Diana Koh Fund
One of the hallmarks of medical education is the legacy it leaves for future practitioners and researchers to uplift and build upon. Young people are the cornerstone of future medical advancements, their enthusiasm as well as their novel ideas should be supported and welcomed in academia.
The Diana Koh Fund, established in memory of the late Ms Diana Koh, made a generous gift of S$500,000 towards cancer research with the purpose to provide support to our junior researchers and graduate students working on cancer research to implement their own independent projects and explore research interests. It allows young researchers more directional control over their learning and provides tangible support to bring these ideas into fruition.
We thank the Diana Koh Fund and Ms Janet Lim, Executor of the Fund and Ms Koh’s cousin, for the kind generosity, and their trust in CSI and NUS Medicine to nurture the next generation of cancer researchers.
The Diana Koh Breakthroughs in Cancer Learning Series 2026 will be held at Singapore Botanical Gardens on 26 September. The inaugural event was held on 4 May 2024 followed by the second installment on 26 July 2025. Watch the video recording of the inaugural event below. You may also refer to the YouTube playlist here for the entire series of recordings from the two events.
Diana Koh Young Innovator Prize
Diana Koh Young Innovator Prize
The Diana Koh Fund, established in memory of the late Ms Diana Koh, made a generous gift towards cancer research with the purpose to provide support to our junior researchers and graduate students working on cancer research. The Diana Koh Young Innovator Prize was established to recognize outstanding students and postdocs who have made significant breakthroughs in cancer research.
The prize is governed by the following conditions:
- Subject to rule 3 below, a cash prize valued at $1,500 each will be awarded to the PhD student and the postdoctoral fellow with the most outstanding work done in the past three years in their respective field of cancer research.
- Each award is to be given to a single recipient.
- No award will be made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit.
- This gift shall be governed by the University Statutes and Regulations, specifically, Statute 7 on Gifts to the University and the corresponding Regulation.
Eligibility for PhD Student Prize
- NUSMed or CSI PhD graduates whose conferment date falls within 1st Mar 2025 to 31st Mar 2026
- Current NUSMed or CSI PhD students
Each shortlisted candidate will have an in-person interview with the Selection Committee, including a 5-minute presentation explaining the significance of his/her work to a lay (non-scientific) audience, followed by a Q&A session.
Eligibility for Postdoctoral Fellow Prize
- Current NUSMed or CSI postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and senior research scientists
Each shortlisted candidate will have an in-person interview with the Selection Committee, including a 5-minute presentation explaining the significance of his/her work to a lay (non-scientific) audience, followed by a Q&A session.
Application Procedures
Please submit completed application form (attached) together with supporting documents in a single PDF file to Ms Low Li Si (lowlisi@nus.edu.sg) by 12th June 2026 (Friday). Please refer to the application form for the list of supporting documents.
To ensure that your application is duly received, please indicate ‘Diana Koh Young Innovator Prize 2026 – PhD Student/Postdoctoral Fellow’ as the subject title of your email submission.
Prize Presentation
The prize will be presented to the winners at the inaugural Diana Koh Breakthroughs in Cancer Learning Series seminar taking place on 26th September 2026, Saturday. Prize winners must be present at the seminar to give a short presentation.
Diana Koh Young Innovator Grant
Diana Koh Young Innovator Grant
Established through the generous gift of the Diana Koh Fund in memory of the late Ms Diana Koh, this grant supports early-career investigators in pursuing bold and innovative ideas to advance cancer research and care. It also aims to foster collaboration across disciplines. Applicants with early-stage concepts are warmly encouraged to apply, as preliminary data is not required.
Eligibility and Additional Information
The grant award is governed by the following conditions:
- Proposals should be original basic, translational or clinical cancer science projects that are not currently funded by any internal or external grants.
- Preliminary data is not required, and applicants with novel early-stage ideas are strongly encouraged to apply.
- If applications are of equal merit, priority will be given to projects on sarcoma.
- Only postdocs (research fellow, senior research fellow, research scientist, senior research scientist) from NUSMed, CSI and NCIS are eligible to apply.
- Only early-career clinicians (residents/ senior residents and associate consultants) with primary or affiliate appointments with NCIS* are eligible to apply.
(*please contact Leng Hong at leng_hong_neo@nuhs.edu.sg to confirm your affiliation.)
- Up to SGD$20,000 will be provided for one year for each individual project.
- Up to SGD$30,000 will be provided for one year for each collaborative project with different research groups. No personnel of the same group is eligible to form a collaborative team.
- The main applicant’s and co-applicant’s supervisor and HOD must indicate support on the application.
- No grants will be awarded unless there are proposals of sufficient merit.
Application Procedure
Please complete the attached grant proposal form (file name: Name_DKF2026 Proposal) with your CV (file name: Name_DKF2026 CV), both in PDF and send it to CSI Grants (csibox21@nus.edu.sg) by 14th June 2026 (Sunday).
To ensure that your application is duly received, please indicate ‘Diana Koh Young Innovator Grant 2026’ as the subject title of your email submission.
Award Presentation
The prize will be presented to the winners at the inaugural Diana Koh Breakthroughs in Cancer Learning Series seminar on 26th Sept 2026. Details will be confirmed.
Diana Koh Breakthroughs in Cancer Learning Series
These learning series will focus on breakthroughs in cancer research, spanning the entire spectrum from basic science to translational and clinical applications. This innovative cancer seminar series aims to bring together junior researchers to collectively nominate internationally-renowned speakers.
An integral aspect of this series is the emphasis on fostering meaningful interactions between our young researchers and the distinguished speakers. After each seminar, students and postdocs will have dedicated sessions to engage in discussions, seek mentorship, and further explore the presented topics.
Beyond the academic sphere, the seminar series holds a second crucial goal: raising public awareness about cancer research. Currently, cancer-related seminars are often limited to the academic community, creating an unmet need for increased awareness among the general population. To address this, all seminars will be made open to the public, as well as recorded and made available on social media platforms, providing a wider audience with insights into cancer risk factors, screening techniques, the importance of early detection, and the latest breakthroughs in research and treatment.