A*STAR @ SWITCH 2020

Interim CEO
NTUitive Pte. Ltd.

Dr Alex Lin is the interim CEO of NTUitive, the Innovation and Enterprise company of NTU. Other than managing and commercializing the university technologies with a large community of commercial experts and mentors, Dr Lin and his team design and operationalize a massive startup creation program (ideasinc.veni) where promising entrepreneurs build viable companies in 12 weeks of intensive venture building activities funded by ESG. Dr Lin is a prolific startup and ecosystem builder who built Singapore and overseas startup ecosystems.

CEO
Transforma Robotics Pte Ltd.

Professor Chen I-Ming is CEO of Transforma Robotics Pte Ltd and Professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He is an internationally renowned expert in robotics with more than 30 years R&D experience. He is Director of Robotics Research Centre in NTU from 2013 to 2017, and a member of the Robotics Task Force 2014 under the National Research Foundation. Professor Chen is Fellow of Singapore Academy of Engineering, Fellow of IEEE and Fellow of ASME, and Editor-in-chief of IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. His research interests are in logistics and construction robots, wearable devices, human-robot interaction and industrial automation.

Director, Advanced Robotics Centre,
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore

Marcelo H. Ang, Jr. received the B.Sc. degrees (Cum Laude) in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management Engineering from the De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines, in 1981; the M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1985; and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, in 1986 and 1988, respectively. His work experience includes heading the Technical Training Division of Intel's Assembly and Test Facility in the Philippines, research positions at the East West Center in Hawaii and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Rochester, New York. In 1989, Dr. Ang joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the National University of Singapore, where he is currently a Professor. He is also the Acting Director of the Advanced Robotics Centre. His research interests span the areas of robotics, mechatronics, and applications of intelligent systems methodologies. He teaches both at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the following areas: robotics; creativity and innovation, and Engineering Mathematics. He is also active in consulting work in robotics and intelligent systems. In addition to academic and research activities, he is actively involved in the Singapore Robotic Games as its founding chairman and the World Robot Olympiad as a member of the Advisory Council.

Managing Director
MyrLabs

Gabriel has been in R&D since his undergraduate days. He spent his final undergraduate year in SMU as a student researcher at the Living Analytics Research Centre where he helped develop technologies to route visitors optimally. At SIMTech A*STAR, he started out working with IBM and Infineon to develop models that simulate and predict the effects of supply chain disruptions. Later, he led research teams to create technologies to enable next-gen Industrial IoT and indoor drones and robot. Prior to spin-off, Gabriel’s R&D outcomes was featured on mainstream media, used in the realization of A*STAR’s Model Factory @ SIMTech, and are still actively being commercialized by A*STAR. A reluctant entrepreneur, Gabriel and his research team spun out of SIMTech to found MyrLabs when their work advanced beyond the institute’s R&D mandate. Right now, MyrLabs’ focus is on commercialising cutting edge sensors and capabilities to enable next-generation robots for industry.

CEO
Augmentus

Yong Shin is the cofounder of Augmentus, a robotics start-up that simplifies and quickens robotic programming processes. He has been appointed advisor to IMDA SDE Roadmap as well as mentor at IMDA Pixel and NTU Career Attachment Office. In 2017, he founded Augmented-Reality division at ARTC, an A*STAR institute, that generated projects with multinational companies as well as local enterprises. Being a technical leader, he is the holder of several scientific publications and patents. Yong Shin received a Bachelor degree from Nanyang Technological University.

Director, Industry Liaison Office
NUS Enterprise

Ms Irene Cheong leads the Industry Liaison Office (ILO), which is the commercialization and business development arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Her team works closely with NUS faculty to enable deep tech start up formation and win-win partnerships with industry that result in technology translation and commercialization.

ILO conducts technology translation and start up acceleration programmes, as well as administers intellectual property management on behalf of NUS and several university partners (e.g. MIT, ETH, SHJT). We also manage national industry consortiums and commercialization grants on behalf of the National Research Foundation.

Ms Cheong brings with her international experience from industry, government and venture capital- having worked locally, in the USA and in Europe.

Director of Centre for Energy Research & Technology (CERT);
Programme Director of Cooling Energy Science & Technology Singapore (CoolestSG)

Dr. Poh Seng (PS) Lee is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He currently serves as the Director of Centre for Energy Research & Technology (CERT) and Programme Director of Cooling Energy Science & Technology Singapore (CoolestSG) national consortium. Prof Lee’s research interests include high performance cooling techniques (in particular single and two-phase microchannel cooling), energy efficient air conditioning and low-grade waste heat recovery. He is the recipient of numerous research and innovation awards including 2013 NUS Faculty of Engineering's Young Faculty Research Award, 2011 Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES) Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award, 2011 Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit Top 10 Defense Energy Technology Solutions Award and 2009 Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors Award (TKKYIA) - Defense Science.

Director
NIPO International

Amanda graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from the National University of Singapore. She then spent almost all her working career in various manufacturing facilities with career spanning regional/international sales, office administration and human resource.

Since joining Nipo International Pte Ltd, she has successfully upgraded the manufacturing processes, explored R&D by adopting an Open Innovation approach and refocused on the marketing strategies.

In March 2005, when the Singapore Public Housing and Development Board (HDB) decided to move from Brand Based to PERFORMANCE BASED Waterproofing products, Amanda put together a team and set out to fulfill the specifications. The team became the first in Singapore to successfully meet all the stringent performance tests for the HDB RC Secondary Roof – Bituminous Coating.

Amanda also volunteered in the “1st Working Group (WG) Meeting on Bitumen” was set up by the Singapore Chemical Industry Council in November 2011. The WG responsibilities were to draft or review the Singapore Standards (SS)/Technical Reference (TR) and undertake to help further standardize with specific areas. The WG continued to handle queries and review after a trial of 2 years of the TR. Amanda again volunteered as a Member of the Working Group on Specification for Bituminous Emulsion for Roof Waterproofing : SS133 in August 2015.

Senior Technical Manager
Samwoh Innovation Centre

Dr Lee spearheads the research and development in Samwoh Innovation Centre and has been involved in many consultancy and research projects for more than 15 years. He has led numerous research studies on the recycling of waste materials such as construction and demolition waste, asphalt waste, scrap tires, incineration ash from municipal waste, plastic waste and excavated rocks from the Jurong Rock Cavern. Through these projects, many recycled materials have been accepted by the authorities for road and building construction. He also speaks regularly at international conferences and has published many technical papers to share the green technologies. Over the years, he has received several green accolades in recognition of his contribution towards sustainable development and innovation. Some of these awards include the IES-SG50 Top 50 Engineering Feats Award in 2016, IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award 2015, BCA-SGBC Young Green Building Individual Award 2013 and the Minister for National Development R&D Award 2013

CEO
Ampotech

William Temple is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ampotech, a Singapore-based company applying internet of things and edge computing technology for building energy efficiency and facilities management. A mechanical engineer by training (M.Eng), he has 10 years of international experience in energy, smart buildings, and operational technology ranging from R&D to operations and business development.

Assistant Chief Executive

Prof Tan’s career in A*STAR began in 2009, where he held the appointment of Programme Director of the Medical Technology initiative in the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). His next appointment was as Director of SERC’s Strategic Initiatives, where he oversaw all SERC cluster-led R&D development. He also provided leadership for SERC’s cross-cutting programmes such as the Thematic Research Programme and the Joint Laboratories programme with the local universities and concurrently spearheaded the Healthcare and Lifestyle Programme in A*STAR.

In October 2012, Prof Tan was promoted to Deputy Executive Director in the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC). His experience with the SERC research institutes enabled BMRC to engage companies in these industry sectors holistically, cross-promoting the multi-disciplinary capabilities available at both Councils to meet the needs of companies. He helped to pave the way for growth of A*STAR’s engagements with companies in the Food & Nutrition, Medical Technology and Consumer Care sectors with leading MNCs like GE Healthcare, Nestle, Coca Cola and P&G.

Prof Tan was appointed Assistant Chief Executive of SERC in January 2016, and this involves directing the SERC research institutes to work closely in the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Domain. Together with the Universities, public private partnership models such as Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine Singapore Ltd (TCOMS) and Advance Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) have been successful in demonstrating its platform to facilitate research capabilities to private industries.

Prof Tan was appointed on May 2020 as the Assistant Chief Executive of the newly established Enterprise Division, comprising the Industry Development Group and A*ccelerate Technologies Pte Ltd. As Assistant Chief Executive (ENT), Prof Tan leads the Enterprise Division in steering efforts to translate A*STAR’s R&D to market so as to enable research-fuelled economic and social impact.

Prof Tan is Adjunct Professor at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore.

Prof Tan was formerly the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Rockeby Biomed Limited. Prior to joining Rockeby, he was the Asia-Pacific Associate Regional Medical Director (Asia Regional Office) for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company from 1997 to 2001. Prof Tan was a former Nominated Member of Parliament of Singapore.

Prof Tan is an advisory member to the Singapore National Eye Centre’s Ophthalmic Technologies Incubator Advisory Board. He is a council member of the Singapore Medical Association (SMA), as well as a board director for SMA Pte Ltd and SMA Charity Pte Ltd.

Prof Tan graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from the National University of Singapore (NUS), and attained his Masters of Business Administration from Warwick University, UK. He attended the Stanford Executive Programme at the Stanford Graduate School Business. He is an affiliate member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, UK. He is a registered medical practitioner with the Singapore Medical Council and the Hong Kong Medical Council.

Acting Director
Ecosystem Development
NUS Enterprise

Hui Kwok Leong, a Singaporean, obtained his Computer Science honorary degree and master’s degree from National University of Singapore. In 2018, he was awarded the National Day Commendation Medal (PK) by the President of Singapore. He has held various key positions at technology start-ups in Singapore, Brunei and China, and has made pioneering contributions to entrepreneurship and innovation in Singapore, Brunei and China.

He was responsible for the setup of iCentre, which was Brunei government’s first and largest ICT incubator that was in collaboration with NUS. In addition, he was involved in the successful acquisition of a NUS start-up to McAfee, the second-largest antivirus software company in the US.

Currently, he works for NUS and serves currently Acting Director of Ecosystem Development at NUS Enterprise, Deputy Director in NUS Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI Suzhou) and Senior Advisor at NUS Chongqing Research Institute (NUSRI Chongqing) on Entrepreneurship and Innovation . Kwok Leong oversees the entirely global BLOCK71 family of NUS incubators and that includes the Hangar, ICE71 and PIER71. He is responsible for global ecosystem development; innovation and commercialization in China, including: establish and operate an entrepreneurial ecosystem with Singaporean characteristics, help high-tech projects to be successfully implemented, and guide technology start-ups to explore markets and seek financial support, etc in Singapore and various locations globally. In NUSRI Suzhou, he has established BLOCK71 Suzhou, helped incubatees to raise more than 100 million yuan in equity funding, incubated more than 70 companies, and introduced 21 SIP Pioneer talents. He also cooperated with a number of well-known universities and enterprises at home and abroad to build an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, established benchmark activities for China-Singapore cooperation and organized Innovfest Suzhou. In 2014, he also successfully set up the China-Singapore (Suzhou) Innovation Center in SIP. In 2017, he promoted the establishment of the NUS Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Commercialization Center and vigorously promoted the cooperation between China and Singapore in innovation and entrepreneurship.

In early days, he served as research and application project manager of the Singapore government’s largest computer research institute KRDL (currently known as A@STAR I2R), and the research and application project manager of the Japan-Singapore Artificial Intelligence Center. He was fully responsible for the development and application of the Department of Statistics Singapore’s first intelligent statistical system. Kwok Leong has served as the director of the NCB (IDA) – SunMicrosystem Java center, responsible for promoting the full application of Java software technology in Singapore. He also founded his business as an entrepreneur, and the company was acquired three years after its establishment. As an angel investor, he has also helped many start-ups with their strategic decisions on marketing, investment and financing, with some notable successful exit. He also participated in the acquisition and investment work of over 28 million Singapore dollars.

He was the recipient of the Singapore Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor Silver Award (1998), Best Team Member from Silicon Valley’s Centigram Inc (1994), the National Day Medal (PK) awarded by the President of Singapore (2018), outstanding educator in SIP (2013-2014), Jiangsu province Labor Medal (2015).

CEO
MiRXES

Lihan co-founded and serves as CEO of MiRXES, a Singapore headquartered biotechnology company with the mission to develop accurate, affordable and actionable early cancer detection solutions. He oversees MiRXES’ operations and manages joint ventures with leading clinical consortia and pharmaceutical companies in developing novel RNA diagnostic and companion diagnostic tests. In a short six-year period, MiRXES has grown from a 3-man team operating out of a shared laboratory in A*STAR to a global operation with more than 100 employees across 5 R&D labs, 2 manufacturing facilities, 1 clinical diagnostic lab and 4 country offices in Singapore, US, Japan and China. MiRXES has successfully raised USD $43 million venture funding since 2016, which is among the highest raised by an Asia based diagnostic start-up. In Feb 2020, MiRXES was engaged by the Singapore government agencies to manufacture and supply COVID-19 test kits in response to the escalating global pandemic. The FortitudeTM COVID-19 RT-PCR Test, developed by A*STAR, TTSH and manufactured by MIRXES, has become one of the most widely used tests globally, with deployment in more than 45 countries to date.

Prior to founding MiRXES, Lihan was a research scientist at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR where he co-developed a novel microRNA qPCR assay platform and an integrated workflow for microRNA biomarker and therapeutic target discovery.

Lihan has a PhD in Biochemistry from the National University of Singapore. He was trained as a molecular neurobiologist with a broad mastery in other domains including qPCR technology, gene delivery, tumor targeting nanoparticles and nanostructure enhanced clinical analyte detection. Lihan has authored and co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and 8 patent applications.

In 2015, Lihan was recognized by the MIT Technology Review as a member of the Innovators Under 35. MIRXES has been recognized by a number of Singapore and overseas awards including Singapore’s Most Promising Start-up in 2016 and Singapore’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2020.

CTO
Niometrics

Periklis serves as Niometrics’ CTO. With an eye towards performance and pushing the boundaries of technology, Periklis steers the company’s technology vision and oversees all systems design and architecture. He brings critical technology thought leadership to Niometrics and continues to expand Niometrics’ technology portfolio across all aspects of engineering, data science, visualisation and technical operations. Since joining Niometrics in 2010, Periklis has helped to engineer key pieces of the Niometrics technology stack, as well as assembled a team of expertPeriklis serves as Niometrics’ CTO. With an eye towards performance and pushing the boundaries of technology, Periklis steers the company’s technology vision and oversees all systems design and architecture. He brings critical technology thought leadership to Niometrics and continues to expand Niometrics’ technology portfolio across all aspects of engineering, data science, visualisation and technical operations. Since joining Niometrics in 2010, Periklis has helped to engineer key pieces of the Niometrics technology stack, as well as assembled a team of experts.

Prior to Niometrics, Periklis’ experience spans both academia and industry as researcher and engineer. As a graduate researcher, he was involved in research projects for Microsoft Research, the Institute for Infocomm Research A*STAR (Singapore), the Institute for Computer Science FORTH (Greece) as well as the Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS). He was also in the Systems Research Group at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. Periklis also co-founded Virtual Trip Ltd. in 2000, serving as a software engineer until 2003.

Periklis is an active academic research collaborator, author and co-author of research papers for Tier 1 conferences. His publications have collectively been cited over a thousand times in other scholarly research. Periklis is also co-inventor of 2 patents on computer security and reliability.

Periklis holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, as well as a Master of Science and Bachelor in Computer Science from the University of Crete.

VP Business Development
Westcom Solutions

Ruby is VP of Business Development Department in Westcom Solutions, the first Singapore bio-technology R&D company in organic waste recycling. She graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Master Degree. Self-driven and self-reliant and motivated to engage, encourage others through change for a better well-being and environment. Ruby is always devoted to develop, update and produce the best effective way to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle for a more sustainability world. She is one of the inventors for the main IPs in Westcom.

CEO
Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub)

Sidney is CEO of Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub), a national diagnostics platform of Singapore which is managed by Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). DxD Hub is a product developer of diagnostics solutions, with expertise and capability to rapidly translate R&D output from public and private sectors, into deployable products in hospitals. To address testing and management needs of COVID-19, DxD Hub developed and deployed a number of products, including conventional RT-PCR test Fortitude, serological test C-Pass, and direct PCR test RESOLUTE. Fortitude was the first diagnostic kit to be granted provisional authorisation by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and is now deployed in more than 40 countries globally. RESOLUTE is first-of-its-kind completely extraction-free RT-PCR based test that completes sample-to-result in an hour. A serial entrepreneur with experience in R&D, starting companies and investments prior to joining A*STAR, Sidney is passionate in helping entrepreneurs and enterprises navigate the challenges faced in medtech industry

Provost’s Chair Professor;
Director of The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1);
Director of the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM);
Head of Department of Biomedical Engineering,
National University of Singapore

Using his CURATE.AI platform, Prof. Ho has led multiple pioneering clinical studies that have validated the promise of N-of-1 medicine, where only a patient’s own data is used to personalise their treatment for the entire duration of care. Multiple CURATE.AI-based clinical studies are ongoing or cleared for start in the areas of solid cancer and blood cancer therapy, digital therapeutics/personalised learning, and post-organ transplant immunosuppression, among others.

Prof. Ho is an elected member of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to the NAI is the highest professional honor for academic inventors. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, as well as a Fulbright Scholar. He is also a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Award, and V Foundation for Cancer Research Scholar Award, among others. Prof. Ho was recently named to the Asia Tatler Gen.T List, which honours young leaders who are shaping the future of the region. Prof. Ho has appeared on the National Geographic Channel Program “Known Universe” to discuss his discoveries in drug delivery and imaging. His discoveries have been featured on CNN, The Economist, Forbes, Washington Post, NPR and other international news outlets. He has served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), a 26,000+ member global drug development organization comprised of senior executives from the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, as well as academic thought leaders.

CEO
Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC)
A*STAR

Most recently, Prof Damian O’Connell was Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery – Global Head of Clinical Sciences, Bayer Pharma AG, Berlin – Germany. Clinical Sciences (CS) is a global function within Bayer (based in Germany, US, Japan, China) with responsibility for the first use of drug products in humans up to Proof of Concept, as well as all clinical pharmacological components of NDAs.

Prof O’Connell previously held senior positions within Pfizer Research & Development, Parke Davis, Elan Pharmaceuticals and Neurex. Prof O’Connell has both MD & PhD degrees from the National University of Ireland, has been a Medical Faculty member of the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center as well as a member of the Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics Department at the University College Cork, Ireland where he was a Professor of Clinical Research. He started his career in the Industry in 1998.

Prof O’Connell is a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine; Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine; Fellow of The Royal Academy of Medicine (Ireland); Member of the British Pharmacological Society; Member of the Drug Safety Executive Council (DSEC); Member American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Member American College of Clinical Pharmacology; Member of American Society of Pharmacometrics; Member of the Irish Association of Pharmacologists; Member of the Irish Cardiac Society; and Member of the British Hypertension Society.

CTO
Lucence Diagnostics

Yukti Choudhury is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Lucence. Yukti is principally responsible for the design and development of ultrasensitive assays based on high-throughput sequencing platforms and laboratory innovations for the detection of rare but significant genomic alterations. These assays have seen real-world clinical application in liquid biopsies for solid cancers, hematological malignancies and early cancer detection, including Lucence’s flagship product LiquidHallmark®. Yukti has several publications in peer-reviewed journals and patent filings for novel molecular assays and her research contributions have been recognized through awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Kidney Cancer Association where she was named a “Promising Young Investigator”.

Leveraging on the molecular technology platforms at Lucence and a strong scientific and laboratory team, Yukti is actively adapting tools and resources to the demands for SARS CoV-2 testing, at scales previously unseen for molecular tests.

Founder
Respiree

Dr Gurpreet Singh is a senior research fellow with the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. His research focuses on technological developments and clinical translation of digital health platforms. Gurpreet holds a PhD in electrical engineering, completed under an A*STAR scholarship, and a post-doctorate fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Techonology (MIT). He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Singapore Management University. Gurpreet is also founder of an A*STAR spin-off, Respiree Pte. Ltd. (www.respiree.com), that focuses on combating chronic respiratory diseases and mental health disorders by monitoring and recognizing abnormal changes in breathing and hemodynamic variability using artificial-intelligence driven analytics.

Co-founder & CEO
Biorithm

Born and raised in Singapore, Amrish Nair received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University. His research collaboration with TTSH cardiologist, Dr. David FOO, and NTU supervisor Assoc. Prof. Pina Marziliano led him to spin-off BIORITHM, a MedTech startup providing cutting-edge signal processing solutions in the fields of remote monitoring and wearable technology.