Awards
2011
National Day Award
Ms Quek Hui Leng was conferred the Commendation Medal 2011 on the National Day to recognize her merit and service to Singapore. In a career spanning over 20 years, Hui Leng has contributed in diverse disciplines within the public service, from waste management, management of air pollution to public health research. She demonstrated her ability to learn fast and to apply her past experience in other disciplines to her current work. Hui Leng plays a key role in ensuring that the various bio-containment laboratories of the Environmental Health Institute complied with the strict international and local regulatory bio-safety requirements. She has distinguished herself through consistently good service and outstanding achievement.
2009
NEA Service Star Award
Ms Monica Punzalan Laus was awarded NEA Service Star Award for the period April - June 2009. As part of EHI Diagnostics Unit, Ms Monica coordinates the internal processes and with clinics, hospitals and courier company. She was complimented for her dedication in providing outstanding service and strong commitment in achieving service excellence.
2008
Excellent Service Award
Launched in 1994, the Excellent Service Award (EXSA) is a national award that recognizes individuals who have delivered outstanding service in the public service. In December 2008, two EHI officers, Mr Pok Kwoon Yong and Ms Ruth Lee Mee Lian were awarded EXSA Gold and EXSA Silver respectively for delivering professional and superior service. They are the service role model for EHI staff to emulate.
Minister for Health Award
Dr Ng Lee Ching, Dr Tan Li Kiang and Mr Pok Kwoon Yong, were bestowed the Minister for Health Award for their outstanding performance in safeguarding public health during the Chikungunya Outbreak in 2008. They were instrumental in facilitating early detection of local transmission and had demonstrated superb professionalism working together with officials from the Ministry of Health to keep the disease at bay.
NEA Best Team Award [2nd Place]
A team of EHI’s researchers was awarded NEA Best Team Award in 2008 for their extraordinary efforts during the Chikungunya outbreak in January 2008. The team demonstrated strong teamwork to provide prompt testing of samples during the outbreak period. The team worked 18 hours a day and even on weekends and public holidays to deliver the test results as soon as possible so that follow-up action could be implemented. Their efforts to facilitate early detection of local transmission had earned EHI the status as a National Reference Laboratory for Chikungunya.
Best Team Members: Dr Tan Li Kiang, Mr Pok Kwoon Yong, Ms Grace Yap Siew Lian, Ms Lai Yee Ling, Ms Low Swee Ling, Ms Adeliza Binte Abdul Mutalib, Ms Jeslyn Wong Pei Sze, Ms Vivien Goh Tiang Leng and Ms Cheng Chin Han.
2006
National Day Award
Mrs Lam-Phua Sai Gek was bestowed the Commendation Medal 2006 on National Day for her great contributions to vector control in Singapore. She has played a significant role in Singapore's success with the control of Dengue, Malaria and Japanese Encephalitis, by working behind the scenes in laboratories. Now, as a Principal Research Scientist at Environmental Health Institute, she continues to contribute to the surveillance of these vector borne diseases and to Dengue research. Through the years of work involving mosquito identification and vector control research, she has witnessed and battled with numerous public health issues that include Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis and Dengue outbreaks. She has consistently demonstrated dedication and professionalism. She has been very competent and effective in managing Singapore's only mosquito insectary, training of young officers and dissemination of her knowledge on vector control operations. Her accumulated experiences and commitment have contributed to the continuity of Singapore's knowledge on vector borne diseases.
2005
PS21 Excel Convention 2005 [Bronze Award]
The Orca Team from EHI represented the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and won the bronze award for their innovative WITs project titled 'Saliva as an Early Dengue Diagnostic Tool.' Led by Dr Bijon Kumar Sil, the team developed a simple, cost-effective and yet sensitive technique, which can be used in the early phase of dengue infection. The saliva based anti-dengue IgA (one of the dengue specific biomarkers present in high level in saliva) detction technique is able to detect 60% more dengue cases compared to existing gold-standard dengue antibody based technique (IgM) and agreed 66% with the virus genome-based technique. The test is applicable at all levels of health care system and most people would be more receptive of this saliva-based test, which is easier to administer and less invasive than the typical blood-based test. Furthermore, this method further encourages the use of insect repellent in order to control infection by preventing transmission to mosquito when a patient has a high level of virus in his/her blood, and aid in patient management as early detection improves treatment particularly for secondary infection.
Orca Team: Dr Bijon Kumar Sil, Ms Grace Yap, Ms Chenny Li, Ms Tan Hwee Cheng, Ms Yap Hoon Fang & Ms See E'ein.
Royal Entomological Society Award
Dr Christina Liew's paper on the dispersal and flight range of Aedes mosquitoes was awarded the best publication in Medical and Veterinary Entomology during 2004-2005. Her findings showed that females of both Aedes aegypti (L.) and Ae. albopictus (Skuse) could disperse easily and quickly throughout areas of radius 320m in search of oviposition sites. This contrasts with the general belief that Ae. aegypti seldom flies more than 50m and that control operations can safely be based on such an assumption.
Liew, C. & Curtis, C. F. (2004) Horizontal and vertical dispersal of dengue vector mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, in Singapore. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 18: 351-360.
NEA Trainer Award
Ms Jennifer Yap was awarded the NEA Trainer Award for 2004 by the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI).
Valued Trainer Award
Amongst all the instructors who had conducted lessons at the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) in 2004, Mrs Lam-Phua Sai Gek was selected and awarded the Valued Trainer Award.