Leadership Transition at Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS)

Appointment of Dr Cheong Wei Yang as Chair, ACTRIS Board Oversight Committee, from 1 January 2024

We are pleased to welcome Dr Cheong Wei Yang as Chairman of the ACTRIS Board Oversight Committee (BOC) from 1 January 2024. Dr Cheong is currently the Vice Provost (Strategic Research Partnerships) with Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Senior Adviser (Health Economics) with Ministry of Health (MOH), Singapore.

As Vice Provost (Strategic Research Partnerships) at SMU, Dr Cheong leads the development multi-disciplinary, strategic research partnerships with government and industry, to advance the international standing of SMU’s research in areas of global impact.

Prior to his appointment at SMU, as Deputy Secretary (Technology) at MOH, Dr Cheong deployed technology against COVID-19, and architected the health research, innovation, and digital-IT-data ecosystems to accelerate MOH’s 3 Beyonds strategy – beyond healthcare to health; beyond hospital to community, and beyond quality to value – to achieve population health, precision health and preventive health.

Dr Cheong was Divisional Director (Planning) in MOE. Beyond educational policies, he shaped educational research at National Institute of Education and international benchmarking and partnership efforts. As Deputy Director (Manufacturing & Services) at MTI, he oversaw EDB, represented Singapore at the APEC Economic Committee, and led the Secretariat for the Economic Strategies Committee chaired by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. As Head (Fiscal Strategy) at MOF, he planned Singapore’s long-term fiscal sustainability.

As Chairman, Dr Cheong will steer ACTRIS' strategic vision towards being the national and regional Centre of Excellence for discovery, process development and manufacturing of cellular-based therapeutics.

We look forward to his leadership as ACTRIS embarks on the next phase of its journey in unlocking the potential of cell therapy for Singapore

Professor Chee Yam Cheng completes term of office as Chair, ACTRIS Board Oversight Committee, on 31 December 2023

Prof Chee Yam Cheng led ACTRIS from 2021 to 2023 as Chair of the ACTRIS Board Oversight Committee (BOC) and completed his final term of office on 31 Dec 2023. His impactful leadership, strategic vision and strong support contributed significantly to ACTRIS’ inception and development, including the conceptualisation of a national Centre of Excellence for cell therapy, and leading the formation of ACTRIS.

A distinguished senior physician in general medicine in Singapore, Prof Chee previously held key positions, including being Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Chairman of the Medical Board for two terms (1991–1993, 2000–2003) and serving as the Master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (1998–2000). Recognised for his contributions to National Healthcare Group’s clinical leadership, recruitment, and clinical quality, he was honored with the Public Administration Gold Medal and the Public Service Medal in 2006 for volunteering his medical expertise post-National Service. Prof Chee holds the title of Honorary Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the College of Family Physicians, Singapore. In 2020, he was granted Honorary Membership of the Singapore Medical Association.

We express our sincere gratitude to Prof Chee for his years of dedicated guidance and support.