Speakers' Biographies

Dr Magdalena SKIPPER

Magdalena Skipper is Editor in Chief of Nature and Chief Editorial Advisor for the Nature Portfolio. A geneticist by training, she holds a PhD from University of Cambridge, UK. She has considerable editorial and publishing experience, having worked as Chief Editor for Nature Reviews Genetics, Senior Editor for genetics and genomics at Nature and Editor in Chief of Nature Communications. She is passionate about mentorship, research integrity, as well as collaboration and inclusion in research. As part of her desire to promote underrepresented groups in research, in 2018 she co-launched the nature Research Inspiring Science Award for women early-career researchers.

Prof David VAUX

Professor David Vaux is an honorary fellow of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI). He graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne, and completed a PhD at WEHI before a post-doctoral placement at Stanford University. His research was concerned with the molecular mechanisms of cell death, including the discovery of the role of Bcl-2 as an inhibitor of apoptosis. He also has an interest in research integrity and the seamier side of science. He is a member of the board of directors of The Center For Scientific Integrity, the parent organization of the Retraction Watch blog. In 2010 he gave the keynote address at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity, held in Singapore.

Prof Abhi VEERAKUMARASIVAM

Professor Abhi Veerakumarasivam is a University of Cambridge- trained geneticist, educator and science communicator. Before taking on his current role as the Provost of Sunway University, he was the Dean of the School of Medical and Life Sciences.

His research in genetics involves the elucidation of components of the regulatory pathways that drive tumour recurrence and invasion as well as dissecting Asian genetic variations that confer differences in disease- risk and response to therapy. In recognition of his achievements, he has been awarded multiple awards including the National Cancer Council Malaysia Cancer Research Award, the Study

UK Alumni Award (Science and Sustainability), and the Merdeka Award Grant as well as listed in the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow List. He is the first Asian to be crowned as the Best Science Communicator at the International FameLab Finals at the Cheltenham Science Festival, UK.

He was the inaugural Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice Asia that supports the use of scientific evidence in informing policy at all levels of government. As Chair of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia and Co-Chair of the ASEAN Young Scientists Network, he championed various national and regional initiatives to support mid- and early career researchers to drive academic excellence and contribute towards nation-building through STEM promotion and advocacy. He sits on various national and regional science and educational policy committees and has co-authored various policy papers and reports, including the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint 2025-2035. He co-initiated and led Malaysia’s first nationwide programme on Responsible Conduct of Research to create awareness and educate the Malaysian scientific community on the importance of research integrity and currently is a member of the National Committee on Research Integrity.

Abhi truly believes that the greatest challenges facing us in the 21st century can only be addressed through interdisciplinary approaches that promote humanity-centric research impact and communication, holistic education programmes that inculcate ethical values and an entrepreneurial mindset, and policies that support the translation of scientific discoveries and sustainability-driven technologies to improve the health of the planet and promote social justice.

Prof Chien CHOU

Dr. Chien Chou is the Senior Vice President, Chief Ethics Officer, and Chair Professor at Graduate Institute of Education / Center for Teacher Education, the Director of Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Director of Office of Academic Ethics and Research Integrity at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taipei, Taiwan. She has a long-standing research focus on digital literacy, particularly scientific integrity and research ethics in Taiwan’s higher education. She has contributed to establishing the Center for Taiwan Academic Research Ethics Education (AREE, https://ethics.moe.edu.tw), supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Education, for over ten years, developing more than 100 online courses in Traditional Chinese for students and researchers. Dr. Chou has received three Outstanding Research Awards from the Taiwan National Science and Technology Council, and was the recipient of the Taiwan Ministry of Education’s 67th Annual Academic Award in 2023.

Assoc Prof Jeannie LEE

Jeannie Lee is currently an Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology and the Deputy Director for the Center for Immersification. Her other key appointment is the Research Leader for Graphics, Multimedia and User Experience at the university. She has deep experience in both industry and academia and previously worked within an applied research division at Qualcomm in San Diego, California on multimedia algorithms, the Android operating system source code (AOSP) by Google, and the latest wearable and mobile chipsets. Her research interests are in immersive technologies, mobile computing, and user interfaces. Her current research projects involve the development of virtual and mixed reality simulations with industry partners using the latest headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro and the Meta Quest Pro. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer and Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

Asst Prof Lisa WINSTANLEY

Lisa Winstanley is an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design & Media. With over 25 years in commercial design and over a decade in education and research, she leads studies on ethical design practices and visual literacy and is the founder of the Design Ethics and Visual Integrity Research Lab. Her scholarly work explores visual plagiarism, interdisciplinary social responsibility, and ethical collaboration, with her research on visual plagiarism supported by an MOE Tier 2 AcRF. Her creative practice has earned 80+ international awards, including the Red Dot Design Award, with exhibitions in 30 countries at venues like Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery.

Prof Mai Har SHAM

Professor Mai Har Sham has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research) and Choh-Ming Li Professor of Biomedical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) since 2020. Professor Sham obtained her BSc and MPhil in Biology at CUHK. She was awarded a Croucher Foundation Scholarship and pursued her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, U.K. She received her postdoctoral training in Developmental Genetics at the National Institute for Medical Research in London before joining The University of Hong Kong (HKU), where she later became Assistant Dean (Research), Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Director of the Centre for Reproduction Development and Growth in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and the Associate Vice-President (Research) of HKU. Professor Sham promoted not only excellent research, but also dedicated to medical and science curriculum development. She led the design and establishment of the first Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences curriculum in Hong Kong.

As PVC (Research) in CUHK, Professor Sham oversees the strategic development of research and innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge transfer and research impact in the University. She provides leadership to research institutes and centres, fostering interdisciplinary research and collaboration with academic and industrial partners in strategic research areas. She is in charge of research support services for technology transfer, intellectual property management, start-ups and commercialization platforms to translate research and knowledge into societal impact. Professor Sham is responsible for the administration of research fundings, including university-wide funding schemes to support research equipment and facilities, interdisciplinary group research projects, research talents and partnership with international institutions. She also oversees matters relating to research policies, research data management, ensuring best practices in compliance, research ethics and integrity in the University.

Professor Sham is a Governing Board member of the World Conferences on Research Integrity Foundation (WCRIF) and was the Co-Chair for the 6^th  World Conference on Research Integrity in 2019. Working together with the international consortium, she promotes responsible conduct of research and good science in universities and research institutions.

As a developmental geneticist, Professor Sham leads a research team focusing on the molecular mechanisms of mammalian development and human congenital disorders. Her research covers areas of gene regulation and molecular signaling, craniofacial and hearing disorders, genetic bases and mutant mouse models of rare human diseases, stem cells, and tissue regeneration. She is currently the President of the Hong Kong Society for Developmental Biology. She serves as an Associate Editor for Gene Expression Patterns and an Editor for Cell and Bioscience.

Prof Simon CHESTERMAN

Simon Chesterman is David Marshall Professor and Vice Provost (Educational Innovation) at the National University of Singapore, where he is also the founding Dean of NUS College. He serves as Senior Director of AI Governance at AI Singapore and Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law. Previously, he was Dean of NUS Law from 2012 to 2022 and Co‐President of the Law Schools Global League from 2021 to 2023.

Educated in Melbourne, Beijing, Amsterdam, and Oxford, Professor Chesterman’s teaching experience includes periods at the Universities of Melbourne, Oxford, Southampton, Columbia, and Sciences Po. From 2006‐2011, he was Global Professor and Director of the New York University School of Law Singapore Programme. Prior to joining NYU, he was a Senior Associate at the International Peace Academy and Director of UN Relations at the International Crisis Group in New York.

Professor Chesterman is the author or editor of more than twenty books, including We, the Robots? Regulating Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of the Law (CUP, 2021) and One Nation Under Surveillance (OUP, 2011). He also writes on legal education and higher education more generally, and is the author of five novels including the Raising Arcadia trilogy and Artifice.

Dr VOO Teck Chuan

Trained in Philosophy, Bioethics, and Medical Jurisprudence, Dr Voo Teck Chuan heads the SingHealth Office of Ethics in Healthcare and is Advisor to the SingHealth-Duke NUS Medical Humanities Institute. Since 2016, he has been a Steering Committee member of the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research. He is also a co-principal investigator for the Southeast Asia Bioethics Network, a Wellcome-funded initiative to build a bioethics community in the region. In addition to his roles on ethics advisory boards for clinical research, Teck Chuan contributes to national and institutional ethics committees in Singapore, including the Singapore Bioethics Advisory Committee, the National Medical Ethics Committee, the Ministry of Health Advisory Committee on Restricted Human Biomedical Research, and the National Advisory Committee for Laboratory Animal Research. He is an elected member of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Bioethics.

Guests of Honour

Prof CHNG Wee Joo

Professor Wee Joo Chng is Vice President (Biomedical Sciences Research) at the National University of Singapore. In this role, he spearheads the development of the University’s biomedical-related research, as well as strategic collaborations with academic institutes, hospitals and industrial partners. Presently the Yong Loo Lin Professor in Medical Oncology, Professor Chng is also a Senior Principal Investigator at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and concurrently serves as the Group Director of Research at the National University Health System and the inaugural Executive Director of the Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium.

 A hematologist by training, Professor Chng is an esteemed researcher in the fields of genomics, therapeutics and hematologic malignancies, with a wealth of experience spanning clinical practice, administration, and leadership. He has produced highly translational research, including using global genomic techniques to understand drug resistance and improve disease prognosis in hematological malignancies — that has helped to personalise treatment and improve patient outcomes. His impactful research has won him numerous national and global accolades, including the International Myeloma Foundation’s Brian G.M. Durie Outstanding Achievement Award in 2020 — becoming the first in Asia to achieve this honour — and the National Medical Research Council’s National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award in 2016.

 Professor Chng has been a Senior Consultant at the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore for over two decades, and was Vice Dean of Research at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (2022–2023), Director of the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (2014–2023), and Provost’s Chair (2018–2022). He is also the chair of the Asian Myeloma Network, a member of various leading national and international professional committees, including the International Myeloma Working Group and the American Association of Cancer Research, and a former president of the Singapore Society of Hematology.

 Professor Chng obtained his medical degree from the University of Leeds, and completed his internal medicine residency and fellowship training in hematology in the United Kingdom and Singapore respectively.

Prof Ernst J KUIPERS

Professor Ernst J Kuipers (MD, PhD) is Vice President (Research) and Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Prior to joining Nanyang Technological University, Ernst for two years served as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport of The Netherlands. As Minister, he focused on a broad integrated care agenda to improve access, clinical outcomes, digitalization, and workforce satisfaction.

Before becoming Minister, Ernst served Erasmus University Medical Center (MC) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands as CEO, and earlier as Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery. Erasmus MC is a university medical institute that combines hospitals, research facilities, and Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Nanobiology, and Clinical Technology. As CEO, he led the transformation to a new ‘smart’ hospital that, with other leading centers, forms the European University Hospital Alliance. Erasmus MC collaborates with the Technology University Delft and Erasmus University in a convergency strategy, joining expertise, facilities, and funding to address major societal challenges related to health, climate, and other matters. Ernst was also a member of the Governing Board of the National University Health System in Singapore, and a member of the Board of Curaçao Medical Center. He further acted as chair of the Dutch National Emergency Medicine Network, which played a major role during the Covid pandemic. Ernst chaired the board of the Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres and was a member of the Dutch National Health Council.

Ernst earned a medical degree from University of Groningen, completed training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and wrote a thesis on Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer. He subsequently worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, in the USA, and then joined Erasmus MC. His clinical and research interests include early neoplastic gastrointestinal conditions, with a focus, among other things, on cancer screening. Under his supervision, many students completed their theses. He is a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association, Honorary Member of the European Helicobacter & Microbiota Study Group, and an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Society of Gastroenterology. He served as the World Endoscopy Organization’s regional lead on colorectal cancer screening for Europe and the Middle East. He co-organized and contributed to various international guidelines on gastrointestinal neoplasia.

Ernst is the recipient of many awards, including the Dutch Ministry of Health Pearl Award, the Influencer of the Year Award in Hospital Healthcare, the Ismar Boas Medal of the German Gastroenterology Society, the United European Gastroenterology Research Prize, the Innovation Award of the German Felix Burda Society, a Clinical Mentorship Award by the American Gastroenterology Association, and the Dutch Healthcare Executive of the Year Award.

Address by SIRION Chair

Prof Andy HOR

Professor Andy Hor is the Deputy Chief Executive (Research) of A*STAR. He oversees the scientific vision and research strategy of A*STAR, supports investigator-led research, develops a framework to foster quality, excellence and impact, as well as review policy and measures to safeguard research ethics, integrity, compliance and responsible conduct. He oversees the central research initiatives of the Agency, and is accordingly in charge of research talent development, strategic research initiatives, outputs, outcomes and research data, as well as local and international research partnership.

Prior to this, Professor Hor was the Vice President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Chair Professor of Metallic Chemistry & Materials in the University of Hong Kong (HKU) from 2015 to early 2020, and Professor of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 1984 to 2015. In NUS, he was Head of Chemistry, Vice Dean (Academic) of Science and Fellow of the NUS Teaching Academy. He is Adjunct Professor of NUS, NTU (Singapore) and Concurrent Professor of Fudan University (Shanghai, China).

Professor Hor graduated from Imperial College (B.Sc.(Hon)) and University of Oxford (D.Phil.), and did postdoctoral work in Yale University before he joined NUS. He was a Humboldt Fellow (Munich and Muenster), Commonwealth Fellow (Liverpool) and Anthony Mason Fellow (UNSW). He is the Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science and European Academy of Sciences.

Among his accolades are the NSTB Young Scientist Award, ASEAN Achievement Award, the first SNIC Distinguished Chemistry Service Award, and numerous fellowship such as Humboldt, Commonwealth and ASAIHL. For his achievements and contributions, he was conferred D.Sc. by the University of London, and numerous academy fellowships, including the European Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Chemistry, Singapore National Academy of Science, Singapore National Institute of Chemistry and NUS Teaching Academy, among others. His services included being the President of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies, President of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC), President of Jury of L’Oréal for Women in Science, Founding Chair of the Young Scientist Award, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and Toxic Wastes of the National Environment Agency, and Chair of numerous international conferences. He is on the advisory boards of a number of international journals and conferences, and has served on many grant and award review panels in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong as well as NRF and A*STAR, among others.

In research, he specializes in organometallic materials and heterometallic catalysis and has published over 430 international papers with more than 1,000 annual citations in recent years, and filed patents in areas like nanostructures and battery materials. He has delivered numerous plenary, keynote and invited lectures in major conferences and seminars, and trained over 100 doctorate and Master’s students apart from many more research students in NUS and schools in Singapore. He is Concurrent Professor of Fudan University.