With a passion to help children unleash their intelligence and achieve their true potential, BrainFit was started in 2001 by Ms. Cheryl Chia and a team of therapists. The brand was in the early days known as Kidzgrow.
With a holistic approach to brain fitness, it was felt that a name change was required to reflect the advantage being given to children by making the brain more fit. The name BrainFit Studio was adopted.
BrainFit Studio franchisees operate in several countries today.
Founder and Research Director
Cheryl holds a Master Degree in Physiotherapy Studies (Paediatrics) from University of Queensland, Australia. She was awarded a full scholarship from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (Singapore) and was subsequently conferred membership in the Golden Key National Honour Society in recognition of outstanding scholastic achievement and excellence. Cheryl has more than 20 years of work experience, with over 4 years of experience in KK Hospital where she held various responsibilities including being the overall co-ordinator for paediatric neurology physiotherapy. Cheryl was also part-time lecturer on Paediatric Physiotherapy at Nanyang Polytechnic.
She is also a mother to two little girls and an author of a book titled “Fit Brains Learn Better: A Chronicle of 12 years of Brain Fitness Training.” Cheryl has keen interest in cognitive neuroscience (brain research on learning skills) and its applications. As the Founder of BrainFit®, Cheryl is widely recognised by industry peers and has presented in numerous international conferences related to brain fitness and intelligence development. Currently with 26 centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Turkey, BrainFit® focuses on helping children from birth to 18 years old develop a learning advantage through strengthening of their brain fitness and intelligence.
Director
Vy has over 15 years experience in the financial industry, covering Investment Banking and Wealth Management roles in both Australia and Singapore, including a secondment to Japan. Vy started his career as Analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Merrill Lynch and subsequently joined the South East Asia Corporate Finance team at CS First Boston. More recently, Vy worked at Barclays Capital as part of the Financing Solutions Group focusing on the structuring and syndications of large credit transactions. From 2009 to 2011 Vy worked as Finance Director of BrainFit Group, responsible for its financial management and business development into new territories in South East Asia including Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Since 2011, he has returned to the financial industry and is currently a Director in the wealth management division of a major Swiss bank in their Structured Credit team.
Vy holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and an MBA from the University of Melbourne and is both a CFA charterholder and certified FRM.
Director
Shee Wai was a recipient of the SAF Overseas Merit Scholarship and studied Engineering in the University of London. He served in the Singapore military for 15 years before leaving to start up KidzGrow Pte Ltd, a specialized online child development portal that supports parents with children from birth to 6 years of age. KidzGrow Online is an award-winning programme and received project development funding from the Enterprise Challenge Unit, Prime Minister’s Office (TEC, PMO) and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). Apart from managing the KidzGrow Online business, Shee Wai currently also holds the position of Executive Manager in World Outreach International and also sits on the World Outreach Leadership Team.
Director, BrainFit Studio Thailand
Naresh is the Director of BrainFit® Thailand.
He holds multiple degrees in wide areas including Finance and Computer Science. He also possesses deep industrial knowledge, having worked in the educational field with schools, medical professionals and parents for 16 years.
Through our partnership with Scientific Learning Corporation, BrainFit Studio has been able to access the work of four internationally-renowned neuroscientists who are also the founding members of Scientific Learning Corporation – Dr. Michael Merzenich, Dr. William Jenkins, Dr. Paula Tallal, and Dr. Steven Miller, whose expertise is based on more than 30 years of scientific research into how the brain learns.The work of these neuroscientists is at the forefront in the fields of education and neuroscience; brain plasticity; auditory processing, language and reading development; psychology; behavioral algorithms; and multimedia technology.
In addition, BrainFit Studio and our clients have benefited greatly from our collaboration with Dr. Martha Burns, Senior Clinical Specialist and Director of Professional Relations at Scientific Learning Corporation. As a Professor in Speech-Language Pathology, she is a passionate educator who offers cutting-edge information that is essential to everyone who seeks to improve the lives of students by improving their ability to learn and read.
Michael M. Merzenich, Ph.D
A director of Scientific Learning Corporation is also the Francis A. Sooy Chair of Otolaryngology in the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, for his work on brain plasticity. He is a graduate of the University of Portland and obtained his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins.
Merzenich is also the chief scientific officer of Posit Science, which strives to improve the brain health of people of all ages by using effective, non-invasive tools that engage the brain’s natural plasticity. In addition, he has contributed his software development skills to several therapeutic training programs.
Awards & Achievements
– He has been awarded more than 50 patents.
– He has been awarded more than 50 patents.
Dr. Bill M. Jenkins
He is Scientific Learning’s Chief Scientific Officer. One of our founders, he joined the company at inception from a faculty position at the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
Jenkins is an expert in learning-based brain plasticity, behavioural algorithms, and psychophysical methods, as well as an expert in multimedia and Internet technology.
He is an author or co-author of more than 100 publications and holds 40 U.S. patents and 12 foreign patents.
Jenkins earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology, along with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in psychobiology, from Florida State University. Jenkins has authored or co-authored 13 commercial software products.
Awards & Achievements
- In 2000, he received Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award.
- He won the Awards for Technology Innovations given by Discovery Magazine.
Paula A. Tallal, Ph.D.
A director of Scientific Learning Corporation, is also a Board of Governors’ professor of neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she helped found and currently co-directs the Center for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience.
Tallal is a cognitive neuroscientist and board-certified clinical psychologist who has authored over 200 professional publications and holds several patents.
Tallal received her bachelor’s degree from NYU and her Ph.D. from Cambridge. She is also a participant in many scientific advisory boards and governmental committees on developmental language disorders and learning disabilities.
Awards & Achievements
– She was selected by the Library of Congress to be the Commentator for the Field of Psychology at its Bicentennial Celebration.
– She earned the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Prize for her work leading to the development of Fast ForWord®.
Steven L. Miller, Ph.D.
He is a co-founder of Scientific Learning. Previously he served on the research faculty at the Center for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience at Rutgers University.
A neuropsychologist with expertise in the assessment and treatment of developmental language and reading impairments, Miller has extensive experience in organizing clinical studies and conducting longitudinal studies of children and adults with such disabilities. His work has resulted in many publications and awards.
Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bloomsburg University, a master’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Hartford, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He received additional training in the neuropsychology of reading at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University.
Dr. Martha S. Burns
She has been a practicing clinician in USA for 35 years. She serves on the Faculty of Northwestern University, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and on the medical staff of Evanston- Northwestern Hospital.
Dr. Burns has received honors from Northwestern University, Evanston Hospital Corporation, the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation and St. Xavier University. Dooby’s Rating Service selected her book on Right Hemisphere Dysfunction as one of the best health sciences books of the year.
In addition to that book, Dr. Burns is the author of a book on aphasia and the test Burns Brief Inventory of Communication and Cognition published by The Psychological Corporation.
Dr. Burns is currently serving as senior clinical specialist and Director of Professional Relations at Scientific Learning Corporation.
BrainFit Studio Thailand 2nd floor, Ploenchit Center,
Sukhumvit Soi 2, Bangkok 10110
BTS Ploenchit Station Exit 4
