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Trinity College, 24 May 2005
Press Release: Visionary Singapore Surgeon Honoured In Australia

Trinity College Visionary Singapore Surgeon | Photos from the Installation Ceremony

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Dr Susan Lim with her self portrait *Click on blue text or picture to enlarge. Speaking following her installation as a Fellow of Trinity College, renowned Singapore surgeon, Dr Susan Lim, gave a glimpse of the future she sees for the field of medicine. 'The new medicine encompassing stem cell technology and gene therapy may soon allow us to redesign the human race, produce designer babies, and even clone ourselves for spare parts,' Dr Lim said.

'While the digital revolution has changed what we do, the genetic revolution may change who we are. The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.'

Dr Lim was addressing guests at a dinner to celebrate her formal installation as the first Singaporean, and youngest, Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne.

A Fellowship is the highest honour the College can bestow. With its conferral, Susan Lim joins a select group - limited to 30 at any one time - of highly-distinguished, international community leaders, including Thailand's 'condom-crusader' against poverty and AIDS, Senator Mechai Viravaidja, former Governor-General of Australia, Dr Peter Hollingworth, who presided over Dr Lim's installation ceremony, and the Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, Professor Richard Larkins, who delivered the installation address.

Dr Lim - who performed Asia's first successful liver transplant in 1990, has pioneered robotic surgery, and is leading research into the use of adult stem cells in search of a cure for diabetes - was a resident student at Trinity College during the clinical years of her undergraduate medical studies in Melbourne.

She paid tribute to Trinity in her acceptance speech, saying: 'I believe that my achievements being recognised today are in large part the result of the sound educational and value systems of the College. These helped develop my personal breadth, balance, integrity and international awareness, and allowed me to excel.'

'This honour has invigorated me and added further to my commitment to push the frontiers of medicine,' Dr Lim said.

Guest speaker at the Dinner, General Peter Dawkins, spoke of 'Big Ideas' - those 'moments of transforming change' that have altered the direction of civilization. He postulated that the current 'Big Idea' is biotechnology and, in linking this to Susan Lim, described her as having 'a sense of "destiny" - an instinct that the time is ripe for frontiers to be challenged.'

'Which is why I, personally, believe she is such a stellar choice by Trinity College to be selected as your newest Fellow,' he said.

The installation ceremony, held in the Trinity College Chapel, was attended by leading citizens from many countries, including Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and the USA, as well as Australia, and featured music by the internationally acclaimed Choir of Trinity College.

To mark the occasion, a portrait of Susan Lim by artist John Young was unveiled by Susan's husband, Mr Deepak Sharma. It will hang in the Trinity College Dining Hall.