In addition to her role as Senior Principal Radiographer from the Radiological Sciences Academic Clinical Programme (RADSC ACP), Ms Azizah Bte Mohamed Afif, commits much of her time and energy to the pursuit of research. Specifically, her interest lies in how enhanced radiography methodologies can be used to improve the health outcomes of kidney patients in Singapore and beyond.Among the clinician researchers at SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC), and even across Singapore, Ms Azizah Bte Mohamed Afif, stands out as one of the few shining representatives from the allied health community.Trained as a radiographer in the Radiological Sciences Academic Clinical Programme (RADSC ACP), Azizah has over the years gotten deeper and deeper into research, garnering up two master’s degrees in the process and is currently in the midst of pursuing her PhD in “Developing methods to reduce functional loss in transplant kidneys”.She explains that her first true realisation of how much she enjoyed research came just after completing her first master’s degree. “It was in 2012, and I still remember the thrill and rush of receiving the conference acceptance letter and getting my paper on ‘A sonographic Doppler study of the hepatic vein, portal vein and hepatic artery in liver cirrhosis: Correlation of hepatic hemodynamics with clinical Child Pugh score in Singapore’ published.”More than just the satisfaction of getting her research findings published, Azizah also began to realise that as a published author she was in a better position to change some of the protocols within her department to facilitate better patient management.“Being able to do something to improve patient care really inspired me to keep going and affirmed my decision to pursue research,” shares Azizah.
In 2021, after much perseverance and determination, Azizah successfully completed her MCI. But this was just the first step towards getting her PhD, which came with its own set of challenges, such as having to study for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), as well as apply for a National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Research Training Fellowship (RTF).Nevertheless, through all these obstacles, Azizah has managed to stay positive, knowing that what she is doing is meaningful.Shedding light on her PhD research topic which revolves around studying ultrasound technology, and identifying potential biomarkers in kidney transplant patients:
"I actually had three of my family members suffer from kidney failure. Two of them, including my dad, passed away due to various complications. The third is awaiting a kidney transplant. So, in a very real sense my thesis topic is something that is close to my heart.""Throughout the scholarship application process, my colleagues from SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC were very supportive and helpful.""I'm very excited to work in SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC, not only for my PhD, but for the longer run. Together, I hope that we will be able to raise the profile of clinician researchers and encourage more youths, especially in the allied health divisions, to join us in improving health outcomes through research."*The SingHealth Duke-NUS PhD Scholarship for Clinician Researchers supports research candidates by funding tuition fees at local universities over a 4-year duration.
You can find out more about the programme here.
Applications have closed but do look out for the next Call for Applications here.
