Western Michigan University graduate Jacqueline Kueh, a doctoral student in London, returned to WMU to discuss her research in spinal cord repair and in embryonic stem cells April 8 to a full house in Kirsch Auditorium of the Fetzer Center.
Now a doctoral candidate at the University College London Institute of Neurology, Kueh addressed two separate lines of her research in "Pluripotency of Embryonic Stem Cells and New Developments in Spinal Cord Repair."
After graduating from WMU in 2003, Kueh returned to her native Southeast Asia and did research at both the National University of Singapore, under the direction of Dr. Ariff Bongso, a pioneer in human embryonic stem cell research, and at the Genome Institute of Singapore. In 2006, she began her doctoral studies at University College London, where she works under Dr. Geoffrey Raisman, one of the most well respected neuroanatomists in the world.
"Jacqueline Kueh is one of our success stories at WMU," said WMU Associate Professor Dr. David Huffman. "Her experiences demonstrate that hard work and tenacity pay off in the long run. Jacqueline has used her life experiences at WMU to help her make decisions to direct her career path. More importantly, her successes are having an impact far beyond herself and may ultimately improve the quality of lives worldwide—I know that she hopes for this."
At left: Kueh with WMU mentor
Dr. David Huffman
Originally from Malaysia, Kueh began her undergraduate studies at Sunway College in Kuala Lumpur. As part of WMU’s twinning agreement in place with Sunway since 1988, she transferred to WMU in 2001, and graduated summa cum laude in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. While at WMU, she was a Phi Kappa Phi Scholar and was one of the original Monroe-Brown Research Scholars in 2002. She also was active in the Malaysian Student Organization and worked in 2003 as a freshman orientation leader.
Kueh’s busy campus life while attending WMU is evident in her favorite memory from her undergraduate days.
"I remember going into the lab to check my SDS-page gel at 4 a.m. after rehearsal for the Malaysian Night play "Red Hibiscus"—I was the director," she said. "I got around in a $500 junker car that precariously got me from point A to B. Yep; it was pretty crazy for me!"
"Attending WMU and living in the USA liberated me, as a young Malaysian Chinese daughter," said Kueh, the daughter of Christine Chew and John Kueh of Sarawak, Malaysia. "It showed me that with my assiduity and own merit, the sky is my limit. The world here is colorless, sexless, rank-less, nation-less, as long as I am willing to put in the time and effort and to be attentive to my responsibilities."
She expects to complete her Ph.D. in March 2010 and plans to do post-doctoral work at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford University.
"The decision will ultimately be determined by the publications that I can produce from my Ph.D. work," she said. "I'm a fallen medical doctor wannabe. I was successfully admitted into medical schools in Malaysia, but didn't have the financial support to embark on the investment-intensive training after I was turned down by all possible resources—scholarships, bank loans, rich relatives. Since then, my inclination has always been in the medical field. Stem cell research was much discussed at that time. My curiosity and research training at WMU led me to desire to explore more about the field scientifically."
WMU Provost Dr. Tim Greene, Kueh, and
Dr. Huffman at a post-lecture reception
The research work Kueh completed in Singapore after earning her bachelor’s degree steered her to seek a Ph.D. program in which she could "try to translate science into commercially viable products.” She secured a fellowship for her Ph.D. to study the development of a neural conduit for spinal injury repair, using biomaterial and olfactory ensheathing cells.
Huffman introduced Kueh at the lecture and continues to serve as a mentor to her.
"David Huffman's continuous motivation and encouragement steers me to dream a little more than what I am - a scientist - a luxury for someone of my background," she said.
At left, Kueh in London
Portions of this story appeared in a press release issued by WMU University Relations on April 2, 2009.