“It’s a great place to spend the summer!”

IBN was ‘home’ to 25 overseas university students from June to August

Besides running an active Youth Research Program for young people in Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) also opens its doors to attachment students from all over the world.

Between June and August this year, 12 A*STAR National Science Scholarship students as well as 13 overseas students were attached to IBN. They experienced the cutting-edge work that is being carried out at the institute, and undertook various research projects under the supervision of senior research scientists.

MIT Ph.D. candidate Tseh-Hwan Yong, MIT undergraduate Dheera Venkatraman, and Stanford University graduate Christopher Earhart were part of this group. According to them, their IBN experience had broadened their horizons and had given them a real taste of life beyond academia.

From S’pore to Boston and back again

For 28-year-old Tseh-Hwan Yong, the trip back to Singapore was yet another home-coming.

The former Raffles Girls’ School and Raffles Junior College student had first left Singapore in 1994 to pursue her degree in Chemical Engineering at MIT. She graduated at the top of her class of over 130 chemical engineers, and is currently completing her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering.

It was her mentor and thesis advisor at MIT, Prof Jackie Ying, who lured her back to IBN.

“When Prof Ying decided to come to Singapore as the Executive Director of IBN, she told us about the institute and the summer research opportunities here,” she said. “She arranged for a few of us at MIT to spend the summer here.”

And it had been a fruitful experience for Tseh-Hwan, who worked on polymer-apatite composites for the delivery of bone morphogenetic proteins to enhance bone healing. Currently, bone defects and injuries are treated through the grafting of replacement bone from another part of a patient’s body or from a donor. This can be a painful and risky treatment process.

Polymer-apatite composites present a viable alternative, as these implants not only resemble the characteristics of human bone, but also deliver proteins to encourage the growth of new bone tissue.

“We have found that the composites are biocompatible and allow rapid cell proliferation,” she said. “The protein that is released also retains its bioactivity and is able to induce the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to bone cells.”

She said she had picked up additional skills in animal studies and cell culture during her IBN attachment. In addition, she “had been able to observe how large groups of scientists work individually and collaboratively on research projects.”

On a social level, she said the scientists at IBN have been very friendly and helpful. “They offered and shared with us chemicals, random lab supplies, equipment, their skills in microscopy, cell culture and animal studies, as well as their time. It has been fun interacting with them.”

Tseh-Hwan, a scholar with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), will be returning to IBN full-time, after her Ph.D. studies.

Big city living and world-class facilities

Another student who has been making return trips to Singapore is Stanford graduate Christopher Earhart.

Singapore came onto his radar screen when Stanford awarded him a fellowship to work in Singapore and be part of the organizing committee for the 2004 Global Entrepreneurial Conference, which was held at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University on August 25, 2004.

“The directors of the fellowship searched for companies that matched our interests. I originally planned to work for a high-tech start-up, but found that IBN offered the most exciting biomedical research opportunities. My director put me in touch with Prof Ying,” said Christopher, who recently completed his Bachelor’s in Biomechanical Engineering, specializing in biomechanics and orthopedic bioengineering. “We received an overwhelming number of applications. Chris e-mailed and called persistently until we accepted his application,” said Prof Ying.

At IBN, he was involved in making ion-substituted hydroxyapatites, which closely model the mineral found in natural bone. By examining the biological responses to these materials, better orthopedic implants can be manufactured.

Christopher said he has always been interested in orthopedic implants and medical devices. “I’ve been interested in this field ever since high school when I underwent reconstructive surgeries on my shoulder,” said the 22-year-old sportsman.

“My past experience has been with fracture fixation hardware and bioceramics. The conventional hardware available for fixing bone is reaching its limits. New technological advances will need to focus more on the smaller-scale biological and material properties.”

He said the environment at IBN has been “terrific” in broadening his horizons both academically and personally. “Not only am I learning how to use powerful analytical tools available in IBN’s world-class facilities, I’m also surrounded by brilliant scientists from all over, who have taught me their unique cultures and their individual approaches to biomaterials.”

His stint in Singapore was the first time he had lived and worked in a foreign country. “I was born and raised in California. I’ve never worked in a big city before, so living in a big city in Asia has been a tremendous culture shock,” said Christopher, who could tell you stories of how he had lost his way a few times on Singapore’s public transportation system (“I have the worst sense of direction….”).

“I’m adjusting rather quickly though, and I really enjoy living in such a vibrant and colorful place,” he added.

In fact, he had been so impressed with his experience here that he has since joined IBN full-time as a lab officer, after a short break in the US.

“I had planned on returning to the US to complete a Master’s program, but I couldn’t justify spending more money on tuition when I could learn much more here and get paid,” said Christopher, who spends his free time playing baseball in a Singapore league.

Stocking up on knowledge... and gadgets

As Christopher begins his first job at IBN, others like MIT student Dheera Venkatraman are still experiencing the joys and hardships of being an undergraduate.

Dheera is currently studying at MIT and double-majoring in Physics and Electrical Engineering. He said he first heard about IBN from Prof Ying and Noreena AbuBakar, IBN’s Director of Administration, at a career fair at MIT. “I became interested in the possibility of working in a multidisciplinary bioengineering field. I thought it would be a good experience to apply my knowledge in a new area and to also experience an internship abroad.”

At IBN, he worked on projects to explore the mechanics of the human ear. “We aimed to measure the frequency responses of the middle ear ossicles through various measurement techniques and signal processing,” he said. “We also worked towards generating data on hydroxyapatite implants to design better-performing prostheses.”

As part of his work, he conducted extensive calibration tests and trial measurements, and used different signal processing techniques and programming.

“This had been my first experience in a corporate research environment, and the attachment gave me perspectives of the various issues associated with the operation of a research institute,” said Dheera, who is interested in returning to IBN for another period of attachment. “It was also interesting working with people from all sorts of backgrounds, both academically and culturally.”

Having lived in Malaysia before, this 20-year-old is no stranger to Southeast Asia. “I still maintain contact with some of my school friends (at the International School of Kuala Lumpur), and I enjoyed meeting them both here and in Malaysia on weekends.”

He said he particularly enjoyed the food, markets and arts-related events here. “I also liked to hop on and off random public buses to get to know different parts of Singapore,” said Dheera.

In addition, the self-professed “geek” made sure he stocked up on computer parts and other devices from Sim Lim Tower. His dorm room at MIT is filled with ‘home-made’ gadgets like an electronic door alarm system.

“Singapore is an excellent place to spend a summer. The facilities and transportation are great and food is available everywhere,” he said. “It has also been a great experience working in Singapore, and IBN laboratories are a good place to explore new frontiers in research.”