Xin Xiang Lim
Nationality:
Singapore
Current Job:
Lecturer, National University of Singapore
Graduation:
2018
Degree:
PhD
Faculty and Department:
Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
Undergraduate University:
National University of Singapore
Why did you choose to do a PhD?
My decision to pursue a PhD stemmed from my passion and interest in science and the limitless possibilities for creating novel solutions for complex world problems. I have always been fascinated by new discoveries and novel innovations and what really captured my was the thinking process that led to these discoveries and innovations. When I decided to pursue my PhD education, I was really setting out to improve my thinking and analytical skills as well as problem solving skills because I believe that these skills are extremely important and applicable to all wards of life, transcending beyond science.
Why did you choose to do graduate education at NUS? If you received offers from other universities, why did you pick NUS?
I specifically selected NUS for my graduate studies because of its scientific excellence and the conducive environment for research. I wanted to train myself in a world renowned university like NUS, because that would mean training under world leading scientists and tackling research problems that are at the frontiers of science. Furthermore, being a Singaporean myself and having completed my undergraduate education in NUS, I feel deeply rooted and connected to the university.
How does graduate school compare to your undergraduate experience?
I would say my experience for graduate school education is very different from undergraduate education. The most prominent difference for me was the change in focus. During undergraduate education, we were mostly trained in finding answers to a problem, such as taking exams. But in graduate school, I had to find the question even before seeking out answers or potential solutions to the question. In this way, it is very much more representative of the working world in the sense that problems faced are not that straight forward and definitely a lot more complex.
Briefly share about your research or thesis (i.e. dissertation topic for Masters by Coursework students).
My PhD research is on investigating the role and impacts of the biophysical properties of viruses and their implications on antiviral therapeutics. To put my PhD research across simply, we can imagine a virus as a target board and the regions that are recognized by antibodies are the targets. My PhD research illuminated that viruses are actually moving dart boards and their surface motions direct impacts antibody’s recognition and consequences after binding.
What impact do you hope to have with your research?
I hope that insights from my PhD research will be of relevance for the design of antiviral therapeutics and vaccines.
If you have won any academic prize/competition or been invited to speak at an international conference—share what it is, its significance, and how you worked towards achieving it.
I have won the Best Graduate Researcher award in 2017 and subsequently graduated as the valedictorian of my PhD graduating class in 2018. I am very thankful for the department’s and school’s recognition of my scientific rigor and excellence. In my opinion, to achieve scientific excellence, we first have to believe what we are doing and most importantly enjoy what we are doing. In addition to these, hard work and creativity are two other important ingredients that were essential too. In essence, if you love what you are doing, you will do it well and coupling that with exercising your creativity whenever possible, will definitely help in driving scientific excellence in your work.
Briefly share a highlight from your graduate school journey.
A highlight of my graduate school journey would be getting to know many mentors and friends. I am very fortunate to have met many professors who have sincerely guided me along this journey. On the hindsight now that I have graduated, I still maintain close relationships with them and occasionally consult them on difficulties that I faced in life. My graduate school journey is not an easy one but it is surely enjoyable and enriching!
Share a challenge you faced in graduate school and how you overcame it.
A challenge I face during graduate school would be having to manage relationships with collaborators. What I have learnt from my graduate school experience was that collaborations are key to improving the quality of scientific research because the scientific project can benefit and leverage on the expertise of renowned scientists. In this regard, I always had to consider not only about my objectives in driving the scientific project but also what the collaborators expect and will be able to benefit from the partnership in order to make a win-win situation. What I did to build relationships with collaborators was to focus on what I could contribute in a project rather than what I could gain.
How did your experiences as a graduate student shape and guide you in your current career?
“My graduate experience has helped in to be resilient in facing difficult situations (we all know how often scientific experiments fail) and to focus on the learning points. It has also provided me the opportunities to really improve myself and become a fast learner. Having moved from academic research environment into a corporate industrial setting and now to an academic educator role, the ability to learn effectively in my opinion is extremely critical. As an educator now, I am really excited to be able to contribute in helping prospective students
(both undergraduates and graduates students) develop to their best potential.”
What message would you like to give to students interested in graduate studies in NUS?
My message to students interested in graduate studies in NUS will be “Be adventurous, be creative and take-charge of your own learning but most importantly, don’t do this alone. Be comfortable with showing vulnerabilities for the help you receive in such situations are the ones most genuine.”