“I handle solid tumours grafted from children in my course of work.   Successfully harvesting orthotopic implantation from a child patient to immunocompromised mice has been my proudest moment.   As our specimens are much rarer than those in similar fields, each successful harvest brings us a step closer to achieving the highest possible survival rate for paediatric cancer patients. 

While we are able to speak of tomorrow and plan for the future, children suffering from cancer might not have the same luxury as us even though they may have beautiful dreams for the world and themselves.   I believe cancer research will give these children hope and new breath of life to live their dreams. It is this passion that drives me every day.   Yet, the journey in research is a challenging one as it does not always yield favourable results.   Over time, I have learned to be more resilient, and adopt a positive work attitude so that I can take on even the toughest of days.”

Esther Hee Xuan Yi
Research Officer,
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Winner of The Lab is My 2nd Home Award at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Research Appreciation Awards 2017.