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Trinity College, The University of Melbourne, 24 May 2005
Press Release: Medical pioneer and prominent surgeon is Trinity's first Singaporean and youngest, Fellow

This press release can also be found at
www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/news/media/2004/20040618.shtml

Dr Susan Lim on the cover of Prestige Magazine Intelligent, energetic, and inspiring, Trinity alumna Dr Susan Lim (1977) is a visionary in constant pursuit of excellence. She is also the newest Fellow of Trinity College. This is the highest honour the College can bestow and is awarded only to individuals of truly outstanding achievement. In 1990, Dr Lim performed the first successful liver transplant in Asia. This in itself would be a career pinnacle for most people. But Susan Lim does not stand still.

Described as a 'medical dynamo', she continued to pioneer new techniques, this time advancing the use of minimal access surgery for breast lumps and cancer, and championing robotic surgery. Now, she is the founder, chair and CEO of Stem Cell Technologies (SCTi) which, in collaboration with the National University of Singapore's Department of Surgery, is conducting path-breaking research into the use of adult stem cells in the quest for a cure for diabetes.

'The field of medicine is so exciting and offers tremendous potential for innovation and pioneering work that will help mankind,' says Dr Lim, who is a volunteer captain in the Singapore Armed Forces, and whose assistance to others also includes philanthropic support.

In 2000, when Susan Lim married Deepak Sharma, head of Citigroup Private Bank for Asia-Pacific, the Middle-East, and Japan, the couple established the Indiapore Trust Fund, with the aim of awarding scholarships to assist 'children of potential from underprivileged areas in Singapore and the region'.

'The nurturing of a creative and entrepreneurial spirit in our young is fundamental for Singapore, especially in the face of globalisation and sweeping technological change,' explains Dr Lim, who is also a member of the school advisory board of Singapore's prestigious Raffles Junior College.

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.

Born in Singapore, Susan Lim's education brought her to Australia in 1974 on a Colombo Plan Scholarship to study medicine.

As a resident student at Trinity College, she participated in the College's medical tutorial program and in a number of College sports including swimming, running, rowing and tennis. The Warden of Trinity College at the time, Dr Evan Burge, recognised 'from the outset' that 'there was something special about this student.'

She completed her MBBS with first-class honours in 1979, sharing the prize for the highest aggregate marks in the first three pre-clinical years.

In 1984 Dr Lim became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, receiving the GB Ong Gold Medal for that year's most outstanding candidate in General Surgery. The following year, she was awarded a Churchill Scholarship to pursue a doctorate in transplantation immunology at the University of Cambridge.

Completing her PhD in 1988, Dr Lim returned to Singapore in 1989 and rose to become Associate Professor in Surgery at the National University of Singapore, and Senior Consultant General Surgeon at the National University Hospital.

She relinquished these positions in 1995 to launch a career in private surgical practice but, in addition to her active private practice work, has recently accepted an adjunct appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at NUS for the purpose of steering the adult stem cell research program.

In 2000, Dr Lim received Singapore's 'Spirit of the Century' award in recognition of her personal excellence and global achievements. This award was determined by a public vote conducted through the Business Times of Singapore.

Dr Lim was also chosen through a public poll to have her hands immortalized at Madame Tussaud's in Singapore.

Dr Lim has kept in close touch with Trinity and is an active supporter of the College. She described her election as a Fellow as 'too amazing for words' and said that she was 'most honoured'.

With the number of Fellows of Trinity College limited to 30 at any one time, her election to this honorary role sees Susan Lim join a select group of highly-distinguished, international community, academic, business, and professional leaders, including Thailand's 'condom-crusader' against poverty and AIDS, Senator Mechai Viravaidja.

She will be formally installed as a Fellow in a ceremony at the College involving the internationally-acclaimed Choir of Trinity College.