Graduate Scholarships at NTU

1. Project Title

LOVING (Learning about Our behavior is Valuable for Increasing Nurturing relationships and healthy Growth

1. Key Words

VIPP-SD, sensitive caregiving, EEG, prefrontal cortex, insulin, cortisol, nutrition, physical activity, executive function, expressed polygenetic risk, dopamine, cost-effectiveness, neuroeducation, southeast Asia, socioeconomic status, toddler, preschool

• Project Overview and Location

The LOVING project is a newly funded 5-6 year program that will examine the impact of improving sensitive caregiving to influence children’s executive functioning (EF) and emotional and physical wellbeing in Singapore.

Singapore is a modern city-state in Southeast Asia with a diverse population.  English is widely spoken and is the de facto official language, with Mandarin, Tamil, and Bahasa Melayu also commonly spoken.  The majority of the work will occur in Singapore; however, some Project Collaborators work outside of Singapore.

1. Project Objectives

LOVING has four primary objectives.

Objective One: We will develop and pilot three programs.  The first two programs will target caregiver sensitivity, especially in health-related contexts:  O (Own-Video Feedback) will closely follow the Video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting and sensitive discipline (VIPP-SD) program by providing individualized feedback to participants based on their own video recordings;  V (Vicarious Video Viewing) will follow O’s structure and deliver similar content but without individualized feedback.  E (NeuroEducation) will purposefully not target sensitivity instead focusing upon brain education.

Objective Two: We will use an intention to treat Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) design, to test 3-arms (i.e., O, V, and E) in 636 lower SES dyads comprised of primary caregivers and a 2-5 year old children. 

Objective Three: To understand mechanisms of action, and to improve personalized treatment, we will create a neurobiological battery including EEG, endocrine, and genetic (expressed polygenetic scores) assessments.

Objective Four: We will conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing the approaches.

1. Scholarship Overview

The project includes funding to support up to four or five graduate level scholarships (see “Project Funded Scholarships”).  In addition, there may be opportunities for additional students funded through other means (see  “Additional Scholarship Opportunities”).  Interested prospective students should contact potential advisors within the Investigative Team to discuss opportunities.

1. Our Investigative Team

We come from multiple institutions, countries, and backgrounds excited to engage in interdisciplinary work to further scientific knowledge and benefit parent and children’s lives.  Areas of expertise include parent-child relationships, nutrition, physical activity, neuroscience, genetics, public health and economics, and developmental psychology.  

Please contact the below investigators with regards to potential supervision.

• National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Dr. Anne Rifkin-Graboi, Overall Project PI, and Lead Parenting and Project Development

Asst Prof Alicia Marie Goodwill and Lead Physical Health

Dr. Khng Kiat Hui Fannie, Project Co-I, and Lead Executive Functioning  

Dr. Goh Kok Yew Shaun, Project Co-I, co-Lead RCT Evaluation

Dr. Rosanne Jocson, Project Co-I, and co-lead Formative Evaluation

Dr. Astrid Schmied, Project Co-I, and Lead NeuroEducation

Dr. Jack Fogarty, Project Co-I and Acting Lead EEG

Dr. Yang Yifan, Project Collaborator

• Nanyang Technological University School of Social Sciences, Singapore

Assoc Prof Setoh Pei Pei, Project  CO-I & Lead Child Dev

Assoc Prof Victoria Leong, Project Collaborator

• National University of Singapore, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Singapore

Assoc Prof Mary Chong, Project Co-I, NUS Lead PI, and Lead Nutrition

Asst Prof Chen Huijun Cynthia, Collaborator and Acting Lead Cost Effectiveness

• Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR)

Professor Michael J. Meaney, Project Co-I and SICS PI

Dr. Dennis Wang, Project Collaborator

Dr. Michelle Kee, Project Collaborator and Acting Lead Genetics

• McGill University

Asst Prof Patricia Pelufa Silveira, MD, MsC, PhD, Project Collaborator

• IPSA Portugal

Professor Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg, Project Collaborator (Senior Advisor)

• University College London

Professor Marinus van IJzendoorn, Project Collaborator

• Project Funded Scholarships

Graduate students will be expected to work on topics and data relevant to the current project but will have the opportunity to shape their own research questions.  The scholarships are linked to individual domains and investigators (see below) however, scholars are welcome to propose interdisciplinary investigations across themes and investigators.

4 Year PhD Scholarships

1. Primary Theme: Parent-Child Relationships, Direct Supervisor: Anne Rifkin-Graboi, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
2. Primary Theme: EEG (Neuroscience), Direct Supervisor: Dr. Jack Fogarty (TBC)
3. Primary Theme: Physical Health & Nutrition: Direct Supervisor: Assistant Professor Alicia Marie Goodwill, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

2 Year MA Scholarships

1. Primary theme: Child Development, Direct Supervisor: Associate Professor Setoh Pei Pei, Nanyang Technological University, Department of Social Sciences

• Additional Scholarship Opportunities

Should the aforementioned scholarships be filled, it may also be possible for potential students to work with us under other schemes.  Below we list links for additional scholarship opportunities of which we are aware.   

1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Scholarship Page
2. Nanyang Technological University Scholarship Page
3. National University Singapore Scholarship Page

1. Scholarship Eligibility

National Institute of Education

Unless otherwise specified, National Institute of Education Scholarships may, in principle, be awarded to both local and international candidates who meet university requirement for admission.  Local students who have completed their prior degrees in the Autonomous Universities in Singapore can find eligibility requirements under Overview.  International applicants, or Singaporeans who have completed their degrees at universities outside of the Autonomous Universities in Singapore can find eligibility requirements under the section entitled Competency in the English Language and GRE Requirements.