It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Can’t buy me love: TikTok users seek authenticity in sponsored content, dismissing top influencers in favor of smaller creators
Research from uOttawa’s Telfer School of Management sheds light on nuances of consumer behavior on TikTok, providing insights into how brands can better engage audiences
University of Ottawa
High-profile and popular influencers on TikTok should rethink their approach to brand-sponsored campaigns since followers better engage and trust the authenticity of smaller creators over super influencers when it comes to paid content.
The study published in Psychology & Marketing from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management aims to help brands and businesses develop more successful strategies on the social media platform by delving into how users interact with sponsored user-generated content. They found engagement around brand-sponsored content mirrors TikTok’s own image as an unfiltered, raw, and authentic platform.
Consumers questioned the authenticity of super influencers (over half a million followers), showing less engagement with their sponsored posts relative to their non-sponsored content in contrast to smaller creators (15K followers) who did not experience a drop when promoting similar sponsored content. The niche engagement felt by smaller influencers in promoting sponsored content can be attributed to their size, which makes them able to foster a stronger sense of trust.
Although popular influencers may face challenges with sponsored content, when they promote smaller, lesser-known brands, engagement remains strong. However, endorsing large, well-known brands often results in lower consumer engagement due to perceived lack of authenticity.
“This likely stems from the perception that more popular creators prioritize commercial interests and monetary gains over genuine connections with their audience and the sheer size of their audience may dilute the personal connection with viewers,” says Argiro Kliamenakis, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Telfer. “This issue is exacerbated when large influencers promote large brands, as these brands are often perceived as inauthentic and profit-driven, leading to lower engagement with this type of content. Therefore, larger brands may find greater value in sponsoring multiple smaller creators and employing other promotional strategies with larger influencers to encourage organic content.”
With authenticity instrumental to reaching audiences, brand managers should exercise discretion when choosing brand partnerships and look to leverage the authenticity of micro-influencers or niche content creators with engaged followings which can lead to favorable responses to sponsored content. Smaller brands can also engage with more popular creators to take advantage of their influence and visibility without sacrificing consumer engagement.
“This research provides valuable insights into how brands can effectively engage audiences on TikTok, shedding light on the nuances of consumer behavior on this platform, which can help brands and businesses develop more successful strategies,” said Kliamenakis, who points to the emerging popularity of TikTok Lives offering another aspect that needs to be looked at. “It would be valuable to investigate how consumers respond to these emerging content formats and how they might influence engagement and perceived authenticity.”
The University of Notre Dame's College of Science has announced the creation of a new, strategic faculty position: professor for the public understanding of science. This role is designed to enhance the college’s visibility both nationally and internationally. Renowned chemist and science communicator Kate Biberdorf, popularly known as “Kate the Chemist,” will be the first to hold this prestigious position, starting Sept. 1, 2024.
“Dr. Biberdorf’s appointment reflects the College of Science’s commitment to fostering a deeper public appreciation of and engagement with science. Our goal is to bridge the gap between scientific communities and the general public, ensuring scientific knowledge is widely disseminated and valued by society at large,” said Santiago Schnell, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science.
The creation of the professor for the public understanding of science role aligns with Notre Dame’s strategic vision to elevate the University’s visibility as a respected research institution on the global stage. This position will foster meaningful engagement with the public, complementing the college’s efforts to facilitate effective collaborations to expand the reach and impact of Notre Dame’s research and scholarship.
The professor for the public understanding of science will work to make science accessible to all and to build public trust in science. This will be achieved through a comprehensive platform of activities that engage the local community and help coordinate and amplify these efforts through national and international platforms such as social media, public lectures, articles, books and appearances on television, radio and podcasts. In this role, and with a new, collaborative makerspace, Biberdorf will leverage these platforms to make science more accessible and engaging to diverse audiences.
“I am incredibly honored to join the faculty of Notre Dame this fall. My goal is to raise the public understanding of science, and I’m optimistic that the brand-new scientific engagement makerspace will help to highlight and amplify the groundbreaking research happening on campus. With a little help from fire and explosions, we will elevate Notre Dame’s standing in the worldwide scientific community,” Biberdorf said.
Biberdorf is a celebrated scientist known for her dynamic and entertaining approach to science communication. She holds a doctorate in chemistry and has gained widespread acclaim for her ability to make complex scientific concepts understandable and exciting. As “Kate the Chemist,” she has inspired millions through her books, live demonstrations and media appearances, promoting science literacy and enthusiasm among people of all ages. She has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Today Show, and presented the 2023 Christmas Lecture at Notre Dame.
Her appointment underscores Notre Dame’s commitment to science outreach and education. Biberdorf’s expertise and passion for science communication will be invaluable in achieving the college’s goals of enhancing scientific literacy and public engagement.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kate Biberdorf as our first professor for the public understanding of science,” Schnell said. “Her expertise, passion and dynamic approach to science communication will foster a deeper appreciation of science while inspiring the next generation of scientists. We also believe that the professor for the public understanding of science can provide the training, tools and platform needed to help our faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students connect their work to society and make it relevant to people’s everyday lives. We look forward to seeing the positive impact Dr. Biberdorf will have on our community and beyond.”
The new position is part of a comprehensive plan to integrate public engagement into the fabric of Notre Dame’s scientific endeavors. As the inaugural professor for the public understanding of science, Biberdorf will assess the current state of public engagement in science within the college, identify key stakeholders and set clear and measurable goals for increasing public engagement in science. This college-wide strategy will coordinate, elevate and expand the reach of efforts across the faculty in the College of Science.
Biberdorf’s appointment is a significant milestone in Notre Dame’s journey to emerge as a leader in public science engagement. Her start date of Sept. 1 marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the College of Science as it continues its demonstrated track record of excellence in research, education and now public outreach.
Hear Kate Biberdorf speak about her passion for science education on Notre Dame Stories, the official podcast of the University of Notre Dame.
U-M research forecasts warmer, rainier winter storms ahead for Great Lakes region
University of Michigan
Anyone who’s spent their winter months around the Great Lakes has probably had the uncanny experience of living through three seasons in a single weekend. According to new research from the University of Michigan, these wild weather swings are poised to become even more common in the future.
Behind this forecast is an analysis spanning decades of data about large storm systems known as midlatitude cyclones or extratropical cyclones.
These are important drivers of winter weather in the Great Lakes region, but the extent of their connection to the region’s mercurial climate patterns has been underexplored, said U-M researcher Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome.
"We’ve been noticing a lot of changes in wintertime climate. Sometimes there’s warming, other times you have extreme cold," said Fujisaki-Manome, an associate research scientist in the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, or CIGLR.
"Extratropical cyclones are the predominant weather feature during that time," she continued. "Asking about their effect on the changes and fluctuations we see in the Great Lakes region is a natural question that nobody has really looked into."
The research is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
On one hand, the new analysis of historical weather data underscored what researchers knew about the cyclones. The storms, like the day-to-day weather of the Great Lakes region, are highly variable. But within that inconsistency, the researchers resolved a significant trend.
On average, the air masses carried by these storms are warming at a faster clip than the background climate warming level in the Great Lakes region. The storms are also carrying more moisture, which can fall as rain especially in the southern parts of the region.
"The year-to-year variability—the strength of the storms, their location, their frequency—is wild. It’s all over the place," said Abby Hutson, the corresponding author of the new report and assistant research scientist at CIGLR, which is housed in the School for Environment and Sustainability.
"But according to historical data sets, the midlatitude storms rolling through the area are getting warmer and wetter, and their tracks are shifting northward."
This combination has a couple implications, Hutson said. For one, storm centers with high winds and a wintry mix of snow and rain will become more likely for the northern part of our region, creating treacherous conditions for travel and shipping.
It also heightens the likelihood that winters will be characterized by more liquid water from rain, reduced freezing and melting snow and ice. That could, in turn, lead to more flooding, especially in coastal areas.
For this study, the researchers tracked the average characteristics of winter cyclones that traveled through a region that includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario between 1959 and 2021.
This allowed the team to discover the trends in the cyclones. But Hutson and Fujisaki-Manome stressed that more work is needed to understand how what’s happening on average is influencing individual events.
For instance, although the storms are carrying more moisture over time, the team did not find an increase in average precipitation as either rain or snow.
"On average, we’re not seeing that," Hutson said. "But our potential for extreme precipitation is certainly going up."
Ryan Glassman also contributed to this project, which was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as an undergraduate research fellow from Valparaiso University.
“Our research showed that there were advantages for older people to receive high-dose or adjuvanted flu vaccines over the standard vaccine,” said Jennifer Ku, PhD, MPH, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. “While seasonal variation exists, it is expected that seniors will continue to benefit from flu vaccines that are stronger than the traditional standard-dose vaccines.”
Vaccination is the best way to prevent flu and reduce the severity of flu symptoms. Typically, flu vaccines are made by incubating the viruses in chicken eggs. To improve flu vaccine performance and its production, high-dose, adjuvanted, and recombinant vaccines became available. High-dose vaccine is four times higher-dose than regular flu vaccines, while adjuvanted vaccines have an additional ingredient to boost the immune system. Recombinant vaccines are produced using recombinant technology that does not rely on eggs in the manufacturing process; they were not widely administered within Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and so were not included in this study.
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made a recommendation to use high-dose, adjuvanted, or recombinant vaccines over standard dose vaccines for adults aged 65 years and older. Individuals in this age group are at increased risk for severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to flu.
The study included nearly a half-million people aged 65 years and older who received one or more doses of flu vaccine during the 2022-2023 flu season.
As compared to standard dose flu vaccine, the vaccine effectiveness of high-dose and adjuvanted flu vaccine against hospitalization for flu was estimated as 25% and 62%, respectively.
As compared to standard dose flu vaccine, the vaccine effectiveness of high-dose and adjuvanted flu vaccine against health care visits for flu was estimated at 9% and 17%, respectively.
“This was the first real-world study to compare high-dose and adjuvanted flu vaccines to the more traditional standard-dose egg-based vaccines after the preferential recommendation was made by ACIP.” said the senior author on the paper, Hung Fu Tseng, PhD, MPH, a senior scientist with the Department of Research & Evaluation. “Our study findings support ACIP’s recommendation to vaccinate seniors with high-dose and adjuvanted flu vaccines.”
Journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Article Title
Comparative effectiveness of licensed influenza vaccines in preventing influenza-related medical encounters and hospitalizations in the 2022-2023 influenza season among adults ≥65 years of age
Article Publication Date
21-Aug-2024
Hydrogels can play Pong by “remembering” previous patterns of electrical simulation
Credit: Cell Reports Physical Science/Strong et al.
Non-living hydrogels can play the video game Pong and improve their gameplay with more experience, researchers report August 23 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Physical Science. The researchers hooked hydrogels up to a virtual game environment and then applied a feedback loop between the hydrogel’s paddle—encoded by the distribution of charged particles within the hydrogel—and the ball’s position—encoded by electrical stimulation. With practice, the hydrogel’s accuracy improved by up to 10%, resulting in longer rallies. The researchers say that this demonstrates the ability of non-living materials to use “memory” to update their understanding of the environment, though more research is needed before it could be said that hydrogels can “learn.”
“Ionic hydrogels can achieve the same kind of memory mechanics as more complex neural networks,” says first author and robotics engineer Vincent Strong of the University of Reading. “We showed that hydrogels are not only able to play Pong; they can actually get better at it over time.”
The researchers were inspired by a previous study that showed that brain cells in a dish can learn to play Pong if they are electrically stimulated in a way that gives them feedback on their performance.
“Our paper addresses the question of whether simple artificial systems can compute closed loops similar to the feedback loops that allow our brains to control our bodies,” says corresponding author and biomedical engineer Yoshikatsu Hayashi of the University of Reading. “The basic principle in both neurons and hydrogels is that ion migration and distributions can work as a memory function that can correlate with sensory-motor loops in the Pong world. In neurons, ions run within the cells; in the gel, they run outside.”
Hydrogels are complex polymers that become jelly like when hydrated—gelatin and agar are natural examples. In this case, the researchers used an “electro-active polymer,” meaning a hydrogel that can respond to electrical stimulation thanks to the presence of ions (charged particles) in the media surrounding its polymer matrix. When the hydrogel is electrically stimulated, the ions move, dragging water molecules with them, and this movement causes the hydrogel to temporarily change shape.
“The rate at which the hydrogel de-swells takes much longer than the time it takes for it to swell in the first place, meaning that the ions’ next motion is influenced by its previous motion, which is sort of like memory occurring,” says Strong. “The continued rearrangement of ions within the hydrogel is based off of previous rearrangements within the hydrogel, continuing back to when it was first made and had a homogeneous distribution of ions.”
To test whether the hydrogel’s physical “memory” could enable it to play Pong, the researchers used electrodes to connect the hydrogel to a virtual game environment and started up the game by sending the ball in a random direction. They used electrical stimulation to inform the hydrogel of the ball’s position and measured the movement of ions within the hydrogel to determine the position of its paddle.
As the Pong games played out, the researchers measured the gel’s hit rate and examined whether its accuracy improved. They showed that, with more experience, the hydrogel was able to hit the ball more frequently, resulting in longer rallies. Whereas the Pong-playing neurons achieved their optimal ball-skills within around 10 minutes, the hydrogel took closer to 20 minutes to reach its maximum Pong potential.
“Over time, as the ball moves, the gel gathers a memory of all motion. And then the paddle moves to accommodate that ball within the simulated environment,” says Strong. “The ions move in a way that maps a memory of all motion over time, and this “memory” results in improved performance.”
Because most existing AI algorithms are derived from neural networks, the researchers say that hydrogels represent a different kind of “intelligence” that could be used to develop new, simpler algorithms. In the future, the researchers plan to further probe the hydrogel’s “memory” by examining the mechanisms behind its memory and by testing its ability to perform other tasks.
“In our follow-up projects, we are thinking about how to extract the algorithm from the hydrogels that allows memory acquisition,” says co-author William Holderbaum of the University of Reading.
“We’ve shown that memory is emergent within the hydrogels, but the next step is to see whether we can also show specifically that learning is occurring,” says Strong.
###
This research was supported by Process Vision Ltd.
Cell Reports Physical Science (@CellRepPhysSci), published by Cell Press, is a broad-scope, open access journal that publishes cutting-edge research across the spectrum of the physical sciences, including chemistry, physics, materials science, energy science, engineering, and related interdisciplinary work. Visit: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/home. To receive Cell Press media alerts, please contact press@cell.com.
Electro-active Polymer Hydrogels Exhibit Emergent Memory When Embodied in a Simulated Game-Environment
Article Publication Date
22-Aug-2024
Scientists call for an update in environmental decision making that takes human rights into account
University of Plymouth
Human wellbeing is connected to nature for food, climate regulation and culture, making the protection of nature a human rights matter.
Added to that, recent developments in international human rights law highlight that governments need to consider human-nature connections when making decisions that may affect the environment.
In a commentary published in npj Ocean Sustainability, an interdisciplinary group of researchers – including experts in ecosystem services, environmental governance, deep-sea ecology, and law – underscore that these developments should prompt a rethink of how any environmental decisions that hold the potential to impact biodiversity are made.
They argue this rethink should centre around assessments of foreseeable harm, and that any ability to foresee harms to human wellbeing is sufficient to prompt precautionary action to avert it.
Doing this would mark a significant evolution of current environmental decision-making which, they say, is presently “constrained by a perceived need for quantified certainty in impact assessment”.
Critically, the authors outline that human rights law shows that available evidence should be integrated into decision-making, even when considered uncertain.
Considering this, they have called for all environmental decisions globally to take account of key scientific and ecological evidence – including the knowledge and cultures held by local communities – and new ecosystem system service risk-based research methods that can provide an assessment of precaution, when they are making environmental decisions.
This, the researchers say, will ensure that the ecosystems vital for human wellbeing across the planet are appropriately accounted for in decision making.
The article was authored by researchers from the University of Plymouth and the University of Strathclyde, working as part of the One Ocean Hub – an international programme aiming to support fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean for people and planet.
Dr Holly Niner, Global Challenge Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth and lead author, said: “There are significant parts of our planet – for example, the deep ocean – that we currently know very little about. However, we know that these regions are critical for human wellbeing for global society. Uncertainty in understanding and lack of formalised, statistically certain evidence of the dependency of people to these regions should not be reason to exclude these connections in decisions-making that pose a potential risk of harm. If we are to protect the planet and human wellbeing, we need to consider the full picture and accept that biodiversity cannot and does not exist in a silo. This article makes the argument for addressing this and setting the critical connections between people and nature at the centre of decision-making.”
The study’s senior author Dr Sian Rees, Associate Professor of Social-Ecological Systems (Research) at the University of Plymouth, added: “Biodiversity loss is not just about a quantified decline in habitats and species, or a tradeable good in cost-benefit analysis. If we are to truly change our approach to protecting it now and for future generations, we need to challenge the current context for all environmental decision-making. We can start to do that by ensuring biodiversity loss is considered a human rights issue, and that environmental decision-making needs to align with advances in international human rights law.”
The challenges of environmental decision-making: the case of the deep ocean
They account for around 60% of Earth’s surface area, but large areas of the deep ocean remain completely unexplored. What is known about them, however, is that the habitats and biodiversity they support contributed to the health of the entire planet and global humanity.
Writing in the npj Ocean Sustainability article, the researchers highlight how it is possible to broadly describe the ecological and spiritual connections between people and the deep-sea via methods developed through ecosystem services research.
Accordingly, the authors argue, sufficient evidence is available to assess foreseeable harm and to integrate these values, and precautionary approaches, into any decisions that pose a potential risk loss or degradation to biodiversity and human wellbeing.
Connecting ecosystem services research and human rights to revamp the application of the precautionary principle
Chlamydia can settle in the intestine
University of Würzburg
image:
Immunofluorescence staining of human gastric cells grown in a microplate and infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. Blue: cell nuclei, green: C. trachomatis, grey: actin.
Credit: Pargev Hovhannisyan / University of Wuerzburg
People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to other people during unprotected sex. The pathogens usually cause no or only mild symptoms at first, such as itching in the vagina, penis or anus. If the infection is noticed, it can be easily treated with antibiotics. If this does not happen, the bacteria can cause serious problems, including infertility and cancer.
A phenomenon is known from everyday clinical practice that can occur after successful antibiotic treatment: when people who have already been treated come to the doctor with a new chlamydia infection, they are often infected with exactly the same strains of bacteria as the previous infection.
"It is therefore reasonable to assume that the bacteria find a niche in the body where they are not yet vulnerable, that they form a permanent reservoir there and can become active again later," says Professor Thomas Rudel, chlamydia expert and Head of the Chair of Microbiology at the Biocentre of Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. This phenomenon is known as persistence. It is problematic because the chlamydia that persist in the body become increasingly resistant to antibiotics over time.
Intestinal Organoids Experimentally Infected with Chlamydia
In which niche do the bacteria persist? Experiments on mouse models have shown that chlamydia can persist in the intestines of animals. And in humans, too, the bacteria seem to make themselves at home in precisely this place. This is reported by the research groups of Thomas Rudel and Sina Bartfeld in the journal PLOS Pathogens. Professor Bartfeld worked at JMU until 2021; she now heads the Department of Medical Biotechnology at Technische Universität Berlin.
The researchers identified the intestine as a niche with the help of artificial organs in miniature format, so-called organoids. These are structures produced in the laboratory from human intestinal cells that are very similar in structure and function to the model organ.
The teams from Würzburg and Berlin tried to infect the intestinal organoids with chlamydia. They discovered that the inner cell layer of the organoids is very resistant to the bacteria: the pathogens could only penetrate there if the cell epithelium was damaged. From the blood side, however, the chlamydia were able to infect very efficiently. "In this case, we repeatedly found the persistent forms of the bacteria, which can be clearly identified with their typical shape under the electron microscope," says JMU researcher Pargev Hovhannisyan, first author of the publication.
Clinical Studies and Further Experiments Must Follow
Transferred to the human organism, this would mean that chlamydia infection with subsequent persistence can only occur with difficulty via the inner side of the intestine, but very easily via the blood. However, whether this actually happens in the human body has yet to be confirmed in clinical studies, says Thomas Rudel.
The next step for Thomas Rudel and Sina Bartfeld is to to find out whether the chlamydia select certain cell types for their persistence – no easy task, as the intestine consists of hundreds of different cell types. But perhaps it is also factors from the surrounding tissue that trigger persistence. These and other details are now to be investigated.
Different Chlamydia Forms in Human Intestinal Cells
Electron microscopy image of human intestinal cells infected with Chlamydia trachomatis and harboring morphologically different forms of chlamydia.
Infection of human organoids supports an intestinal niche for Chlamydia trachomatis
Article Publication Date
22-Aug-2024
Pesco-vegetarian diets best for reducing risk of death in elderly
Pure vegetarian diets not as protective against certain neurological diseases in elderly
Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center
A variety of vegetarian diets appear to protect against risk of mortality and contributing conditions, with a pesco-vegetarian diet — which includes fish — providing the most protection against risk in very elderly people, according to a new study.
Researchers at Loma Linda University Health found that vegetarian diets are associated with lower risk for all-cause mortality and many cause-specific mortalities, especially among males and in middle-aged subjects. However, slightly higher risks were observed among very elderly vegetarians for neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia, and Parkinson’s Disease. Despite this, the pesco-vegetarian diet continued to offer a small but noticeable advantage over other vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets, even in elderly people.
Gary Fraser, MBCHB, PhD, distinguished professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study, said a vegetarian diet appears to offer protection from risk of death through middle-aged years, but once it helps people get into their 80s that overall advantage seems to disappear for those adhering to a strict vegetarian diet.
“These increased risks of neurological conditions among vegetarians in their 80s weren’t huge, but something is going on there that we shouldn’t ignore if we wish the vegetarian advantage to continue for all vegetarians in their later years,” Fraser said.
The study, Cause-specific and all-cause mortalities in vegetarian compared to non-vegetarian participants from the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort, was published August 2 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The study used data from the Adventist Health Study-2, a massive cohort of nearly 96,000 people who identify as Seventh-day Adventist and lived in the United States and Canada during the study’s baseline recruitment between 2002 and 2007, with follow-up through 2015. Data from that group has been used for numerous studies on health, disease, and mortality over the years. This study analyzed data from more than 88,000 subjects and approximately 12,500 deaths in the study cohort. Dietary data were collected using a questionnaire and then categorized into five patterns: non-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and vegan.
Fraser said his team found that Adventist vegetarians overall had about a 12% less risk of death compared to Adventist non-vegetarians. Study participants with a pesco-vegetarian diet had an 18% less risk of death. Those with a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet (including dairy and eggs) had a 15% less risk of death. Vegans overall had a less than 3% decreased risk of death, but male vegans fared much better than non-vegetarians, in contrast to females.
“Overall, this is some of the clearest data that American vegetarians are greater protected from premature death than non-vegetarians,” Fraser said.
Support for the analysis of the study was provided by Loma Linda University Health’s Research Affairs department. Initial cohort funding support came from grants from the National Cancer Institute and the World Cancer Research Fund.
Cause-specific and all-cause mortalities in vegetarian compared with those in nonvegetarian participants from the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort
TriMedSoc Alliance renews collaboration to unify voice of Singapore medical students
This alliance by the student bodies of Singapore’s three medical schools continues to unify and represent the voice of the local medical student community through regular dialogue, engagement and collaboration with external stakeholders
The presidents of the three medical societies pose for a photo after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to renew the Alliance and reiterating their intention to collaborate closely, together with the signatories of the first MoU signed virtually in 2021
The National University Singapore (NUS) Medical Society, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore’s (NTU Singapore) Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Students’ Medical Society and Duke-NUS Student Council are renewing, for the first time, the TriMedSoc Alliance, a collaboration co-founded in 2021 between the student bodies of Singapore’s three medical schools. The TriMedSoc Alliance was established to foster a greater sense of collaboration within the local medical student population, to have a formal platform to discuss issues that are close to the hearts of medical students in Singapore, and to advocate for the collective interests of all three student bodies.
With an alliance comprising the elected Student Council and Medical Societies of the three medical schools, the student leaders carry clear mandates from their respective student bodies to advocate for and act in their best interests. Individually, each party is the formally recognised student body representative of their respective schools and participates in decision-making processes and policy discussions with their respective school administration. Collectively, the TriMedSoc Alliance is the sole legitimate student representative body of medical students studying in Singapore to unify local medical students, and advance and synergise student advocacy and community engagement efforts.
The renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) solidifies the close ties between the three medical student representative bodies and creates an official platform for greater collaboration, with the goal of developing programmes and activities that support the holistic development of the medical student community in Singapore. They also serve to reinforce the student-led efforts in the medical student fraternity and the wider community.
Building on the success of the Alliance, this renewal provides the three medical student representative bodies with the opportunity to introduce new initiatives, such as establishing an advisory board comprising senior doctors and administrators, including faculty from the three schools. The members have been selected in view of their deep understanding of the nuances of the local medical education and healthcare sector, their vast experience in organisational management, and their commitment to student development. The advisory board is set up with the intention of longitudinally consolidating the organisational knowledge of the Alliance, and providing stewardship and guidance to the future TriMedSoc committees, which change after every annual election cycle.
The MOU Renewal Ceremony on 17 August 2024 was held during the Opening Ceremony of the National Medical Students’ Convention 2024, and was witnessed by Professor Benjamin Ong, Chairman at the Health Sciences Authority, Associate Professor Shiva Sarraf-Yazdi, Vice-Dean of Education, Duke-NUS Medical School; and Distinguished University Professor Joseph Sung, NTU Singapore’s Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences) and Dean of LKCMedicine.
Mr Lim Rong, Chairperson of the 3rd TriMedSoc Alliance and 11th President of the LKCMedicine Students’ Medical Society said,
“The TriMedSoc Alliance has provided the student representative bodies of the three medical schools with a platform for closer partnership. Over the past year, we have worked closely to represent the interests of medical students in Singapore to external stakeholders, and support events that foster learning and collaboration across the three medical schools.”
Since their inception, the student bodies of the local medical schools have remained steadfast in the service of their respective medical student populations through various initiatives in the fields of arts and culture, and sports. For instance, the annual Camp SIMBA, jointly held between the three medical schools, aims to provide a space for the emotional needs of children with cancer. In addition, the LKCMedicine Students’ Medical Society organises an annual talent showcase, called Peanut Butter and Jam, which encourages students to demonstrate their talents outside the classroom, and other initiatives, focused on academic and research, include NUS Medical Society’scareer symposium.
In the wider community, medical students have upheld the spirit of community service embodied by generations of doctors through organising community health screening initiatives both locally and overseas. One such initiative, organised by the Duke-NUS Student Council, is Healthy to Thrive (HTT), which started in 2023 in collaboration with My Brother SG to serve 300 migrant workers through health screenings and medical counselling.
“We are witnessing a growing trend of close collaboration between the student bodies of the three medical schools, not only in academic student interest groups (SIGs) but also through joint community service initiatives and advocacy efforts. We hope that the renewal of the TriMedSoc MOU will catalyse further opportunities for interaction and the building of camaraderie among future colleagues,” said Mr John Joson Ng, President of the 16th Duke-NUS Student Council and Chairperson of the 2nd TriMedSoc Alliance.
With the renewed MoU, the Alliance aims to strengthen its commitment to representing medical students and enhancing community bonds. Through engaging with key stakeholders, including medical schools, the Designated Institutional Officials of the three healthcare clusters and the Ministry of Health, the TriMedSoc Alliance will continue to address critical issues such as school learning facilities, financing medical education and clinical rotation experiences.
Notably, the annual flagship event, the National Medical Students’ Convention, remains a highlight in the roster of activities organised to foster a close-knit community of local medical students. NMSC 2024 is the sixth iteration of the event and marks the largest gathering in the event’s history, bringing together a record number of about 170 medical students across all three schools, and boasting around 40 expert speakers across the healthcare clusters and from different industries. This year’s Convention features an expanded program of workshops catering to different interests in healthcare, from foundational clinical skills to career orientations towards medtech, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and medical humanitarian work.
“The NMSC is an annual event held by the TriMedSoc Alliance and its constituent Medical Societies. It offers a platform for our student members to experience the broader landscapes of Medicine, beyond what we see in our lessons and clinical postings. We hope our participants will be able to get a better idea of what awaits them after graduation, and in so doing, allow them to work towards developing their extracurricular interests and experiences,” said Mr Aravind Madabhushi, President of the 75th NUS Medical Society.
This milestone event highlights the TriMedSoc Alliance’s role as a cornerstone in uniting and empowering the future healthcare leaders of Singapore.
