What comes to mind when someone says A*STAR to you?

A*STAR is seen as an ecosystem binder. It’s an entity that is relatively sprawling and covers a lot of different domains on the biochemical and engineering sides. It also has depth, in the sense that it covers basic science research all the way through to commercialization. I think the breadth and length of A*STAR is striking—it serves a very important role in Singapore in bringing research together with private sector entities, together with commercialization.

When did you first hear about A*STAR and what was your impression back then?

Back in 2000, I was at a meeting when the launch of Biopolis was announced. My background—I was a clinician—but I left early in my career for the pharmaceutical industry. I certainly was interested in understanding what was going to be happening. That is when I heard Chairman Philip Yeo speak about the launch of Biopolis, and subsequently I watched with some interest, although we weren’t directly connected at that point in time, fundamentally about where A*STAR was going with this biomedical research.

Of course, the journey in terms of trying to land the Nobel laureates, the journey of landing the whales, and simultaneously having the pharma companies set up their research labs adjacent to the research institutes—all of it was very exciting as I watched that happen. And clearly then, that transition into a little bit more of a mature state thereafter, where there’s a bit more emphasis on growing local enterprises and efforts in drug discovery and development.

These were the spaces that I was kind of observing back then. In that regard, it was very exciting and intriguing, what we could do within Singapore in this very high-value field in biomedical research and development.

What was your entry point into A*STAR?

I was with Eli Lilly for 15 years. From 2010 onwards, my interactions with A*STAR became a little bit more regular. I had conversations with the drug development unit that had been set up—back then it was ETC, and then D3 as well. And I could see that there was a real, constant effort to try and build that capability in the public sector for discovery and development. And so, an opportunity came up in 2015 for a transition into A*STAR. That’s when I got engaged with a few people in conversations—not just in the drug development units, but also potentially whether I could be contributing to the Biomedical Research Council as well, in a sort of broader way. So, when I first landed in A*STAR, it was in 2015 when I came in. But very quickly after that, I was brought into various sort of part-time roles, if you may, in the Biomedical Research Council as well, to help move things along.

When you came in, did you have a technical or managerial role?

My first role in A*STAR was in tele-technical. Before joining, I was the Managing Director for the Lily Anchor Pharmaceutical Unit, where I had a team of 17 people. But when I came in, I was literally an individual investigator. It was relatively refreshing. I felt there was an opportunity to recharge a bit and get into a more focused role that was technical in nature. I did that over a period of time—probably about a year and a half to two years.

However, within about half a year, I was getting more involved with BMRC as well, as some of these programs were coming forward for conceptualization and building out. I was in A*STAR for five years.

Can you share maybe a project or two that you saw through or maybe saw to the end or started?

Maybe there are three things I would speak to. The first one was this initiative currently called the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR). At that point, one of the directors at BMRC, Eugene Gan, approached me with the idea that we should have a review process and a little bit of funding for researchers who might have an early idea or a drug asset they wanted to take forward in development. The goal was to fund some of the developmental work—all the pre-IND work necessary to validate the target and maybe get to the point where you have a lead molecule.

So, that was the idea. We took it from there and got a small amount of funding to get it going. It started out as the ART asset review process. From there, it took on a life of its own. The first few years were still relatively low in funding, but by about 2019, we had some success with early projects. Then NRF came in and turbocharged it by providing significantly more funding. The name also changed over time—from the asset review process to TDR, and now it’s called STDR. We just celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, and a bunch of us got together. Between Eugene and me, we feel a strong sense of ownership in how we brought this forward in a space that was maybe previously underappreciated.

The second thing we worked on was the experimental biotherapeutic sector, EDC. You’re familiar with A*STAR now and the unit called EDDC. EDDC is an amalgamation of three units: the initial ETC, which is a small molecule unit; D3, a clinical development entity; and EDC, which was set up in 2017 as a biotherapeutics unit. Between Eugene and me at BMRC, we secured funding, got EDC set up, and that ultimately facilitated the creation of EDDC under single leadership.

The third thing I’ll mention briefly is our support in the early days of the National Physician Medicine Program (NPM), led and conceptualized by Patrick Tan. BMRC had a small team supporting him—we helped with writing papers, setting KPIs, and working with stakeholders and partners. That program received funding and laid the foundation for what is now the current precision medicine initiative, possibly residing within this consortium.

Did you both envision that it would get so big as you were conceiving it?

Patrick Tan always believed that this would be impactful from a healthcare standpoint. Certainly, some convincing needed to be done. Being an A*STAR-originated program to begin with, the industry value was perhaps more obvious. The idea that NPM would bring companies in, support discovery, and generate health insights was fairly easy to articulate.

The harder question was whether NPM could play a role in delivering tangible benefits for healthcare. We’ve been persistent about this. Even during my time at BMRC, we always consulted with the healthcare side—stakeholders—to understand what would be useful and helpful. Back then, the terms “precision medicine” and “personalized medicine” were often used interchangeably, which raised concerns about whether these efforts might drive up costs without delivering real impact. That consideration was understandable.

Now, with the launch of the genomics assessment centres, which grew out of the precision medicine initiative, there’s growing acceptance that real value can be gained for the healthcare side. How we go about it remains a process of constant evolution.

After five years, you decided to exit A*STAR, where did you go to after?

This really happened in the midst of COVID, in 2020. Just before that, NRF, NMRC, and MOH had decided to create an entity called CRIS—the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore—as a home for the National Clinical Translation Program. When CRIS was formed, five units came together. Two of them had already been around for a while: SCRI and NHIC. The other three units were newly formed: STCC, the Translational Cancer Consortium; ACTRIS, the Cell Therapy Manufacturing and Research Programme; and PRECISE, the Evolution of National Precision.

These three newly formed units became part of CRIS. At the start, there were five heads in total, and they were looking for someone to come in to lead the consortium and also take charge of SCRI. That’s how my involvement began. Currently, I hold dual roles: I am the CEO of CRIS and the Executive Director of SCRI.

Now that you’re part of the A*STAR Global Network and still maintain R&D links with A*STAR, are there other meaningful connections you can share between the work you’re doing with CRIS and A*STAR?

Yes, there are certainly some formal programmes that are connected. So again, the precise programmes—we’ll say GIS, NHIC—work with Singapore design and technology aspects within A*STAR as well. So in SCRI, you know, there has been some work with BC, somewhat parallel to what’s happening here. So because of the adjacent nature of what we do, there is a formal connection between A*STAR and CRIS.

Looking across your career—from clinical practice to 15 years at Eli Lily, five years at A*STAR, and now your current role—what’s the common thread that ties it all together? And how did A*STAR help shape those earlier ambitions and bring you to where you are today?

I’ll say that the formative years at Eli Lilly were very important for me; I spent quite a long time there. I gained very deep learnings in the technical aspects of development. I learned the whole gamut — from discovery and target validation through to getting materials produced to run trials, essentially the entire supply chain, if you will.

During that period, I was also exposed to the regulatory aspects and the actual execution parts of development. Those experiences really shaped me. At the same time, I was heading up a unit here in Singapore, which is a long way from the Midwest and corporate headquarters. That taught me a lot about how to raise awareness and manage stakeholders who don’t necessarily fully understand what’s happening on the ground, far away. I had to step into that kind of responsibility very quickly. So that was really the first phase of my career.

A*STAR then became a very important part of my transition into the public sector. I would say A*STAR is actually a very good soft-landing place for someone moving into the public sector, because it retains elements of entrepreneurship and a strong focus on getting things done, rather than becoming too embroiled in bureaucracy.

Of course, there are processes, but the mindset is still more private-sector-like. There’s a balance to strike — managing the papers, meeting KPIs, all of that, which is important — but always asking, “To what end?” Fundamentally, the focus is on translation: bringing things to patients and to market. That “get it done” mindset was critical.

That way of thinking stayed with me as I moved along the chain into CRIS. I carried forward the discipline of how to present ideas and position initiatives in a way that stakeholders can more easily support. At the end of the day, bureaucracy isn’t about obstacles — it’s about making sure funders and stakeholders are comfortable with what you’re trying to do. They’re responsible for public funds, so they need to be convinced in a certain way.

That transition — from Eli Lilly, through A*STAR, and into CRIS — helped me learn how to clearly articulate why something matters, ensure the problem is well understood, and then propose solutions that follow logically from that understanding.

Building on that thread in your career, what would you say to encourage current A*STAR staff as they think about their work—both within A*STAR and beyond—as well as future or prospective A*STAR talent looking to build a science and technology career in Singapore?

I think for me, A*STAR is a really rich field — a place where you can learn across many different areas. Of course, coming fresh out of graduate school, you’re often in the lab and focused primarily on your own research. But beyond that, there are many opportunities to engage in other types of activities.

For example, if you want to develop an understanding of commercialisation, there are groups within A*STAR — the commercialisation entities — that are more than happy to engage scientists and help take ideas forward. I would also say there are opportunities to move into organisational or leadership roles over time.

I also see a real confluence — although it’s harder than it may seem — between biomedical science and engineering. There’s growing potential in bringing together engineering capabilities with biomedical research. You can see examples of this in areas like biomaterials research, biogels, and related work, which have already shown some success.

Clearly now, with AI, the challenge and opportunity are how to match biomedical research with AI capabilities, and that’s going to be increasingly important. These are areas where A*STAR provides a rich environment to explore more crosscutting work — to develop yourself not just within your own discipline, but more horizontally as well.

At the same time, there are strong opportunities for personal growth in leadership and in managing people. So, my encouragement would be this: I genuinely think A*STAR is a good place to work, a good place to learn, and a good place to grow.

Moving beyond your formal roles, what have been some of the key influences that shaped your career as it evolved—whether people, books, or other resources?

I’ve had the privilege of working for good bosses, by and large. So, in my entire working career, which is now close to 30 years, I’ve maybe had six bosses in total. I think it’s quite a privilege to be that stable.

My first boss at Eli Lilly definitely was a mentor — someone who set up the unit out here and then just sort of got things going. He didn’t sweat the small stuff, frankly. That helped me focus on what’s important. As a leader, of course there are important details you have to pay attention to, but that shouldn’t be your whole life. You’ve got to find a way to delegate, find the right people, and then you’ve got to look after the bigger picture, always. That, for me, was very important — not to get too concerned about all the small things you’re watching out for.

At A*STAR, the boss I had in BMRC was very much about national mission, and about trying to be differentiated as well. Don’t go after the low hanging fruit; think about the spaces. Of course, Singapore is small and has limited resources, right? If you try to play the same game as some of the big boys, it’s hard to win. So, the idea was that we should be differentiated, find a niche, and double down.

That is high risk, but risk can be looked at in a few ways. If you go after niche things, it’s high risk technically, but if you go after the “me too” tools, it’s also high risk, because you may not be able to compete. So, you’re really trading one risk for another risk. That was, for me, very important to learn. I guess I’ve had good bosses all the way through, and that has been very helpful.

Outside of work, my personal interests — I enjoy playing football. I play both futsal and football. Clearly not as fast as before. I’ve got three boys, and when they were growing up, we were on the pitch a lot. All three play at a reasonable level and represent their school teams. Occasionally, they still bring me along for some games.

Anything else you want to share or plug as we wrap up?

Being part of A*GN, A*STAR is a big network of people, right? People come in and they leave, and the alumni base is very widespread. I think that’s a real privilege, number one, to be part of it. Number two, it’s useful as well.

You have connections to people. There are people I work with in other agencies now who were my colleagues in A*STAR. So, you establish a certain level of communication and trust, and that really helps in getting things done.