Singaporean alumni celebrate as School of Public Health campaign goes global

One of Imperial’s most active alumni groups heard from public health experts at a special event in Singapore.

The School of Public Health’s Professor Elio Riboli, Chair in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention and Professor Paul Elliott, Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, joined Professor Maggie Dallman, Vice-President (International) for a thought-provoking conversation on some of the greatest public health challenges facing the world today.

They were speaking at the first international event in Imperial’s campaign for a new School of Public Health in White City. 

Since 1992, Professor Riboli has led one of the world’s largest cohort studies  focusing on diet, obesity, physical activity and metabolism and their impact on health and disease. Alongside Professor Elliott, he discussed their work to understand diet as a key influencer in disease. Food and nutrition is one of the pillars of the new School of Public Health.

Opening the event, Professor Dallman said: “Innovations in technology, big data and advances in science knowledge hold really amazing potential for addressing some of our most intractable health challenges. Researchers from our world-leading School of Public Health are really pushing these new frontiers.”

“A pivotal conversation”

One of the alumni at the event was Richard Speight, who graduated from the College in the mid-1990s and is now based in Singapore, working as a Senior Director at ThermoFisher Scientific. 

He credits Professor Dallman, one of his tutors while he was at the College, for her transformational advice when he was a student. He said: “That moment that I remember shaped the way my career, maybe my whole life, developed. It was a pivotal conversation. When I had the opportunity to come here and see her speak, it was one not to be missed.”

Oldest international alumni group

The Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore (ICAAS) was founded in 1977 and is Imperial College London’s oldest international alumni group. Established as a non-profit organisation, ICAAS aims to build a network among Singapore-based graduates of the College, which number 3,000 today.Over the years, ICAAS has grown into a strong network of professionals, bonded by friendship forged since their college days in the UK. It plays an active role in promoting science, technology and innovation in the local community, through many events such as site visits and talks, as well as seminars organised with visiting academics from the College.

ICAAS continues to work closely with our alma mater to promote the College as an institution of choice for students with an interest in pursuing degrees in science, engineering, medicine or business. ICAAS also collaborates with the Imperial College Singapore Society, providing support for activities organised for Singaporeans who are currently studying at the College.

Imperial and the Lion City

The College has exceptionally strong ties with Singapore. Imperial researchers have co-authored more than 670 publications with their Singaporean peers over the past five years and the College’s research partners include Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore University of Technology and Design, and A*STAR.

The College has thousands of alumni living in Singapore including former Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and industrialists J. Y. Pillay and Koh Boon Hwee. Imperial has more than 400 Singaporean students – the highest proportion at any UK university.

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), a partnership between the College and NTU, is training a generation of Singaporean doctors who will put patients at the centre of exemplary medical care. Imperial and NTU welcomed the first students to the School in 2013, which delivers a modern, innovative curriculum. The second cohort will graduate this summer. 

Transforming public health

The School of Public Health aims to achieve better health in the population through strengthening the public health science base, training the next generation of public health leaders and influencing health policies and programmes around the world.

As well as Food and Nutrition, other areas of focus for the School of Public Health are World Health, Community Health and Policy, and Children’s Health and Wellbeing.

The School of Public Health is transforming health and wellbeing. As part of a £100 million campaign, we are creating a state-of-the art hub at White City for outstanding research, education and community engagement. Find out how you can help to transform public health on the Imperial College London website.