Fostering a Nurturing Environment for Research

When Clinical Assistant Professor Tira Tan started her career as a medical oncologist, it was an exciting time to be in the field. Innovations in cancer treatment were progressing rapidly thanks to generous funding towards cancer research and technological advances.  

“We were able to go beyond just surgery and chemotherapy to tailor treatments to each individual cancer patient. As a result, the right patients were getting the right drugs with reduced side effects,” she said.
 

Hooked on research

Clin Asst Prof Tan became involved in research at an early stage of her career. When she was a trainee in medical oncology, an area that piqued her interest was drug development and early phase clinical trials. 

“At that time, there were quite a lot of novel therapies coming in. We were able to match patients who have run out of treatment options with these newly available therapies. It was incredibly gratifying for me to see them responding to the new treatments,” she recalled.   

What Clin Asst Prof Tan also found fulfilling was when many of the new drug therapies she was involved in became available for clinical use. “To be part of that process and to know the impact you have made on defining future standards of care and the many lives of patients globally,” she said, “That was what got me hooked on research.” 

With guidance from her mentor Professor Rebecca Dent, Clin Asst Prof Tan eventually narrowed her research focus to Triple Negative breast cancer, regarded then as an aggressive, incurable disease, but for which survivor rates have improved dramatically since.
 

Creating a nurturing research environment

One of the biggest barriers to doing research, pointed out Clin Asst Prof Tan, is the lack of time. With clinical practice, teaching, administrative work and importantly family commitments taking up the bulk of a doctor’s time, it can be a challenge pursuing research ideas and projects. 

“Having protected time is really important for us to do research. A huge amount of administrative work is involved in running clinical trials, much of which happens outside of office hours. Carving out that time gives us space not just to work, but to think and be creative,” she explained. 

Hence, in her current role as Deputy Head of the Division of Clinical Trials and Epidemiology and Divisional Deputy Director of Research at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Clin Asst Prof Tan makes sure that her fellow clinician-researchers receive the necessary guidance and are well-supported – just as she herself had been in her younger days – as they delve into alternative treatment modalities that could improve cancer patients’ survivorship and quality of life.

Cultivating the next generation

Whether it’s engaging with junior college students interested in the field of oncology or encouraging her junior colleagues to jump on the research bandwagon, Clin Asst Prof Tan has put considerable efforts towards cultivating the next generation of medical researchers. 

For example, she would bring in her younger colleagues as co-investigators when running her own clinical trials, using these as opportunities to show them the ropes. 

“Research is often regarded as something foreign and esoteric, but in truth when you get started, you’ll be mentored and guided. Once you jump in, you will realise – it is not too bad at all,” she quipped. 
 

Learn more about CTDA

Find out more about the details of the Clinical Trialist Development Award (CTDA), and learn how you can be a part of it by visiting here.