| 5TH ISOS CONFERENCE SPEAKERS 2026 | |
 Prof Dean Ho | Professor Dean Ho is a Provost's Chair Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology, Director of the N.1 Institute for Health, Director of the Institute for Digital Medicine, and Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He was previously a professor at UCLA, and associate professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Full Member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University, Illinois, United States.
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 Prof Lim Chwee Teck | Professor Lim is the NUS Society Chair Professor and Director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology at NUS. He is also the Founding Director of the Singapore Health Technologies Consortium.
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 Prof Lou Pei-Jen | Prof. Lou finished his resident training at the Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital in 1995, and serves as a joint professor at the Department of Otolaryngology and Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, National Taiwan University Medical School since 2011. He is currently the Vice Superintendent of the National |
 Prof Eric C. Leuthardt | Eric C. Leuthardt, MD, is a neurosurgeon who is currently a professor with the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He is Chief of the Division of Neurotechnology. He is also Director of the Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology and the Brain Laser Center. His research has focused on brain computer interfaces and brain mapping – using engineering approaches to decode the brain to create novel diagnostics and treatments for disease ranging from brain tumors, stroke, chronic pain, and spinal cord injury. Dr. Leuthardt uses an integrated approach by employing multiple domains of expertise ranging from biomedical engineering, clinical neurosurgery, mathematical modeling, complex signal analysis, and computer programming. In addition to numerous peer-reviewed publications, Leuthardt has numerous patents on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for medical devices and brain computer interface technologies. Neuroprosthetics – devices linked to the brain that may lead to cures for paralysis, allow patients to move artificial limbs or restore other neurological functions. |
 Prof Koichi Suda Professor & Head, Divisions of GI & HPB Surgery, Department of Surgery, Fujita Health University, Japan | Dr Koichi Suda was born in 1975. He graduated from Keio University and received his medical degree in 2000. He completed his residency in general surgery at Keio University Hospital and received his Ph.D. from Keio University in 2006. After finishing the postdoctoral fellowship program at University of British Columbia (2008-2010), he was recruited to Fujita Health University as Junior Assistant Professor in 2010. Then, he was engaged in developing and spreading the novel methodologies of minimally invasive surgery for esophageal and stomach cancer, finally assigned to be Associate Professor in 2014. In 2016, he returned to Keio University Hospital and launched not only laparoscopic gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer but also robotic gastrectomy and esophagectomy. In 2018, he came back to Fujita Health University, and has been serving as Professor & Head, Divisions of GI & HPB Surgery, Department of Surgery, since 2021. He serves on Councilor of the Japan Surgical Society (JSS), the Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery (JSES), the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association, and the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) as well as Senior Fellow of the JSS, the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, and the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology. He has been a certified proctor for robotic surgery and a qualified surgeon by the Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System managed by the JSES, as well as Board Certified Esophageal Surgeons by the JES. His area of interest in medical practice and research has consistently been focused on minimally invasive upper GI surgery including laparoscopic surgery for advanced gastric cancer, prone thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, and robotic surgery. He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed articles. He serves as Editor of the Gastric Cancer and the Asian Journal of Endoscopic Surgery. |
 Prof Yin-Kai Chao Chief, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan | Dr Chao acquired his MD degree from Chang Gung university in 2001 and completed specialist training as thoracic surgeon in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in 2006. In 2010, he received PhD degree in Medical sciences at the Chang Gung University. He is now the full time attending staff in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovasvular Surgery in Chang Gung memorial hospital Linkou and a professor at Chang Gung University. Dr Chao is a board certified surgeon pioneering in minimal invasive esophagectomy. He accounts for more than 60% of the esophageal cancer operations performed annually at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou,Taiwan. Dr. Chao is a very strong patient advocate and very dedicated to our specialty, his talent in minimal invasive surgery is outstanding and exemplary and of the highest quality. In addition to his work , Dr Chao is also a well-known researcher . His areas of scientific investigation include the esophageal cancer research and development of biodegradable medical device . Being a recipient of numerous research awards since 2006, he has authored over 100 publications.Dr. Yin Kai Chao is a very well-known doctor in the esophageal cancer field. His innovative surgical methods as well as his experienced techniques have gained him recognition and praise in Taiwan.
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 Prof Matt Lechner | Matt Lechner, MD, PhD, FRCS, FHEA, Professor at University College London, directs a research programme into Rhinology, Smell Dysfunction, Sleep Surgery/Medicine and Head and Neck Cancer. His group's cancer research focuses on sinonasal cancers and HPV-associated and EBV-associated malignancies (viral oncology theme). Matt obtained his PhD from University College London and trained as an ENT Surgeon at University College London Hospitals, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and Barts Health in London. Before rejoining UCL, he completed a one-year surgical Instructorship/Fellowship in Rhinology and Advanced Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery under Drs. Peter Hwang, Zara Patel and Jayakar Nayak at Stanford University (Palo Alto, US). He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and was one of the first surgeons at UCL who was awarded a Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy in 2013. He has published more than 150 original articles covering smell, rhinology, cancer biology, tumor virology and experimental cancer medicine. He served as Co-Lead of the Head and Neck Domain of the 100000 Genomes Project (2016-2024) and has since taken on the role as Pan-Cancer and Molecular Oncology Co-lead. He has been awarded the title ‘Hunterian Professor’ by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2020. |
| Dr Lee graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2013 and was enrolled on the Dean's List for his performance in the final MBBS examination. He joined the General Surgery Residency Programme at the National University Health System in 2013 and obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2015, and the Master of Medicine (Surgery) from the National University of Singapore in 2019. |
| Ulrich Ronellenfitsch is Professor of Evidence-based Abdominal Surgical Oncology at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and consultant surgeon at the University Hospital Halle (Saale), Germany. He holds board certifications in general, vascular and abdominal surgery, and became a Fellow of the European Board of Surgery in Surgical Oncology in 2024. His academic career has included appointments in Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Halle. His
research focuses on multimodal treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, soft-tissue
sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, perioperative care and health services research,
with particular expertise in systematic reviews with individual patient data meta-analyses and
clinical trial design. |
 A/Prof Sunny Wong | A/Prof Sunny Wong is a clinician-scientist and an Associate Professor at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore. He received his MBChB with Honors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and his DPhil in University of Oxford on human genetics and infectious diseases. He completed his clinical training in gastroenterology and endoscopy in the Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong. His main research interest is on gut microbiome, investigating the host-microbe interaction in digestive and metabolic diseases, and exploring this for discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutics. He has won several awards, including the Asia Pacific Digestive Week Emerging Leaders Lectureship (2021), the Sir David Todd Lectureship (2020), the Lo Ying Shek Chi Wai Foundation Meritorious Research Award (2020), and the Croucher Foundation Award (2014). He has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles including papers in Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Gastroenterology and Gut. He is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. |
 Prof John Tam Kit Chung Head of Division & Senior Consultant Thoracic Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore | Professor John Tam is a Senior Consultant and the founding Head of Thoracic Surgery at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS). He is also a Professor with tenure at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Prof Tam specialises in performing minimally invasive single-port keyhole surgery using advanced techniques in Uniportal Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (UVATS). He has been performing Uniportal VATS lobectomy since June 25, 2009; from then onwards, thousands of patients have benefitted from this technique. Prof Tam has achieved excellence in enhanced recovery protocols, pain reduction, and quality of life after surgery to maximise patients' well-being and comfort. He leads a high performance team of thoracic surgeons with excellent surgical outcomes, and is passionate with educating the new generation of thoracic surgeons in Singapore and Asia. Prof Tam has many research publications in top high-impact international-refereed journals, including Science, Nature, Cell, Immunity, New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Thoracic Surgery and top journals in the field of Thoracic Surgery. He is Chairman of the Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Residency Advisory Committee in Ministry of Health, Singapore. He is also a member of various committees in Ministry of Health, Singapore. He holds multiple leadership appointments within the National University Health System (NUHS) and National University of Singapore. Prof Tam is a passionate educator. He has a proven track record of leadership and mentorship in higher education. He was Associate of the Centre of Medical Education at NUS, and was a lead faculty of numerous faculty development and pedagogical development workshops and programs. He was Faculty Facilitator by invitation for five courses in the Harvard Medical International-NUS “Essentials for Clinician Teachers” series. He was the Director of Undergraduate Medical Education in both the Department of Surgery and the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) in 2006 to 2011, during which he successfully led major reforms of the entire undergraduate curriculum in surgery. He has been Core Examiner of the FRCS Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (CTS) exit examination in Singapore held jointly with Royal college of Edinburgh and College of Hong Kong since 2007. He is Director of the Advanced Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery Fellowship Program in the National University Hospital (NUH), and Chairman of the Program Evaluation Committee in the Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Residency Program in NUHS. He is Core Faculty of both the Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and General Surgery residency programs in NUHS. Prof Tam was awarded with the Public Healthcare Clinician Special Recognition in 2013. He was awarded the SPRING Singapore Excellent Service Gold Awards in 2008 and 2009 in recognition of his excellent service to patients. He was awarded the NUS Medicine Teaching Excellence Award in 2019, and the NUS Faculty Teaching Excellence Award for 3 consecutive years in 2007-2010. Prof Tam is recognized as a key opinion leader in lung surgery. He was featured as an invited panel speaker in ChannelNewsAsia Perspective series on lung cancer management in 2017, which was broadcasted and televised across Asia. Prof Tam is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC). He was a Clinical Instructor at the Advance Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery Center at the University of Pittsburgh in USA. Prior to that, he obtained the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree and underwent Thoracic Surgery training in Canada. He also holds graduate degrees in Master of Education, Master of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with First Class Honors in Canada. |
 Dr Clement Chia Luck Khng Senior Consultant and Head Breast Surgery Service, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital | Dr Clement Chia is Senior Consultant Breast and Endocrine Surgeon and also Head of Breast Surgery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, NHG Health. He has domain expertise in Oncoplastics and Minimally Invasive Breast Surgery and his goal is to increase breast conservation rates and uptake of breast reconstruction which has been shown to improve quality of life for breast cancer patients. His research focus and collaboration with industry and A*STAR revolves around the theme of breast conservation and partial breast reconstruction: 1. Founder of REBORN, a digital innovation app to help patients make better informed consent decisions regarding breast oncoplastic reconstruction 2. Intra-operative cancer margin assessment to reduce re-excision rates after breast conserving surgery 3. Low thermal electrosurgical devices to improve surgical outcomes after breast conserving surgery and oncoplastic reconstruction Dr Clement's portfolio as clinician innovator also involves being Committee Member of the Centre of Medical Technology and Innovations (CMTI), Faculty Member of Centre of Healthcare Innovation (CHI) and is also a National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Award Recipient. Dr Clement is also Fellow of Singapore Biodesign, a Stanford Biodesign affiliate and Fellow of Clavystbio, a Temasek funded lifescience venture builder and investor, giving him a broad network and deep understanding of the medtech ecosystem from end-user to bench translation, product commercialisation, investment and scaling of medtech startups. |
| Dr Joshua Tay completed his undergraduate medical training at the National University of Singapore, achieving a distinction in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme and winning the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize. He underwent speciality training in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery in Singapore and was awarded the College of Surgeons Gold Medal for the best performing resident at the Otolaryngology Exit Examinations. Dr Tay was subsequently awarded the Ministry of Health Healthcare Research Scholarship, during which he completed a PhD in Cancer Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine focusing on molecular subtypes of nasopharyngeal cancer, under the guidance of Professors John B. Sunwoo and Robert B. West. Dr Tay’s research involves classifying tumors based on their gene signatures and matching them with targeted therapies for personalized treatment. Together with A/Prof Thomas Loh, he leads a Head and Neck Cancer Genomics laboratory at NUS, with special expertise in microdissected gene expression profiling from paraffin specimens. |
 Dr Serene Goh | Dr Serene Goh is a breast surgical oncologist at the National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, specialising in oncoplastic and minimally invasive breast surgery. Central to her surgical philosophy is minimising the physical and emotional impact of breast cancer treatment. She achieves this through breast-conserving oncoplastic techniques wherever possible, and where mastectomy is necessary, through minimally invasive nipple-sparing approaches with reconstruction, in close collaboration with the plastic surgery team. Her practice spans the full continuum of breast surgical oncology from oncoplastic reconstruction and complex multidisciplinary cases, to tailored care for older patients, and risk-reducing surgery for young and high-risk individuals. Her specialty interests encompass oncoplastic procedures including chest wall perforator flap based reconstruction, therapeutic and symmetrizing mammoplasties, minimally invasive and endoscopic mastectomy, vacuum-assisted biopsy/ excision and cryotherapy, as well as wire-based or non-wire localisation techniques. Patient-centred care is at the heart of her practice. She works collaboratively with patients to reach decisions that are oncologically sound and aligned with their individual values and goals, ensuring they feel informed, heard, and supported throughout their journey. Her dedication to compassionate care has been recognised through the Incredible Care Service Champion Award in 2025 and 2026, and the Singapore Health Service Award in 2026. Dr Goh obtained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in 2015. She subsequently obtained her Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) from Edinburgh, followed by her Master of Medicine in Surgery (MMed), her Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) from Edinburgh, and her Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS). She is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. She completed her PhD at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS, with a focus on AI in breast oncology. She has undertaken fellowship training in oncoplastic surgery, targeted axillary dissection and multidisciplinary oncology at the Royal Marsden Cancer Centre, London, fat grafting after breast cancer surgery at the Edinburgh Breast Unit, and robotic breast surgery programmes in South Korea. She has a keen interest in emerging localisation technologies, including novel non-wire localisation devices for breast lesions and lymph nodes, and is actively involved in evaluating and adopting innovations that enhance surgical precision, reduce procedural burden, and improve the overall experience for patients undergoing breast surgery. As a clinician-scientist, she leads and co-leads multiple research grants spanning AI-augmented breast cancer screening, surgical innovation, and cancer survivorship. She mentors students and trainees across NUS and the Nanyang Technological University, and collaborates widely across Asia Pacific with a shared goal of improving breast cancer outcomes for women in the region. |
