Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do
Hello, I am Biyan and I am a research fellow with the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN). My day-to-day job involves studying how the immune system produces antibodies during vaccination and allergy.
My husband, Yong Zi, is also a researcher. He just started his lab in NUS. We met in A*Star before going for graduate studies together 🥰
What does a typical work day look like
My typical work day begins with a great cup of coffee before hitting the (lab) bench and conducting experiments to work towards answering my scientific questions. Many biological assays involve waiting time. For example, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which many of you are familiar with now takes at least 1-2 hours to run. During waiting, I reply emails, analyze data, write up reports in the office. As we are currently conducting studies on the effects of COVID vaccine, I also help to coordinate sample collection from volunteers for the study. There is a saying that research involves 99% failure and 1 % success, not planning brings the failure rate close to 100% so I also take some time to plan for my next experiments 😄
Takeaways from your role
Failure is inevitable so make every failure a learning opportunity! My PhD advisor always says “The devil is in the details” so we need to pay attention to every little detail that makes or breaks an experiment.
What would you tell people who’d like to enter this industry
If you love science and would love to contribute to the pool of scientific knowledge, join us!! Research is never easy but it is the challenge that makes it fun. The best part is when biology reveals its hidden secrets to you when you persevere in your quest to understand it.
Describe your stylist in one word and share how you arrived to that word
Zen. Jo is my stylist! She is very patient and easy to talk and gives off this zen vibe which makes me feel very comfortable. As she is very proficient at her job, it is very reassuring to me that she is helping me with my gown selection and styling. This makes me feel very zen too ☺️
Share with us how you decided on your final gown(s) selection
I selected 2 gowns: 1 bridal and 1 evening gown. For the bridal gown, I picked Amethyst from Suzanne Neville. I really love its minimalistic style and the asymmetric neckline but the deal clincher is actually the pockets on the gown! I love being like a mini Doraemon and whipping things from my phone to lip balm out of my pockets even during my wedding.
For my evening gown, I picked Dori from Hailey Paige. This gown is my first love. I follow Hailey Paige on Instagram and absolutely love her signature styles and designs. When I scheduled my appointment with TE, I checked if they have this gown and to my delight they do! I tried a few other evening gowns but still ended up going for my first love ❤️
These two gowns were also selected with inputs from Jo, my husband (who went for fitting with me!) and my friends!
What was the most favourite part of your wedding
My favourite part is having my favourite people in a ballroom celebrating this special occasion with us! The pandemic had significantly affected our social lives and we could not hang out with our friends and family as much as we would like to. So it is great to be able to see the people we love in one room! Dining out restrictions was limited to 2 pax when we had our wedding in October so at least during our wedding, our guests were delighted that there could be 5 people at a table 🤗
Top three tips for brides planning a wedding during this pandemic
1. Planning early helps. Have a laundry list of vendors to contact and things to do then divide and conquer (Among you/your husband/bridesmaids/groomsmen).
2. Always check with vendors and especially wedding venues for their cancellation/postponement policies due to changes in COVID19 restrictions.
3. Follow the Ministry of Health website for the latest updates on restrictions on weddings. Have a few guests lists: short guest list (strict Covid19 policy), mid-size guest list that fits the current restriction numbers and full guest list (no upper limit). For couples planning on having banquets or sit-down meals, number of people per table is something to take note of when planning seating arrangements and inviting guests. 5 is an odd number 😄
One thing you’d like to tell brides-to-be
I am going to quote Jo on this: “Focus on having fun and a good time on your big day!” This is what I did and I thoroughly enjoyed my big day 🥰
First gown: Suzanne Neville – Amethyst
Second gown: Hayley Paige – Dori gown
Photos: The wedding moments (photographer Tze yong)
flowers: Thehuahee
Day makeup: Tiffiningbeauty
Night makeup: Stella.Ang.makeup
Hotel: Thefullertonhotel
Suit: Inventory
Car: Weddingcarriages
