Here are some examples of projects I have worked on.

1. Child and parent perceptions of alternative proteins (2022-2025)

As part of a Singapore Food Story Theme 3 grant awarded to my colleague Dr. Aimee Pink, we used a mixed-methods approach to understand how parents and children in Singapore feel about consuming alternative proteins. We began with a qualitative approach: I conducted focus groups with parents of children between 9 to 15 years of age with the aim of understanding how parents make food-related decisions for their children, their overall attitudes and perceptions towards different kinds of alternative proteins, and facilitators and barriers that they experience in consuming alternative proteins. Using findings derived from the qualitative approach, we then designed an app that children could use to understand alternative protein production better. The response to this app was tested with quantitative methods. The overall goal of this study is to engage children at a young age and parents as their primary decision-makers for food choices and empower them as advocates of alternative proteins. This study was pregistered.

Results from this project have been shared at venues like the British Feeding and Drinking Group Annual Meeting 2023 and Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium.

Other papers from this study are under review.

2. Investigating the Influence of Functional Mechanisms of Digital Health Interventions (DHI) for Dementia Prevention in Singapore (2023-2025)

This project is a mixed-methods approach to empirically investigating if and how functional mechanisms of digital health interventions can influence behaviour adoption intentions and health-related self-regulation behaviour among elderly at risk of dementia in Singapore. Through the development of the SENIOR app, we aim to identify individuals at risk of developing dementia and offer effective behaviour and lifestyle recommendations to mitigate their risk. I led the behaviour change efforts for this project. The development of the SENIOR app is part of a 2022 Social Sciences and Innovation Seed Fund grant awarded to Dr. Jason Yue Yanzhen (PI), Dr. Nandini Anant, Myo Kyaw Sett and Alok Kumar Verma.

3. Singapore Integrated Transport and Energy Model (SITEM) (2020-2026)

SITEM is the first high-fidelity, island-wide simulation of electric vehicles in Singapore. This project was commissioned by the Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office to support Singapore’s plan to transition to electric vehicles nationwide by 2040. SITEM is a collaborative effort between IHPC and TUMCREATE Singapore. We integrate multiple aspects of behaviour modelling, charger placement, mobility and energy modelling to deliver insights on how Singapore can efficiently deploy and manage infrastructure for EV charging. These insights have resulted in significant savings on infrastructure upgrades and allowed public agencies to enhance overall commuter satisfaction. As the Behaviour Team Lead for SITEM, I work closely with the Charger Placement and Mobility Teams to understand how user attitudes, anxieties and behaviours around electric vehicle battery levels can be managed in order to ensure a smooth transition to electric vehicles in Singapore. SITEM has been a hugely successful project with multiple awards, such as the One Public Service Award 2023.

I discuss my role in SITEM in a bit more detail in this video where I was invited to be a part of IHPC’s Women in STEM feature.

The sucess of SITEM has resulted in follow-on projects with various other agencies in Singapore. In SITEM 2.0, the Behaviour team will focus on improving the fidelity of our behavioural models and collecting data on driver and charging behaviour from EV drivers in Singapore.

4. The Effect of Randomised Rewards in Games: Identifying Specific Features Associated with Problem Gambling Behaviour (2023-2025)

This project used a holistic approach to examine motivations and causes that lead individuals to spend money on video games and subsequently develop problem gaming and/or gambling disorders. We provided actionable insights by quantifying problematic interpersonal and game design features, identifying similarities in the language used by online gamers and gamblers and measuring the impact of these features on neurobiological markers of addiction in people. This project is funded by a 2022 Social Sciences and Innovation Seed Fund grant awarded to Dr. Serenella Tolomeo (PI), Dr. Nandini Anant and Dr. Prasanta Bhattacharya.

5. Validating the Children’s Depression Inventory-2 with a Singaporean population (2022-2023)

The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) is used globally in evaluating depressive symptom severity in adolescents, and its second version, the CDI-2, was developed by taking into account advances in childhood depression research. However, the CDI-2 has not yet been empirically validated with Southeast Asian populations. In this study we sought to empirically validate the CDI-2’s psychometric properties and evaluate its factorial structure with a Singaporean community sample of non-clinical respondents. Using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO), we show best fit for a hierarchical two-factor structure with factors namely, socio-emotional problems and cognitive-behavioural problems. This finding suggests that socio-cultural and demographic elements influence interpretation of depressive symptoms and therefore the emerging factor structure of the construct under scrutiny. This study highlights the need to further examine the CDI-2 and ensure that its interpretation is culture-specific.

6. Supporting financial well-being in Singapore through Mindline (2021-2022)

Under the guidance of Dr. Ilya Farber, the Cognitive Decision Sciences group in SCC worked with the MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation to improve Mindline.sg. This self-help tool provided tips and resources to help Singaporeans manage their health, functional and affective well-being through the COVID-19 pandemic. I was responsible for coming up with resources in the “I need financial support” section.

Supervision

  • Maternal mental health and child mental health outcomes - Vanessa Lim, JCU
    • Masters dissertation - completed
  • Driver preferences in electric vehicle charging - Siti Zuhairah Binte Borhan, Newcastle University
    • Final-year project - completed
  • Contactless charging of electric vehicles in Singapore - Ryan Ho Shaoquan, Newcastle University
    • Final-year project - completed