PLOS Editor Spotlight: Dr. Ooi Pei Boon

The School of Medical and Life Sciences' Dr. Ooi Pei Boon was recently featured in an editor spotlight article by the Public Library of Science (PLOS). This feature exemplifies the impact and contributions that Dr. Ooi has made to her field. Below are some excerpts from the article:

Question: Can you share with us your career journey in mental health research? What leads you to work on young people’s mental health, especially related to technology use?

Dr. Ooi: I am trained as a counsellor, and as a counsellor, I believe that everyone can and wants to be better. However, people can be entangled in situations beyond their problem-solving abilities and feel helpless or hopeless. My work with young people started when I was working as a young executive with a clinical psychologist who impacted a lot of my work. I see technology use as a necessity for young people – just like we used to have books or Walkman when we grew up. We ought to help them live wisely with technology and make the best of it with sufficient digital literacy in mind. It also means equipping the young people and their parents with the knowledge of online safety to best support them. Mental health is never an individual’s battle but communities’.

Question: What does Open Science mean to you and your field?

Dr. Ooi: Open Science, to me, is the way forward. However, obtaining and achieving the main six principles of Open Science will require sustained efforts to create awareness and educate the community about its importance and contributions in the long run. When resources are limited, we must join efforts to make the best outcomes for the community and humankind. We are in an era where no one is an island, and working on a silo mentality will not bring us far.

To read the article in its entirety, you may visit the link below.