Lien Ying Chow Professor in Medicine
Dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS
Deputy Chief Executive (Education & Research), NUHS
Professor Chong Yap Seng is the Dean of the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), Singapore’s first institute of higher learning and one of the leading medical schools in Asia. Since Professor Chong assumed the role of Dean in 2019, NUS Medicine has risen to rank 16th on the 2024 Times Higher Education World University rankings and 18th on the 2024 QS World University Rankings for Medicine.
In his recently appointed role as Deputy Chief Executive (Education and Research) of the National University Health System (NUHS), Professor Chong will be furthering NUHS’ academic mission and augmenting the Academic Health System through his oversight of the academic and research development at all NUHS institutions.
As the former Executive Director (2015-2021) and now the Chief Clinical Officer at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Professor Chong oversees clinical programmes that seek to promote health and human capacity in Singapore and the world. These programmes include the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) and the Singapore Preconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) longitudinal studies that examine how conditions in pregnancy and early childhood influence the health and development of women and children.
In addition to his special research interest in the developmental origins of health and disease, Professor Chong has co-authored more than 500 research publications in top journals including The Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the British Medical Journal (BMJ). He received the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award from Singapore’s Ministry of Health in 2017 for his research efforts in early human development and nutrition, and was recently conferred the Public Administration Medal (Sliver) at the 2022 Singapore National Day Awards.
For the past few years, his energies have been focused on helping develop national strategies to advance child and maternal health and well-being, promoting healthy living for families, and improving health resources equity in Singapore.
Professor Chong continues to care for mothers and babies in his role as a Senior Consultant in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the National University Hospital (NUH) under the National University Health System and, till today, still looks forward to welcoming newborn babies into the world.