Celebrating Our Faculty’s Recognition at the NMRC Awards 2026 – Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

We are delighted to share that our faculty have been recognised with prestigious National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Awards this year. Their work reflects the School’s commitment to advancing impactful, interdisciplinary research that strengthens population health in the region.
Associate Professor Mikael Hartman was awarded the Clinician Scientist Award (Senior Investigator). He is also a clinician-scientist and breast cancer researcher at National University Hospital and National University Cancer Institute Singapore. His research focuses on breast cancer epidemiology, genetics, prevention, and population health outcomes, with contributions to international studies on cancer risk and precision medicine. He also serves on the NMRC Clinician Innovator Award Review Panel (2023–2026), supporting the evaluation of translational and healthcare innovation proposals within Singapore’s national medical research ecosystem.
Assistant Professor Borame Lee Dickens was awarded the HPHSR Clinician Scientist Award (Investigator). She is an infectious disease modeller whose research uses mathematical and simulation models to study disease transmission and burden, translating quantitative evidence into public health policy. Her awarded project focuses on evaluating next-generation influenza vaccines in Singapore, including their effectiveness, vaccination demand, stockpile requirements, and broader health and economic impact. Her work will help inform outbreak preparedness and vaccination strategies to reduce disease burden and healthcare resource utilisation.
Assistant Professor Saima Hilal was awarded Clinician Scientist Award (Investigator). She is a clinician-scientist and epidemiologist whose research focuses on vascular cognitive impairment, dementia, brain ageing, and the use of multimodal biomarkers and artificial intelligence for early disease detection and prevention. Her work integrates population-based epidemiology, neuroimaging, blood biomarkers, genetics, and advanced analytics to better understand cognitive decline across diverse Asian populations. Through major longitudinal ageing and dementia studies in Singapore, her research supports scalable and clinically relevant strategies for dementia prevention, healthy ageing, and precision medicine.
Congratulations to our faculty on this well-deserved recognition and for their continued contributions towards shaping the future of public health.

source