Darren Chua Weiquan (BMS 2008) has  become the 3rd graduate from the School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology to be directly accepted into MBBS programme of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

In 2007, Ron Ng Chong Sheng (BLT 2007) and Soong Junwei (BIO 2007) were the first two polytechnic graduates to gain direct acceptance into the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

Darren was certainly one of our most outstanding graduates. At June 2008 Graduation Ceremony, he received the Applied Biosystems Asia Gold Medal & Prize as well as the Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists Prize.

Darren and his project partner Nicholas Tan (BMS 2008), undertook their final year project at the National University Hospital where they worked on the development and evaluation of an internal competitor positive for the quantification of the Herpes simplex virus. Their project was one of the two top projects selected to represent Ngee Ann Polytechnic at the Polytechnic Student Research Programme. Darren and Nicholas were also one of the finalists at the 2008 School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology’s Life Science Summit.

Darren undertook his Industrial Attachment at the US Department of Agriculture in Maryland. He and another 2008 graduate, Kelvin Goh (BIO 2008) were included as authors on a paper on  “Fresh-cut Lettuce in Modified Atmosphere Packages Stored at Improper Temperatures Support Enterohemorrhagic E. coli Isolates to Survive Gastric Acid Challenge”. The paper has been published in Journal of Food Science.

As a student, he was also involved in Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Soliel group which cares for the disabled at the Red Cross Home for the Disabled and was the vice president for Ngee Ann’s Student Toastmasters.

Darren undertook his 'O' levels at New Town Secondary School.