Sep 18, 2020 Singapore is positioned to play a critical role in the global healthcare 3D printing and bioprinting industry, and this guide provides an overview on why this is the case based on Singapore’s history, culture, people, as well as its infrastructure. Singapore’s well-funded public organizations work well with both domestic and international companies in order to gain global competitiveness in this emerging field.
Outline of this guide:
- Why should you care about Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem?
- History, Culture, and People
- Infrastructure: Healthcare and Education
- Major Public Additive Manufacturing Organizations
- Notable Companies in the Private Sector
- International Partnerships
- Singaporeans You Should Know
Why should you care about the Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem in Singapore?
Singapore is one of my favorite countries in the world, and 3DHEALS has organized a number of in-person events with NAMIC in the past three years, and a virtual summit this year. It has been a welcoming country and community to me personally. With the help of NAMIC, our volunteer Singapore community manager Mahendran Reddy (whose day job is at NAMIC), and Dr. Chaw Sing Ho, I was able to get to know the people and companies in the Singapore 3D printing healthcare ecosystem and provide this guide for our audiences all over the world. This guide will also be regularly updated by our team as the Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem grows.
As an enthusiast for emerging technologies like 3D printing, we should care about major innovation centers around the world, and Singapore’s unique geopolitical position, healthcare system, innovation, and business-friendly government, forward-thinking educational system, and “excellence” focused people, make it an invaluable player in the global healthcare 3D printing arena.
History, Culture, and People
If you look at countries like you invest in startups, Singapore is technically a “unicorn” in its modern history. That’s why it is crucial to understand the country’s history, culture, and people are important for outsiders to fully grasp the current status of the Singapore 3D printing healthcare ecosystem.
When Singapore gained its sovereignty in 1965, the country faced numerous economic problems, but under the leadership of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the new government initially succeeded in promoting export-oriented, labor-extensive industrialization, with incentive programs attracting many foreign investments. [1] By 1972, about 25% of Singapore’s manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and the country’s GDP was growing at double-digit. Later in the 1970s, the country shifted focus to skill and technology-intensive, high value-added industries and moved away from labor-intensive manufacturing. (Figure) By 1989, 30% of the country’s GDP was earnings from the manufacturing sector. Since then, the country has remained as one of the top Asian financial centers, along with Tokyo and HongKong. It has also consistently ranked as one of the top 10 GDP per capita countries in the world. [2]
In its brief modern history, Singapore fulfilled its reputation of being “free, innovative, competitive, dynamic, and business-friendly” and remains as such. [3]
In 2013, a year after America Makes was established, Singapore announced plans to invest S$500 million (US$359 million) in the Future of Manufacturing scheme, which would be distributed across several initiatives over a span of five years. The most significant initiative being the establishment of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC). Singapore aims to be a world-class “leading AM hub”. [4]
However, we cannot ignore the critical role individual Singaporeans play and the Singaporean identity that drive the country to economic success today. Singaporeans are a diverse group, with Chinese, Malays, and Indians being the major three groups of ethnic groups in the country. While historically it already has a large foreign workforce, its friendly tax and business policies also attract many top foreign talents. It is also very common for highly-skilled Singaporean educated elsewhere to return to Singapore to work.
More Interactive Map Here
Infrastructure: Healthcare and Education
Education
Singapore has six public universities of which the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are among the top 20 universities in the world. Many of these universities have a strong emphasis on education, research, and commercialization focusing on 3D printing, bioprinting, and tissue engineering.
National University of Singapore (NUS): In 2017, NUS established the NUC Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM. NUS), which is jointly supported by NUS, NAMIC, Singapore Economic Development Board with funding of S%18 million. The center aims to develop and apply breakthrough 3D printing technology in healthcare.[4]
Nanyang Technological University (NTU): NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP ) was funded by National Research Foundation (NRF), supported by NTU, external industry partners, Economic Development Board (EDB), and Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR). The center aims to drive research development and industry adoption of additive manufacturing technology through collaborative projects with leading industry partners, and with schools and research centers within and beyond the University. It also offers Ph.D. and Masters’s degrees in Additive Manufacturing, but also naturally a future talent pool. [5]
Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD): The SUTD Digital Manufacturing and Design and (DManD) Centre have been established with support from the Singapore National Research Foundation to carry out cutting-edge research that will “exploit new design windows enabled by digital manufacturing technologies to create unique, optima, and previously unobtainable products.” [6]
As a result of these academic institutions, Singapore has a robust R&D ecosystem (A*STAR, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), NTU, NUS, and Polytechnics) and an amazing talent pool for AM startups. In fact, Singapore has developed its very own Laser Aided AM (LAAM) & Wire Arc AM (WAAM) technology18.
Side note on the technologies mentioned above:
LAAM is a flexible, efficient additive manufacturing method that uses a high energy laser beam and advanced powder blowing technology for metal powder deposition. In addition to building new parts, it also enables the repair and modification of existing parts. LAAM has one of the largest build areas in metal 3D printing, up to four times larger than the biggest metal powder 3D printers currently on the market. It’s also extremely fast, able to deposit material at a speed of up to 1kg per hour, almost 10 times faster than existing metal 3D printers. [6]
Hybrid Wired Arc Additive Manufacturing (H-WAAM) technology. H-WAAM uses robotics, plasma, and machining technology to 3D print using metal wire, which is up to five times cheaper than metal powder, as a feedstock. It’s also fast – again, up to 10 times faster than powder metal additive manufacturing – and can deliver parts of more than 1.5 meters. [6]
Healthcare System
Frankly, it is embarrassing to compare the U.S. healthcare metrics with those of Singapore, which is a single-payer system. Singapore’s healthcare cost accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore’s GDP (versus 17.7% in the United States). [7] “The World Health Organisation ranks Singapore’s healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report. In general, Singapore has had the lowest infant mortality rates in the world for the past two decades. In 2019, Singaporeans have the longest life expectancy of any country at 84.8 years. There is a high level of immunization. Adult obesity is below 10%. The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its 2013 Where-to-be-born Index, ranked Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and sixth overall in the world.”[8]
That said, healthcare organizations and providers face many similar challenges when it comes to adopting emerging technologies such as 3D printing to daily practice, ranging from regulatory concerns, logistics, to lack of sufficient reimbursement. Some of the notable hospitals with 3D printing expertise include the following:
- KK Women and Children’s Hospital
- Tan Tock Seng Hospital
- National University Hospital
- Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
There are three major forces driving innovation and adoption in the Singapore 3D printing healthcare ecosystem: 1. Public sector 2. Private sector 3. Global partnerships
Major Public Additive Manufacturing Organizations
Economic Development Board (EDB)
EDB is the lead government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and is responsible for strategies that enhance Singapore’s position as a global center for business, innovation, and talent. It is a major funding source for the Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem.
It is responsible for designing and delivering solutions that create value for investors and companies in Singapore in the manufacturing and internationally tradable services sectors.
EDB has been a major government agency funding and supporting the AM industry in Singapore, including the establishment of NAMIC, SC3DP, and AM.NUS. Industries within its purview account for more than a third of Singapore’s annual GDP. Besides facilitating investments, EDB engages Singapore’s existing base of companies to transform their operations and boost productivity, and to generate growth in adjacent and disruptive areas by growing new businesses out of Singapore.
EDB also works closely with other Singapore government agencies to constantly improve its business environment, and ensures a globally competitive workforce through talent development.
EDB also has a dedicated corporate investment arm, EDBI, which has been investing since 1991. EDBI invests in high growth technology sectors covering Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Emerging Technology (ET), Healthcare (HC) and other strategic industries. The EDB maintains 18 international offices in 12 countries (China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States & Brazil).
National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC)
The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), led by the innovation and enterprise arm of NTU (NTUitive) is Singapore’s additive manufacturing accelerator. In other words, NAMIC’s function is somewhat equivalent to America Makes in the U.S. 9
NAMIC was established in 2015 by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in partnership with Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Board (EDB), and hosted at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) research commercialization institution NTUitive. It identifies and develops AM start-ups and technologies, jumpstarts public-private collaborations, and engages as a connector between research, industry, and public agencies. Since its establishment, NAMIC has raised more than S$50 million in private-public funding to support over 200 initiatives and reached out to over 1,000 local and international firms to assist in the commercialization of AM concepts. It funded more than 100 joint projects between companies and research institutions with a project pipeline exceeding $25 million (including collaborations with SembCorp, DNV-GL, Underwriters Laboratories {UL}, and startups. It also plays an active role in developing standards and qualifications through joint industry collaborations, together with DNV GL17 and Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR).[10]
NAMIC also partners with companies to co-create AM processes, products, and solutions. NAMIC focuses on the following industries: Aviation, Space, Healthcare (about 30%), CleanTech, Marine Offshore, Land Transport, Maritime, Precision Engineering, Electronics, Built Environment, and Design. These focuses were chosen based on Singapore’s existing competitive advantage and shared vision of its economic future. As an accelerator, NAMIC is startup-friendly and has created a number of spin-off companies. Together with the economic agencies, NAMIC is spear-heading many AM strategic partnerships and projects, growing the AM community (including the Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem) , and drawing entrepreneurs to Singapore.
The Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR)
A*STAR is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. The U.S. equivalent of the National Science Foundation (NSF). A*STAR supports R&D that is aligned to areas of competitive advantage and national needs for Singapore. This spans the four technology domains of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), Health and Biomedical Sciences (HBMS), Urban Solutions and Sustainability (USS), and Services and Digital Economy (SDE) set out under the nation’s five-year R&D plan (RIE2020). The agency’s research institutes are located mostly in Biopolis and Fusionopolis. The total strength of the A*STAR community, including scientists and researchers, technical and non-technical staff, and industry development and commercialization staff was 5,400. [22][23]
Notable Companies in the Private Sector:
Structo
Structo is a Singapore-based dental 3D printing solutions startup. They design, develop, and build 3D printers tailored for dental applications using proprietary Mask SLA (MSLA technology) [11]. With MSLA, the company claims its 3D printers are able to achieve speeds much higher than conventional SLA printers and are revolutionizing the field of digital dentistry with higher throughput and lower costs. The company also builds control systems and software, and formulate its own photopolymer materials tailored specifically to each use-case in a range of dental 3D printing applications.[12] The company finished its latest round in 2019. [13]
Osteopore
Osteopore’s proprietary technologies aim to develop bioabsorbable implants using 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering with a goal to restore the human skeleton. [14] Osteopore products are made of a US FDA and CE approved polymer called polycaprolactone (PCL). PCL is bioresorbable, malleable, slow-degrading, and possesses mechanical strength similar to trabecular bone. 15 In 2019, Osteopore (ASX: OSX) has made its ASX debut with a $20.2 million market capitalization successfully, raising $5.25 million. [16]
DeNova Sciences
DeNova Sciences offers an alternative to animal testing for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries with their in vitro 3D human organ models and cutting edge technologies. [17]
Creatz3D
Creatz3D is a leading service bureau and reseller of 3D printing technologies (hardware and software) in Singapore. With over 18 years of experience in providing 3D printing solutions in Singapore, Creatz3D has worked with over 200 professional installed bases from commercial companies to research facilities and many more. Creatz3D Medical division provides an end-to-end solution in the conversion of CT/MRI images into 3D printed medical models. [18]
Craft Health
Craft Health is a research and development stage healthcare company, leveraging 3D printing technology to simplify the process of pill taking for patients and consumers. [19]
Shiok Meats
Shiok Meats is a cell-based clean meat company, the first of its kind in Singapore and South-East Asia. The company’s mission is to bring delicious, clean, and healthy seafood and meats by harvesting from cells instead of animals, leveraging tissue engineering. The company was a Y-Combinator alumnus. [20]
Kosmode Health
Kosmode Health is a startup at the intersection of agri-tech and 3D bioprinting. Its proprietary more environmentally friendly plant extract technology also serves as the foundation of new plant protein-based bio-ink for 3D bioprinting scaffolds. [21]
Medairum
Medairum is a medical 3D printing service provider offering services ranging from 3D printed anatomical models to designing/printing patient-specific medical devices and implants. [22]
Chemtron
Chemtron is a major reseller of 3D bioprinters in Singapore. [23]
Notable International Partnerships
As a historic international business hub, Singapore continues to forge new global partnerships in the Healthcare 3D printing space. The following list is still incomplete and will be continuously updated.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. Some 12,575 ASTM voluntary consensus standards operate globally. The organization’s headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about 5 mi (8.0 km) northwest of Philadelphia. In 2018, NAMIC was announced as the Asia Pacific Strategic Partner, one of the only two global sites for the International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) – a branch set up under the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) with the purpose of establishing AM standards, certification, and qualification for repeatable, consistent parts and processes among others. [10]
EVONIK
In 2017, German chemical company Evonik announced that its interest in the potential biomedicine applications of additive manufacturing had convinced it to develop a high impact research and development hub in Singapore. Evonik situates its new site at Biopolis — a growing business complex that hosts some of the world’s leading public and private biomedical research institutes and organizations, including A*STAR.[24]
Emerson Electric
In 2017, Emerson Electric, a global engineering services firm, opened an advanced additive manufacturing center as part of its Singapore campus. It also committed to a five-year research collaboration with Nanyang Technological University that will explore experimental applications for the technology. [24]
Intellectual Ventures
In 2016, the U.S.-based Intellectual Ventures enter a partnership with NAMIC to create a method for authenticating 3D printed products. Co-developed technology allows printers to watermark unique identifiers using a variety of materials. [25]
Singaporeans You Should Know
The key to successful networking is not knowing everyone, but knowing the right people. 3DHEALS has encountered many Singaporean influencers from different disciplines who are passionate about new future healthcare empowered by 3D printing, 3D bioprinting, and tissue engineering, mainly through our annual 3DHEALS|NAMIC collaborative events. These individuals helped us building insights into Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem. This is by no means a complete list, and we intend to update it regularly.
Dr. Chaw Sing Ho
Dr. Chaw Sing Ho is the co-founding Managing Director of NAMIC (National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster), a Singapore government initiative to catalyze innovation and scale industrial adoption of additive manufacturing technologies. By focusing on industrial applications and translational R&D, together with commercial strategies to co-create innovative products and services, the national initiative aims to position Singapore as one of the leading digital manufacturing hubs in the era of digitalization and smart factories. Since its inception two years ago, NAMIC has raised more than $24 million in public-private funding to support various AM initiatives across industry verticals.
Prior to NAMIC, he oversaw IP Innovation Strategic Partnerships at HP Singapore. Before that, he was the global head of manufacturing supply chain operations and product innovation for the consumer inkjet supplies business in HP. Chaw Sing started his career in the semiconductor industry with Chartered Semiconductor and Globalfoundries, where he undertook various leadership and customer-facing roles in technology development and engineering operations.
Chaw Sing holds a doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Bachelor’s (honors) degree in Electrical Engineering majoring in Microelectronics from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is an avid inventor with several US/international patents. An advocate for 3D Printing and its role in the new economy, he has spoken in various forums and workshops. He mentors a number of start-ups in the digital and healthcare space. He sits on a number of advisory and expert committees and is an appointed mentor under the GE Digital ASEAN Startup and Partner Program. He is personally interested in nurturing deep tech start-ups, as well as advancing STEM education and engineering as a profession. In his free time, he enjoys sports, movies, reading and spending time with his family.
Dr. Ho is instrumental in connecting Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem to 3DHEALS and the world.
Read and listen to our interviews with Dr. Ho here.
Mahendran Reddy
Mahendran Reddy is a highly driven professional with 20 years of international professional experience in the creative industries in both the private and public sectors.
As a trained architect and a media personality, he has held key strategic appointments in driving innovation and initiatives in the civil service, notably the establishment of the National Design Centre in Singapore.
At UCT, he has driven the adoption of Additive Manufacturing in its fledgling form in South East Asia mainly in the consumer segment of the business.
At NAMIC, he is actively involved in the adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the Industries by initiating collaborative research projects with Industry and Institutes of Higher Learning.
He brings with him an in-depth knowledge in management, government processes and procurement, design thinking skills and excellent interpersonal and professional competencies. Mahendran is also the 3DHEALS Singapore Community Manager and instrumental in connecting Singapore healthcare 3D printing ecosystem to 3DHEALS and the world. Read our interview with Mahendran.
Trevor Binedell
Principal Prosthetist/Orthotist, Assistant Head Prosthetics & Orthotics, Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Trevor has been a pioneering figure and influence in Singapore in the area of prosthetics for more than a decade. Trevor has worked with various companies to bring the world’s most advanced microprocessor and A.I. legs and arms to Singapore. His 3D printing interests have seen many successful collaborations with industry partners and educational institutes to design and innovate patient-specific solutions. Currently, he is part of a 3D-printing workforce committee in TTSH and works closely with the Centre of Healthcare and innovation to help develop new product solutions. A recipient of multiple research grants, Trevor is currently researching topics with sensors and materials. He is the President of the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics – Singapore chapter and Chairperson for the profession with the Ministry of Health.
Boyle Suwono
Structo Chief Technology Officer
As CTO, Boyle is responsible for building and scaling the technology development team in Structo, spanning from hardware, software, and material. He was responsible for the design and development of DentaForm®, a high throughput dental 3D printer with MSLA technology. He also was responsible for initiating, developing and delivering first-in-the-industry bespoke high volume fully automated 3D printing solution based on DentaForm®. He also co-invented Velox and Elements, first-in-the-industry fully integrated end-to-end 3D printing solution for consumer and industrial application respectively. He joined Structo from Schlumberger in 2014, where he was responsible for full system integration development of Crack the Paleogene (CtP), an ultra-high reliability downhole pump project for high pressure and high-temperature wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
Boyle received his B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore. Read our interview with Boyle here.
Dr. Raymond C.W. Wong
BDS (Malaya), MDS (OMS) Singapore, PhD (Nijmegen), FRACDS, FAMS
Assistant Professor and Senior Consultant, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, National University
Dr. Raymond Wong graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Malaya. While there, he won the University Entrance Scholarship and won the Book Prize for Excellence for the First, Second and Final Professional Examinations (Part 1). He then pursued his specialist training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) at the National University of Singapore under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post Graduate Scholarship, graduating with a Master of Dental Surgery (OMFS). He subsequently went on to work as a Specialist Registrar at the Sunderland Royal Hospital and a Clinical Fellow at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, Wales in the United Kingdom while on a Health Manpower Development Program under the Ministry of Health Singapore. He obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from the Radboud University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He is a Senior Consultant and Assistant Professor in OMFS at the National University Centre for Oral Health and the National University of Singapore. At the University Level, he is the co-thrust lead for Dentistry, AM.NUS. Dr. Wong was a Past President, Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Singapore, sits on the Specialist Training Committee, OMFS, represents Singapore as Country Councilor on the Asian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons as well as holds a Councilor at Large post on the Executive Council of the Asian Association of OMFS and the International Association of OMFS as Singapore Councilor. He serves as a Regional Faculty, Association for the Study of Internal Fixation (AO) Craniomaxillofacial Surgery (AOCMF) at the Asia Pacific region. AOCMF is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the teaching of head and neck surgery to surgeons from all specialties. He is also currently the Organizing Chairman, Asian Conference on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2020 in Singapore. Read our interview with Dr. Wong here.
Dr. Ling Ka Yi
Dr. Ling Ka Yiis the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Shiok Meats Pte. Ltd., Singapore. Dr Ling Ka Yi is a developmental and stem cell biologist with over 10 years of expertise in tracing and studying stem cells during development. Ka Yi received the prestigious A*STAR’s National Science Scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor’s and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked closely with stem cell and developmental biology experts like James Thomson, Davor Solter and Barbara Knowles. Following graduation, Ka Yi did her postdoc at IMCB, A*STAR in Singapore. She is an active science communicator since her days in Madison; and frequently takes part in science outreach, food sustainability, and career management events. She also did a podcast called “Science Now” and “Life after Ph.D.” with fellow colleague/scholar. Ka Yi is passionate about marrying her experience in biotech research and her love for food to produce sustainable food products. In August 2018, she co-founded a cell-based crustaceans startup called Shiok Meats, along with Dr. Sandhya Sriram.
Dr. Kevin Ng
Dr. Kelvin Ng is the Head of Strategic Innovation at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute, under the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) of Singapore. In this role, he targets the biotech industries ranging from biosimilars, cell/gene therapies, to cultured meat. In another role that serves A*STAR at large, he supports the scientific, business, and regulatory aspects of alternative proteins, in the execution of the S$144-million Singapore Food Story. Previously in industry, Kelvin established cGMP-compliant workflows to scale up the production of human stem cells in preparation for regulatory filings. He also pioneered a new product line (now launched) and proprietary technologies for the exosome market. A bioengineer by training, Kelvin obtained his Ph.D. at the joint Health Sciences & Technology program between Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Deepak Choudhury, PhD
Dr. Deepak Choudhury, PhD is currently an Industry Development Manager as well as a Research Scientist at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech A*STAR). He received his PhD from NUS and IBN A*STAR. Currently, he is leading the tissue manufacturing track under the Bio-Manufacturing Programme (BMP) at SIMTech where he is developing manufacturing solutions geared towards applications such as regenerative medicine, drug screening, and making cell-based meat. Over the years, Dr Deepak has dealt with mammalian cells, animal tissues, small animal models like drosophila and zebrafish. He has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects and is skilful in bioprinting, biomaterials, 3D prototyping, microfabrication, microfluidics, cellular assays etc. He has mentored 3 PhD students and supervised >25 interns/FYPs. He has received 2 competitive grants amounting to ~$1Mil and has 3 patent applications and >15 publications to his credit. His first patent has been officially granted and licensed. As Industry Development Manager, he performs technology scanning/landscaping as well as technological readiness for many of the advanced solutions being pursued by BMP. He has been instrumental in developing strategic partnerships with MNCs/local start-ups in cell therapy/ tissue engineering/ bioprinting and cellular agriculture. Deepak dreams to be an entrepreneur someday and invest all his energy in building biomedical/biotech start-ups bringing value to the society and SG economy. He also has strong organization skills and has directly manged many scientific as well as cultural events at SIMTech, featuring as an entertaining and funny emcee in many of them. Leisure time, he enjoys spending time with his kids, travel, record adventures with his action camera, play badminton and do snorkelling.
Dr. Too Chow Wei
Too Chow Wei graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2003. He subsequently trained in various hospitals in Singapore in the Diagnostic Radiology training program and attained specialisation accreditation in 2012. He is currently a senior consultant at the Department of Vascular and Interventional Radiology and Director of Interventional Services. He has keen interest in the realm of Interventional Oncology and palliation, with experience in the ablation of liver, lung, kidney and bone tumours.
Dr. Lim Geok Hoon
Dr Lim Geok Hoon is a Senior Consultant at Breast Department, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Clinical Associate Professor with Duke-NUS Medical School. She is an oncoplastic breast surgeon and believes that a good cosmetic breast result is as paramount as a safe oncological outcome. She has several publications with most of her works focusing specifically on the surgical oncoplastic techniques most applicable to Asian women. She founded the Singapore Breast Oncoplastic Surgery Symposium (SBOSS) in 2015 to increase the regional awareness of oncoplastic breast surgery. She pioneered the minimal scar mastectomy technique and is also the inventor of the world’s first virtual breast oncoplastic surgery simulator (VBOSS) used for the training of oncoplastic surgery.
Dr. Gavin O’Neill
Dr Gavin O’Neill is a senior consultant at the Division of Musculoskeletal Trauma/Division of Hip & Knee Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University Hospital (NUH). He is also a Thrust Lead in NUS Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS).
He specializes in all aspects of musculoskeletal trauma with a particular interest in complex peri-articular trauma, peri-prosthetic fractures and pelvic and acetabular trauma. He has significant experience in computer assisted surgery, sports surgery and hip arthroscopy.
He is committed to the ongoing education of pre and postgraduate students at NUHS and is a core faculty member.
Dr. Chen Ching Kit
Dr Chen Ching Kit is a Senior Consultant at the Division of Paediatric Cardiology, Department of Paediatrics, Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Hospital. He is also a Co-Thrust Lead in NUS Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS).
His clinical expertise covers congenital heart disease, fetal cardiology, cardiomyopathy and heart failure, and the use of 3D printing of heart models for surgical planning; while research areas of interest and experience include echocardiography in cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease, exercise echocardiography, and fetal cardiovascular flow dynamics. His current areas of active research also include epigenetic mechanisms of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in pediatric animal models and the study of epigenetic memory in the heart. Read our interivew with Dr. Chen here.
Dr. Paul Ho
Prof Paul Ho is currently a Professor in Faculty of Science, Pharmacy Department, National University of Singapore. He is also a Thrust Lead in NUS Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS), contributing to 3D printing for pharmaceutical application. His current research interests are on pharmacokinetics and formulations of CNS medicines. Dr Ho has published over 170 scientific research articles, and 4 chapters in books distributed by Elsevier and Wiley respectively, and 1 MCQ book by Pharmaceutical Press (London) in his field of study. He has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Chromatography B, Journal of Alzheimer Disease and Therapeutic Delivery. He has also been external reviewer of research proposals of granting agencies in Asia and Europe, consultant to some international and regional pharmaceutical companies; and external reviewer for the Health Sciences Authority, Singapore. In 2011, he was awarded the mentor of the outstanding graduate student research award in pharmaceutical technologies by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists in Washington DC, and in the same year the outstanding scientist award by the Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore. Professor Ho is also the honorary professor of Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Tan Ming Jie
He co-founded and assumed the role of Chief Scientific Officer at DeNova Sciences in 2014. He is passionate about bridging the Gaps in the personal care industry after the bans of animal testing for cosmetics by directing DeNova to provide alternative methods that are more accurate and high reproducibility. He is a serial entrepreneur that accepts challenges in a bid to transform them into business opportunities. He nurtures and creates an environment to encourage learning and personal growth. Learning is continuous and never-ending. Read our interview with MJ here.
Dr Lim Jing
Dr. Lim holds a Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prior to joining Osteopore, Dr. Lim conducted research on biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and developed material fabrication platforms. Dr. Lim published 14 articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals at that time. Dr. Lim joined Osteopore in December 2014 and has led Osteopore to important regulatory and quality milestones. In addition, Dr. Lim led the expansion of the product and therapy portfolio and contributed to the improvement in manufacturing efficiency. Read our interview with Dr. Jing Lim.
A/Prof. David Allen
A/Prof Allen was raised in West Texas. Following undergraduate education at Rice University, he graduated with honors from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, and then completed his Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship in New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center in New York City. David was a faculty member at Cornell when he was recruited to Singapore to establish the Infectious Disease training program. David was the first Head, Department of Infectious Diseases, Communicable Disease Centre. A/Prof Allen has been a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, and a Member of the Singapore Medical Association for more than 25 years. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Associate Vice President (Health Innovation and Translation) at the National University of Singapore.
Sean Looi
Sean Looi is the General Manager of Creatz3D Pte Ltd, the authorized distributor of Stratasys™ 3D printing systems and materials in Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Creatz3D’s additive manufacturing solutions also include Arcam™ for the production of metal components as well as Materialise™ Rapid Prototyping Softwares.
Despite majoring in MSc Finance, Sean’s passion for 3D printing opened the door of the opportunity of distributing 3D printing technologies in 2007. His knowledge in various manufacturing practices placed him in a favorable position to advice on advanced solutions for direct digital manufacturing.
Sean’s accumulated technical experience with a variety of different 3D printing machines, technologies, and applications, across all industry sectors, helped him to gain foresight into the macroeconomy of additive manufacturing potential.
In return, Sean has been actively helping companies in various sectors think more critically, innovate better to improve workflow, and is highly respected in the local Additive Manufacturing Committee. With over 6 years of experience in the industry, Sean is a regularly invited keynote speaker in various local institutions and events.
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