Associate Professor Philip Wong
Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology and
Director, Research & Development Unit (RDU)
National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS)
A/Prof Wong’s research interest is in stem cell work, tissue engineering and the development of minimally invasive methods for the delivery for cellular therapeutics or cell-based products to the heart. Together with the team at RDU, He has developed the use of patient's own stem cells to heal the heart and the NHCS is in the final planning phase of starting an early phase clinical trial to test safety of using one’s own stem cells to 'heal the heart'.
A/Prof Wong’s team has also collaborated successfully with researchers at A*Star's Institute of Microelectronics in the area of Medical Technology to develop a new rapid test kit which can assess the vascular health of patients and their response to drug therapy. A keen advocate of maximising technology for heart health, he hopes to encourage more Singaporeans to start taking better care of their heart from an early age by educating themselves and personal monitoring. He looks forward to providing more responsive healthcare for patients with heart problems and is pioneering the use of lightweight sensors/monitors and mobile devices, which enable cardiac symptoms to be communicated real-time to patients as well as healthcare providers.
Awards & Accolades
2008 – SingHealth GCEO Excellence Award (Biomedical Research)
2008 – NHCS Service Quality Award (Gold)
2006, 2005 – NHCS Service Quality Award (Silver)
2003, 2003 – NHCS Service Quality Award (Bronze)
2002-2009 – NHCS Productivity Award
Prof Wong Tien Yin
Director, Singapore Eye Research Institute
Senior Consultant Opthalmologist, Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC)
Prof Wong specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of retina and macular conditions, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion and other retinal conditions. A multi-award winning researcher and ophthalmologist, Prof Wong is the recipient of the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award 2010. He has published more than 400 papers, including papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet and is on the editorial board of several other major journals. Prof Wong has shared his expertise at more than 150 plenary and symposium lectures around the world. He is a firm believer of scientific-based, cost-effective and seamless healthcare services and hopes the combination of cutting-edge science with high quality clinical care will lead to better and widely available eye care services for patients. He sees the relentless pursuit of excellence and the ability to think out of the box as valuable qualities, which will promote medical advancements, and contribute to SingHealth’s mission of providing patients with holistic and quality healthcare.
Awards & Accolades
2010 – National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award
2009 – Outstanding Researcher of the Year at the National University of Singapore
2008 – Inaugural Singapore Translational Researcher Award (StaR)
2007 – Australian Society of Medical Research AMGEN Medical Research of the Year Award
2006 – Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, Australia
2004 – Sandra Doherty Award from the American Heart Association
Dr Mark Leong
Head & Senior Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine
Singapore General Hospital
View Dr Leong's detailed CV here.
Dr Leong has been with SGH since 1989 and today, he heads a team of 60 doctors at the Department of Emergency Medicine. His special interest areas are in Trauma and Disaster Medicine and he believes in the importance of Commitment, Courage, Patience and Integrity in the delivery of seamless and holistic healthcare.
Dr Leong is also the head of the SingHealth Humanitarian Relief Programme, spearheading SingHealth’s efforts in overseas disaster relief missions. He also holds a number of academic and teaching portfolios at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore and Duke NUS Graduate Medical School. He is appointed by the Ministry of Health as the first Emergency Medicine Residency Programme Director for SingHealth.
Assoc Prof Ivan Ng
Head & Senior Consultant
Departments of Neurosurgery
National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) & Singapore General Hospital (SGH)
Assoc Prof Ng heads the department of neurosurgery for both the campuses of the NNI at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the SGH. His outstanding performance in neurosurgical training saw him being awarded the prestigious Norman Dott Medal by the Intercollegiate Specialty Board in Neurosurgery in 2000. Assoc Prof Ng’s specialty interests include vascular neurosurgery, skull base surgery and neurotrauma. He heads the acute brain injury research team at the NNI and has been awarded research grants with a cumulative sum of $2 million and has published more than 40 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals. Assoc Prof Ng strives for constant innovation in his work and has shared his expertise and experience in neurosurgery at more than 30 Asia-Pacific and international neurosurgical meetings. For Assoc Prof Ng, the SingHealth’s promise of quality care to every patient can be achieved with passion, discipline, responsibility, focus and foresight. He looks forward to spearheading new research efforts to solve today’s health problems.
Awards and Accolades
2000 - Norman Dott Medal
Dr Iain Tan
Registrar, Department of Medical Oncology
National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS)
Dr Tan’s research interest is in stomach cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. He recently won the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his research on personalised medicine for the treatment of stomach cancer. He hopes his research efforts would eventually enable doctors to select the most appropriate and beneficial drugs for individual patients. Dr Tan looks forward to improving the quality of care for both NCCS’ current patients and future generations through technological advances in cancer research that will provide patients with cost-effective and focused solutions. With focus, drive, determination, humility and team spirit, Dr Tan believes medical professionals would be able to bring patient care to greater heights.
Awards & Accolades
2010 - American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Award
Dr Yvonne Loh
Consultant, Department of Haematology
Singapore General Hospital (SGH)
Dr Loh is a consultant at SGH’s haematology department and the Deputy Medical Director of the department's haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) Progamme. Dr Loh spearheads the programme for HSCT in autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. She was also awarded a fellowship in the Division of Immunotherapy, Northwestern University in Chicago, one of the centres at the forefront of research in HSCT for immune-mediated disorders.
As the only physician in the region with specific training in this area, she has been invited to speak at both local and regional conferences on HSCT. She is one of the principle investigators in the Center for Immunological Disease Research and Therapy (CIDRT), a multidisciplinary research programme in SGH spanning the Departments of Haematology, Rheumatology and Immunology and Endocrinology and others, which seeks to develop a leading facility for research and treatment of immunological diseases in Singapore, the region and globally. She has also published in leading peer-reviewed journals in this field.
Dr Loh believes that the field of healthcare is not about science alone. Rather, compassion and the ability to identify with patients is also essential because ultimately, healthcare is not about breakthroughs but enabling those afflicted by deadly diseases like leukemia and severe immune-mediated diseases to lead better lives. Her hope is to expand on the research and knowledge on HSCT through the use of new available drugs and to extend the use of HSCT therapy to other conditions such as severe immunological diseases.
Awards & Accolades
2010 - NMRC Centre Grant: Centre for Immunological Research and Therapy. (Project Principle Investigator)
2009 - EXSA Star Award
2008 - EXSA Gold Award
2006 - Fellowship in Division of Immunotherapy, Northwestern University in Chicago
Dr Hsu Pon Poh
Chief & Senior Consultant, Department of Otolaryngology
Director, Integrated Sleep Service (ISS)
Advisor, CGH Research/Clinical Trials & Research Unit (CTRU)
Chairman, International Liaison Unit.
Changi General Hospital (CGH)
Dr Hsu is an ENT Surgeon and a leading specialist on obstructive sleep apnoea and other sleep disorders. He has lectured worldwide and contributed to numerous peer-reviewed journals and holds a Doctorate Research degree on the subject. He heads the CGH Integrated Sleep Service, which comprises of multiple surgical, medical, allied health specialties and specialises in the treatment of sleep disorders.
Dr Hsu has won 16 awards locally and internationally and he headed the CGH Research & Clinical Trial Research Unit (CTRU) from 2004 -2009. CTRU has conducted 120 pharmaceutical trials with secured contracts of more than 12 millions dollars (S$?) and 158 hospital principal investigator’s trials.
In 2009, Dr Hsu spearheaded the new International Liaison Unit, which was formed to promote and enhance the international collaborations between CGH and International Academic Medical Centers in the areas of service development, research and education collaborations.
A strong advocate of SingHealth’s patient-centric approach to healthcare, Dr Hsu places a lot of emphasis on patient education and ensures that his patients receive appropriate treatment. He believes in promoting affordable, appropriate healthcare for all. For Dr Hsu, the key to quality patient-centric care is teamwork, vision, passion, drive, and courage.
Awards & Accolades
2008 - SingHealth GCEO Excellence Award (Clinical Research)
2005 - Yahya Cohen Memorial Lectureship & Gold Medal 2005
2003 - Best Research Paper Award 2003 (First Prize)
10th ASEAN Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Congress, Brunei Darussalam
2001 - Young Surgeon’s Award
13th Biennial Congress of Asian Surgical Association & 35th Annual Combined Surgical Meeting
2001 - Young Investigator Award
Dr Janil Puthucheary
Medical Director, Faculty Development, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School &
Senior Consultant, Children's Intensive Care,
KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH)
Dr Puthucheary is a Senior Consultant in KKH’s Children's Intensive Care Unit and is concurrently the Medical Director for Faculty Development at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Dr Puthucheary believes that a greater emphasis on academic medicine, research and education will help drive patient-centric care in the future.
A keen innovator, Dr Puthucheary is always looking for ways to improve his work. At the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Dr Puthucheary spearheads the development and refinement of the Team Based Learning methodology and enjoys spending many hours facilitating learning experiences amongst groups of medical students. In his role at KKH,Dr Puthucheary has been implementing the development of education based on Simulation technology. His clinical interests also include the transfer of critically ill children using a mobile intensive care unit.
Always willing to lend a helping hand, Dr Puthucheary was involved in the KKH operations for the earthquake relief misson to Yogyakarta in June 2006, as well as the tsunami relief mission to Aceh in 2004. The father of three boys tries to lead an active lifestyle and cycles to work on his foldable bicycle whenever possible.
Awards & Accolades
2009: Outstanding Innovator – Duke-NUS Faculty Awards
2008: Best Course Director – Duke-NUS Faculty Awards