Asia, and contemporary notions of political legitimacy in East Asia. His other academic interests include ancient Greek philosophy, early modern and contemporary ethics and political philosophy. He is on the editorial board for Chinese Comparative Philosophy for Philosophy Compass. More recently, he has also been involved in education related research.

Brian Ku, Panellist

Brian is a Year 3 undergraduate majoring in Chemistry with a second major in DSA and minor in Computer Science. His research for the past 1.5 years involves several projects related to the application of nanoparticles in display technology, and my current interests lie in computational chemistry. Outside of chemistry, he is a tutor for CS1010S, and in my free time, he enjoys exploring the design principles behind what makes a good game.

Mustafa Izzuddin, Panellist

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at NUS College and Fellow at Residential College 4, National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr Mustafa is concurrently a Senior International Affairs Analyst with Solaris Strategies Singapore, a Visiting Professor in International Relations at the Islamic University of Indonesia and Associate Professor and Executive Director of Nehginpao Kipgen Centre of Southeast Asian Studies at OP Jindal Global University India. He received his PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and subsequently served as Research Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Institute of South Asian Studies. He was an ASEAN Fulbright Scholar at Georgetown University, Global Public Policy Network Fellow at Peking University, Dawoodi Bohra Foundation Fellow at Oxford University and Fellow in Civilizational Dialogue at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) in Morocco. He also served as Visiting (Senior) Fellow at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Director of International Relations Studies at Beaconhouse National University Pakistan. Based on his decades of voluntary leadership in championing socio-cultural causes in Singapore, including youth development, and being a leading voice in interfaith bridge-building, Dr Mustafa was listed as one of the top 500 most influential Muslims of the world for 2024. He was also conferred JCI's Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World from Singapore, National Youth Achievement Gold Award and the NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award.