Darren graduated with a MBBS degree and also has a Masters of Science (Msc) from the National University of Singapore. His passion for providing and improving quality healthcare has led him to health service research (HSR) here in SingHealth. Although just recently recruited into the team on October 2007, Darren hopes that with his background and zeal, he will be a constructive contributor to HSR.

During his 2½ year as a research student in a scholarship program to obtain his Msc, his strong interest in molecular epidemiology and racial/ethnic differences in relation to clinical outcomes culminated in a thesis entitled ‘Differences between Asians and Caucasians with regards to chemotherapeutic related outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer’. His research concluded that between the races, there appears to be distinct differences in chemotherapeutic related outcomes (i.e. toxicity, response and survival rates) in patients with colorectal cancer treated with 5-FU based chemotherapy. He further concluded that these differences were due to genetic variations found between Asians and Caucasians and therefore, a standard therapy which is effective in Caucasians may not be so in Asians and vice versa.

Here at HSR, Darren is involved mainly in clinical governance (e.g. developing a checklist for assessing essential clinical standards in the various hospitals in Singapore) and health technology assessment (HTA) (e.g. feasibility of outpatient liver biopsy in Singapore).

In his spare time, Darren finds himself either engaged in a book, enjoying the sounds from his latest music CD or in the company of his good friends. The anchors in his life include the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he credits all his achievements to; as well as his wife, who has been a huge support.