Impactful by RFI Research For Impact Singapore

In this episode, we talk with the incredibly inspiring Shailey Hingorani, Head of Advocacy, Research and Communications at AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research, Singapore). In our conversation, Shailey shares her passion for advocacy research, gender equality, her feminist journey and how she found her public and impactful voice. 

Here are some key takeaways for those who aspire to be a researcher and an advocate!
💡Research is the foundation of successful advocacy on any issue but particularly on women's rights and gender equality. 

💡We as researchers have to be reflexive; consciously acknowledge and understand our own position, and involve the community in research 

💡The point of our research is to create policy change by making our research as accessible as possible to the public and mobilizing people to action. 

In this episode, we talk with Dr Sophia Archuleta, the Director of the National HIV Programme at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases since 2018. She has served as Senior Consultant of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the National University Hospital (NUH) since 2008 and has headed the division since 2017. Dr Archuleta established and led the HIV Programme at NUH until 2017. She is part of the core faculty of the National University Health System Infectious Diseases Senior Residency Programme. Dr Archuleta is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore and serves in various educational leadership roles and national committees on graduate medical education. 

Quick take-aways:
In this episode, Dr Sophia Archuleta shared her experience in transitioning from practising medicine and specialising in HIV and infectious diseases in New York to Singapore 14 years ago, and the differences in HIV care then and now.Dr Archuleta emphasised the need for multidisciplinary teams in caring for patients living with HIV who have a passion for learning on the job and going beyond clinical care and helping to address the harmful effects of pervasive and institutionalised stigma on the mental health of individuals living with HIV. Dr Archuleta further highlighted how subsidies for antiretroviral therapy and adherence to medicine have influenced health-seeking behaviour and helped the survival rate of individuals living with HIV.She observed the growth of pragmatic and interventional clinical trials and increasing homegrown collaborations on research on infectious diseases (including dengue) across hospitals over the past decade in Singapore. Dr Archuleta emphasised the value of individualized career tracks in mentoring. She also values how mentors both guide and challenge mentees along the way to push themselves and do better. 

In this episode, we talk with Dr Mythily Subramaniam who has worked as a researcher in the field of mental health for 20 years and is currently Assistant Chair of the Medical Board for Research and Lead Investigator of the Programme of Mental Health Policy Studies at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). She has co-led the pioneering Singapore Mental Health Study in 2010 and 2016, surveys that established the prevalence of select mental disorders in the adult population of Singapore; and the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study. She has also been teaching as Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health since 2019.  

Quick take-aways:
In this episode, Dr Subramaniam talks about her journey from being a medical doctor to becoming one of the pioneering mental health researchers in Singapore, and Singapore's journey over the past two decades towards increasing interest, awareness, and understanding of mental health in Singapore. She raises the issue of persistent stigma on mental health, not just for patients or their communities, but also for mental health researchers. She expresses her optimism for mental health research in Singapore and shares her appreciation for uncovering patients' journeys of strength and recovery that can contribute to policy changes.  

In this episode, we talk with award-winning researcher and educator Professor Lily Kong, fifth President of Singapore Management University (SMU), and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences. She was formerly Provost at SMU.
 
Before joining SMU, she served as faculty at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Geography for nearly 25 years, and held various senior management roles at the National University of Singapore, including Vice-Provost (Education), Vice-Provost (Academic Personnel), Vice President (University and Global Relations), Dean (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Dean, University Scholars Programme, and Director, Asia Research Institute. Check out her official profile here.

Highlight: 
In this episode, Professor Kong emphasizes the need to promote and support the social sciences and humanities research (1) to inform policy and (2) to understand ourselves as a society and a place.  She talks about how she started as a researcher and what she thinks can be done to further support researchers in the social sciences and humanities. 

We hope you enjoy this pilot episode!