Professor Tan Chorh Chuan

• Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development)
• Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister's Office
• Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
• Chairman, MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT)
• Chair, Healthier SG Implementation Office, MOH

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan was appointed Permanent Secretary of National Research and Development, Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister’s Office, and Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on 1 Oct 2023. In addition, he will continue with his appointments as the Chairman of MOHT and the Chair of MOH’s Healthier SG Implementation Office.

Prof Tan served as the inaugural Chief Health Scientist and Executive Director of the new Office for Healthcare Transformation in Singapore’s Ministry of Health from 1 January 2018 to 30 September 2023. He was President of the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 2008 to 2017. He held the positions of NUS Provost, then Senior Deputy President from 2004 to 2008. He was former Dean of the NUS Faculty of Medicine and served as the Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health, from 2000 to 2004, in which capacity he was responsible for leading the public health response to the 2003 SARS epidemic. He was also the Chairman of the Board of the National University Health System from 2011-2018.

Prof Tan is a key leader in Singapore's Biomedical Sciences Initiative since its inception in 2000, for which he was awarded the National Science and Technology Medal in 2008. He has also received the Public Service Star in 2003; the Public Administration Gold Medal in 2004; the Meritorious Service Medal in 2015; the Distinguished Service Order in 2022 and Public Service Star (COVID-19) in 2023. Prof Tan is the recipient of several international awards and is the first Singaporean to be elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Medicine.

A renal physician, he obtained his medical training at NUS, and research training at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford.