Assistant Professor Francis Wong Keng Lin is a Consultant in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Assistant Professor in Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Cardiff University, Clinical Lecturer in NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Clinical Teacher and Adjunct Lecturer in NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Clinical Physician Faculty Member of the Singhealth Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programme. He graduated as the pioneer resident in the Clinician Scientist Track from NUHS Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programme, clinching the Best Senior Resident Award 3 consecutive years in a row. He was also the Chief Resident in his residency programme and was part of the nation-wide Singapore Chief Residency Programme (SCRP) in 2014-2015 (Cohort 2). As part of his training as an Orthopaedic Surgeon-Scientist, Asst Prof Francis Wong completed his Masters of Clinical Investigation (MCI) and his PhD in cartilage regeneration in NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and went on to be the inaugural Orthopaedic Surgery Resident in Singapore to win the prestigious National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Research Training Fellowship ($428,400). He obtained his first NMRC New Investigator Grant (NIG) ($199,650) in 2015, and in 2022, became the first ever nationally funded Orthopaedic Surgeon-Scientist by securing his NMRC Transition Award ($943,500).

Asst Prof Francis Wong joined the Musculoskeletal Academic Clinical Programme (MSK ACP) at Duke-NUS in August 2018 as the Research Lead of SKH Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and has led the department to academic success in terms of grant funding and publications. In 2021, he was promoted to the Research Director of Sengkang General Hospital, achieving the feat of being the youngest candidate to assume a senior leadership role in research in any hospital in Singapore. He was responsible for leading the hospital to secure its first NMRC Centre Grant ($3,000,000) to bolster its research capabilities in both clinical and translational research.  For his expertise in Orthobiologics and Cell Therapy, he was also promoted to the Campus Service Chief for the SingHealth Duke-NUS Cell Therapy Centre to coordinate cell therapy efforts within the hospital. Currently, Asst Prof Wong have more than 65 peer reviewed journal articles to date, with H-index of 20, and accumulated more than $2 million in funding for research.

Asst Prof Francis Wong has 2 main clinical interests:

Firstly, in sports medicine and sports surgery, in particular cartilage regeneration and restoration, where he became the very first Travelling Fellow of the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS) to represent South-East Asia, and is currently a member of the NextGen Committee in ICRS. He was awarded the Vericel-ICRS Clinical Travelling Fellowship in 2019, where he learnt cartilage repair and restoration techniques from world renowned joint preservation and cartilage restoration orthopaedic surgeons such as Professor Tom Minas from Paley Orthopaedic and Spine Institute, Professors Daniel Saris and Aaron Krych from Mayo Clinic, and Professor Brian Cole from MidWest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. He was also trained in arthroscopic cartilage repair and restoration techniques by  Professor Tomasz Piontek from Rehasport, Medical University Poznan, Poland. Asst Prof Francis Wong is able to offer the full range of cartilage restoration and repair surgeries for suitable patients. For his clinical work and patient service, he is the Award Recipient of the Singapore Health Quality Service Awards (SHQSA) STAR category in 2022 and is regularly invited as expert faculty for various professional societies such as the ICRS and Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association.

Secondly, Asst Prof Francis Wong has a special interest in healing complex wounds using innovative technologies, including limb salvage surgery for diabetic foot wounds. He has received significant university funding to venture into various Clinical Trials that seeks to improve the healing rate of complex orthopaedic surgery wounds and is currently the programme leader of the hospital’s multi-disciplinary orthopaedic surgery wound and lower limb salvage service: The Diabetic Limb Salvage (DLS) clinic, where nurses, doctors, and podiatrists come together to heal difficult wounds and give patients a new lease of life to walk again. In view of the abovementioned commitments to wound care, he is currently serving as the Chairman of the Wound Committee in Sengkang General Hospital, bestowed the title of Honorary Senior Lecturer in Cardiff University, and sits on several advisory boards as key opinion leader for industry leaders such as CellResearch Corporation, 3M, Molnlycke, and Urgo. He is also being invited regularly as expert faculty from various wound societies to provide his insights and expertise in wound healing.