EXCO

Melissa LIM

President

Melissa founded the Brain Tumour Society (Singapore) or BTSS in 2014 and currently serves as its President.

Her personal mission to help the brain tumour patients and caregivers actually started further back in February 2004 from her first-hand experience as a brain tumour patient. She found herself isolated in her struggle to recover from the 16-hour brain operation which removed a 3.5 cm acoustic neuroma. This experience closely echoed the lonely journey she shared earlier with her late mother who was terminally ill with brain cancer.

Upon her recovery, Melissa decided to leverage upon her personal experiences, both as a patient and caregiver, to bring hope and encouragement to those who are also struggling with brain tumours. She started out as the facilitator and programme manager of the Brain Tumour Support Group, which was an informal support group for patients and caregivers. She established BTSS on 5 Feb 2014 as an official platform to reach out to more patients and offer them more tangible support and services. Under her leadership, BTSS has grown to more than 300 strong in its membership with a wide range of programmes for its diverse community; such as befriending and support services, community bonding events, financial and practical assistance. Under her watch, BTSS has also created more visibility for brain tumour awareness in Singapore. Melissa was recognised for her contributions to BTSS when she was awarded the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient Award in March 2015.

‘Connecting to Befriend, Enable and Empower’, the mission statement that Melissa articulated for BTSS, remains her personal mantra today. Although BTSS has come a long way since its inception, Melissa aspires for much more to be done for the brain tumour community in Singapore, such as greater social acceptance and more meaningful and tangible support from the general public to help brain tumour patients cope and live well with their conditions. With the support and partnership of her EXCO and committee members, staff, volunteers and sponsors, BTSS was conferred the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient Group Award in 2020 in recognition of its patient-centric approach and its comprehensive peer support programmes.

Professionally, Melissa specialises in Leadership, Talent Development,   Organisational   Development and Service Excellence. As a Consultant, Trainer, Facilitator, Coach and Assessor, Melissa has worked with numerous international clients across diverse industries. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer with the NUS Business School.

DAVID LOW

Vice President

A/Prof David is a practising neurosurgeon in Singapore, specialising in adult and paediatric brain tumours. He currently serves the Brain Tumour Society (Singapore) as the Vice President.

Through his work as a neurosurgeon, he has witnessed the difficulties and struggles faced by patients and families who have been diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was during his fellowship in Toronto, Canada at the renowned Hospital for Sick Children that he realised a significant degree of disparity between the level of social support and care between Singapore and North America. This inspired him to connect with our society President and help establish the BTSS upon his return to Singapore. He hopes that through the Society, issues and challenges faced by such patients can be addressed.

Professionally, he is the Deputy Medical Director at the National Neuroscience Institute , Head and Senior Consultant at the National Neuroscience Institute (TTSH Campus). He also involved in patient care at the Singapore General Hospital Campus and KK women’s and Children’s Hospital. He holds educational appointments as an Associate Professor at the Duke-NUS post-graduate School of Medicine and is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

David graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland with a degree in medicine in 2000. He then went on to pursue surgical training in neurosurgery. He was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in 2009. He also holds membership appointments in the International Society of Paediatric Neurosurgery and American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

David is blessed with two daughters Mary Ann and Michela. His wife Ashley has provided a pivotal role in supporting his career and cause to promote awareness for brain tumour patients.

SIOW PENG CHAI

Treasurer

Siow Peng brings to BTSS more than 10 years of experience in financial knowledge, corporate governance and leadership. She has served in non-profits in Humanitarian, Arts and Education, and for-profit organizations in professional services and insurance MNCs. More recently, she is a Committee member of the Insurance Committee of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and contributes to topics to advance the accounting landscape of Singapore. Siow Peng is a licensed CA and received her education from NTU Singapore (Accountancy) and University of London (Law).

Siow Peng is inspired daily by the strength of human spirit and kindness around her. She spends her free time learning Thai as a second language, enjoys cycling and plays video games with her two young children.