Student Spotlight: Natalie Wee

Introducing…

Natalie Wee (Year 3 MD student)

Natalie on holiday in Sydney, Australia

Tell us about your path to Duke-NUS.

I spent three amazing years in London studying Psychology at University College London (UCL), immersing myself in the vibrant city life and the active research scene in cognitive neuroscience. My initial plans to become a neuroscientist underwent a subtle but significant shift during one of my summer research stints - I caught a glimpse of life as a clinician while working under Prof Masud Husain (a physician-scientist) and was inspired to follow in his footsteps and give back to society through both medicine and science. After graduation, I returned to Singapore where I first worked for a year as a research assistant in Prof Michael Chee's lab at Duke-NUS, before joining as a medical student.

What are some of your interests and hobbies?

I’m quite a bookworm and have recently been devouring books by great physician-writers such as Atul Gawande, Abraham Verghese and my personal favourite, Oliver Sacks. I also love losing myself in a good movie, baking sinful treats for others, and working on random DIY art projects. My latest hobby is learning new languages - I'm learning Malay to better communicate with my patients, as well as Matlab and R to code various projects!

Would you share a great experience or opportunity you’ve had at Duke-NUS?

The unique educational process at Duke-NUS is quite an experience in itself! But my best experiences have been serving the community alongside my schoolmates - volunteering at health screenings both locally and overseas, and organising Camp Simba, a camp for children whose relatives have cancer.

What’s one thing awesome about Duke-NUS?

I love the fact that although so many of us come from different countries and bring different talents and life experiences to the table, we all have basically the same goal - to improve our patients' lives through medicine, research and education.

Still want to know more? Contact her at natalie.wee@u.duke.nus.edu