Susan Lim

Susan Lim
Alma mater	Monash University University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Surgeon Scientist Entrepreneur
Website	Susan Lim Surgery

Susan Lim FRCS (Edin, Gold Medal); FRCS (Glasg), M.Med Surg (S'pore), Hon MD (NewC), FACS, FAMS is a Singaporean surgeon and medical researcher. She is a pioneer of robotic technology, a philanthropist, and an acclaimed surgeon. She performed the first successful liver transplant in Asia. She is also one of Singapore's most admired citizens: in 2000, she was named the country's 'Spirit of the Century', following a national contest to select a role model for the 21st Century.

Early life

Susan Lim was born in Singapore, where she was educated at Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the Raffles Institution. In 1974, she was awarded a scholarship under the Colombo Plan to study medicine at Monash University in Australia. While there, she won the David Rosenthal Memorial Prize for the highest aggregate marks in the first three pre-clinical years of study. She graduated in 1979 with first class honours.

Professional career

Dr Lim decided early that she wished to pursue a career in surgery.[1] In 1984, she obtained a Fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and was awarded the GB Ong Gold Medal for the most outstanding candidate in that year. [1] In 1985, Dr Lim was offered a Sir Winston Churchill Scholarship (Gulbenkian) to undertake a PhD in transplantation immunology at the University of Cambridge, which she completed in 1988, before returning to Singapore as a Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the National University of Singapore. In 1990, she was appointed Associate Professor in Surgery at the National University of Singapore. Dr Lim made medical history by performing the first successful cadaveric liver transplant in Asia in September 1990.[4][7]

In 1995, she entered private surgical practice focusing on surgery for cancer and the use of robotic technology in surgery. She is Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore for research into adult stem cells. In 2003, Dr Lim launched her own biotechnology company, Stem Cell Technologies i (SCTi), which researches treatments for a range of diseases through the use of stem cell technology. SCTi is in collaboration with the National University of Singapore to research the use of adult stem cells as a potential cure for diabetes. [2]

In 2004, Dr Lim was installed as Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is the youngest fellow and first Singaporean to be conferred this honour. [3] She joins the ranks of Trinity’s Women of Note which include Lilian Alexander, Valentine Leeper, Margot Foster and Dame Margaret Blackwood. [4]

Dr Lim is a volunteer captain in the Singapore Armed Forces and established together with her husband, Deepak Sharma, and friend, Satpal Khattar, the Indiapore Trust with the aim of providing assistance to underprivileged children from countries in the region. The first Singapore charity to be supported by the Indiapore Trust, through a donation of $50,000, was the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which assists struggling parents to meet their children's school expenses. To date, the Trust has donated a science laboratory to the Raffles Junior College, and provided scholarships to underprivileged children in Singapore and India. [5]

Dr Susan Lim was mentioned in the Australian Parliament House of Representatives, Official Hansard for having rendered care to the victims of the Bali bomb blast in 2005. [6] In 2006, Dr Susan Lim was conferred the Monash University Distinguished Alumnus Award. [7] In 2007, Dr Susan Lim was conferred the Honorary Degree in Medicine by The University of New Castle, Australia. [8] Dr Susan Lim is an active clinician and researcher in the area of breast cancer. In 2006, Dr Susan Lim and her Team travelled to the United Arab Emirates to provide free breast screening to Arab women in a Conference organised under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak together with the Susan G Komen Foundation. [9] In 2007, Dr Susan Lim was the guest lecturer at the Australian High Commission and the National Committee for UNIFEM Singapore in celebration of International Women’s Day. [10] In 2008, Dr Susan Lim and her Team provided free breast screening for domestic workers in Singapore in celebration of International Women’s Day. [11] In 2008, the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education honoured Dr Lim's work by naming its 28th award the 'Dr Susan Lim' award. [12]

Wax figures of Dr Lim's hands are part of the display at Madame Tussaud's Exhibition in Singapore.[5]

In 2010, Dr Susan Lim served on the International Scientific Committee of the joint 27th Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) – International Organisation of Breast Cancer Research (IABCR) Genomics, Biology and Breast Cancer Treatment Conference. Dr Susan Lim held an educational workshop and was an invited speaker at this conference. [13]

Dr Susan Lim sits on the Global Advisory Council of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2011. [14]