MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Discuss and exchange insightful perspectives on advancing Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in Singapore’s health research ecosystem with our distinguished speakers.

Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis is an Academic General Practitioner (GP) and Academic Director of Primary Care and Family Medicine at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Her research focus is on the development and implementation of technology to inform decision making in general-practice, health services research and the use of data to describe and improve general-practice activity, with a focus on cancer, chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, and antimicrobial stewardship. She is a contributor and proponent of practice-based research networks and programmes to develop primary care clinician researchers. 

She aims to include primary care professionals and people that attend primary care in the development and implementation of research to ensure it meets the needs of end users and can be translated into practice. 

Edel Murphy is the national programme manager for the PPI Ignite Network. Edel has worked in the area of Public - No restriction and patient involvement (PPI) in research for a number of years, working with researchers across all disciplines and with the Public - No restriction to build PPI capacity among both constituencies, delivering education and training and providing support to help researchers understand how to plan for and embed the Public - No restriction and patient voice across their research. In her current role, Edel is driving the development and growth of an energetic, collaborative and innovative Network, bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders nationally and internationally to build a shared voice for PPI in research in Ireland. She will facilitate knowledge exchange and sharing of skills and expertise across all involved in the Network, as well as conducting wide ranging engagements and two-way dialog with numerous and diverse partner organisations. Additionally, she will lead on the curation of the Networks online hub, including the PPI Opportunities portal, on the Networks communications and on establishing the Networks Public - No restriction Advisory Panel. The PPI Ignite Network has seven Universities at its core, 10 national partners and over 50 local partners. The Network is funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Research Council, with co-funding from the seven Universities, and aims to bring about a culture change in health and social care research, so that all researchers automatically consider working with the Public - No restriction across the full research cycle. 

Adj A/Prof Danny Soon is Chief Executive Officer at the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS) and concurrent Executive Director at the Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI). As the inaugural CEO of CRIS, A/Prof Soon has the responsibility of bringing together seven research programmes and platforms under the auspices of CRIS, promulgating synergies and strategies, building corporate functions to service the entire entity.  

A/Prof Soon was previously the Interim Executive Director of Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS) from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2025. A/Prof Soon was previously the Executive Director of Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) in A*STAR. His team in BMRC was responsible for incepting and coordinating efforts and programmes in drug development, precision medicine, medical technology and biomanufacturing. A/Prof Soon also held the role of founding and Acting CEO of the Experimental Biotherapeutics Centre.  

A/Prof Soon has long experience in drug development, having worked at Eli Lilly and Company for 15 years, where he headed up the Lilly-NUS Centre for Clinical Pharmacology (LNUS). As the Managing Director and Principal Investigator, A/Prof Soon had responsibility and oversight for all clinical Phase 1 studies conducted and operations in the unit. Studies conducted included first-in-human studies, biomarker development work, human physiology investigations and pivotal registration PK studies, in neuroscience, diabetes, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular therapeutic areas 

Dr Matthew Cove completed his advanced training in critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where he developed a research focus on organ support and extracorporeal therapies. 

He later relocated to Singapore, where he has established a combined clinical and academic career in critical care. His work centres on the development and translation of novel extracorporeal support strategies, particularly for carbon dioxide removal and respiratory dialysis. He has led multidisciplinary projects spanning bench research, large-animal models, and early clinical applications, supported by national competitive funding. 

In parallel with his research, Dr Cove remains actively involved in clinical service and education, contributing to the care of critically ill patients and the training of junior doctors. His work emphasises bridging engineering and medicine to improve outcomes in intensive care. 

Rae is a patient advocate and bridge builder dedicated to transforming lived experience into meaningful change. Inspired by the journey she shared with her late daughter, Rachael, she works alongside healthcare professionals, researchers and communities to amplify the voices of patients and caregivers. Through advocacy, public sharing and collaboration, Rae champions compassionate, person-centred care, greater inclusivity and stronger partnerships that improve healthcare and palliative care experiences. She believes the most meaningful change begins with listening, every lived experience has the power to shape better care, and every meaningful connection creates ripples that extend far beyond the individual. 

Ai Ling Sim-Devadas is a patient advocate, breast cancer survivor and a patient involvement professional. Committed to grow patient and public involvement (PPI) in Singapore’s healthcare landscape, she is bringing patients’ voices to medical research and education through NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine’s Office of Patient Engagement (OPEN) 

In advocating the patient’s perspective, she is a member of the Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE) Consumer Panel, a member (lay representative) of the TRUST Data Access Committee, a member of the PRECISE PPI Advisory Panel and a board member of the Alliance of Patient Organizations Singapore (APOS).  Globally, she serves on the International PPI Network (IPPIN) to bring patient and public involvement perspectives from this region. 

Dr Katie Lamb is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dental and Health Science at the University of Melbourne. 

Katie manages a stream of research about domestic, family and sexual violence in partnership with 25 victim survivors. These women work as co-researchers and support teaching and training at the University and are part of the WEAVERS lived expertise group. 

Katie brings statewide planning and policy expertise gained from her work in the government to her academic work and is particularly interested in how research can support policy and practice. 

Lily Fetter is the Lived Expertise Academic Specialist at the University of Melbourne's Safer Families Centre and a registered midwife. Her work sits at the intersection of clinical care, education, and lived expertise, bringing together professional practice and real-world experience to strengthen responses to domestic, family, and sexual violence. 

Lily is a passionate advocate for embedding lived expertise across healthcare, education, and service systems. She works to build meaningful, ethical, and impactful partnerships that ensure lived experience informs research, policy, education, and practice. She believes systems are most effective when the people they serve are at the centre of every decision.

Phyllis Liang is a Principal Qualitative Research Analyst at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she leads patient and public involvement (PPI) initiatives within population health research. With a background in occupational therapy and a PhD from The University of Queensland, Australia, her work spans qualitative, participatory and implementation research, with a particular interest in co-producing research alongside patients, caregivers and community members. She is currently leading the development of the Community Advisory Group for the Health4All@Toa Payoh programme, exploring how meaningful partnerships can shape research priorities, intervention design and implementation. Her broader research focuses on population health, healthy ageing and community-based research, with particular interests in the built environment, quality of life, community participation, and meaningful partnerships between researchers, patients and the public to improve health outcomes.

Andrea Lim is a passionate community leader and experienced professional dedicated to serving her community. With over 17 years of diversified experience across the corporate and public sectors, Andrea brings a wealth of knowledge and a service-oriented approach to all her endeavors. 

She holds an Honours Degree in Banking and Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE). Her professional journey includes a 14-year tenure at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), where she gained valuable experience in Finance, client servicing, and human resources. This was followed by three years in government service, where she focused on employee engagement and union negotiations. Today, Andrea works as a Real Estate Consultant with PropNex, leveraging her expertise to provide strategic advice while balancing her professional life with family commitments. 

Andrea’s commitment to community building shines through in her extensive grassroots work in Toa Payoh. For the past eight years, she has served as an active leader on various committees, including the Senior Citizens' Executive Committee (SCEC), the Community Centre Management Committee (CCMC), and the Integration and Naturalisation Committee (INC). Her certifications include being a Certified Grassroots Mediator, a Trained Facilitator, and a recent graduate of the Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance (ACLP). 

A firm believer that serving others is a path to humility, Andrea extends her contribution as a key community partner and Public Partner for the Health4All@ Toa Payoh study. In this role, she leverages her deep grassroots knowledge to provide valuable insights. Andrea plays a vital role in championing targeted and relevant community health initiatives, bridging the gap between program design and the actual needs of residents to ensure these efforts are truly impactful for the people of Toa Payoh. 

Through her dedication and service, Andrea embodies her personal motto: "It is a blessing to be able to give, and it is only through serving that one learns true humility." 

Melissa Ng is a Group Leader based at Singapore Immunology Network, A*STAR. She received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 2019, where she worked on the role of Helios in driving the preferential differentiation of regulatory T cells in early life, under Dr Trevor Burt. During her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr Ng Lai Guan, she focused on investigating neutrophil reprogramming in the cancer microenvironment to identify potential draggable targets for immunotherapies. Her current research ties together her broad expertise across both innate and adaptive arms of the immune system and will utilize cutting edge sequencing and in vitro/vivo functional assays to study the mechanisms of immune regulation, resolution and tolerance.  

 Eileen brings more than 20 years of experience in business management, strategic planning, operational transformation and stakeholder engagement across Asia Pacific. An ACLP-certified Adult Learning Facilitator, she is passionate about lifelong learning, coaching and people development, and is currently working towards International Coaching Federation (ICF) accreditation.  Eileen recently began volunteering as a Patient Partner with the A*STAR IMPACT study, contributing the patient perspective to lupus research. This experience has opened a meaningful new chapter for her. This strengthened her belief that patients should not simply be recipients of healthcare, but active voices and partners in shaping research, healthcare innovation and more patient-centred outcomes. She hopes to use her lived experience and professional journey to encourage greater understanding, collaboration and empathy between patients, researchers and healthcare professionals as every patient voice has the power to make a difference.

Anita Pienkowska is a Senior Research Fellow at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Trained in the humanities, she has been conducting qualitative research in healthcare for over five years. Her work sits at the intersection of health, education, and innovation. She has led and contributed to projects focused on diabetes self-management, mHealth interventions, the healthcare workforce, and educational innovation in medicine. Her recent research examines the development and evaluation of digital health applications for people living with diabetes, as well as the adoption and adaptation of educational approaches such as Team-Based Learning in medical education. Her current work focuses on patient and public involvement in research as partners. She has published in journals including Medical Education, Perspectives on Medical Education, PLOS ONE, JMIR Formative Research, and mHealth. Pienkowska's broader interests include qualitative inquiry informed by critical and postmodern traditions, with a particular focus on how individuals and institutions construct, negotiate, and contest meaning in healthcare, education, and everyday life. 

Evelyn has spent over 20 years supporting multinational companies in organizational change, operating model redesign and process improvement initiatives. Today, she is applying that background in problem-solving and operations to healthcare advocacy and community volunteer work. 

She is currently on a career break to focus on family and personal growth.  As a caregiver for her parents, she supports their daily health needs and navigates the medical system alongside them. This experience has shown her firsthand what patients and families actually go through, particularly for patients like her father living with dementia and Parkinson’s disease, who may not have a voice of their own. 

By combining her professional background and lived experiences, Evelyn focuses on finding practical, human-centered solutions in healthcare. She is dedicated to bringing the patient/caregiver’s perspective to the forefront of patient advocacy. 

Diana is a healthcare consultant and a patient advocate who bridges industry, research and lived experience to improve how evidence is generated and translated into real-world care.   

She is the Co-Founder of Menopause Care Alliance, a non-profit advancing research, education and access to menopause care, and serves as Patient Partner at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine where she collaborates with researchers to co-design studies and translate findings into practice.  

Diana is also Founder of Advocates for Advancing Health, a for-profit Life Sciences and Healthcare consulting firm specializing in market research, RWE and evidence-based implementation strategies.   
   
Together, these roles reflect a single mission: progressing education, access, quality of care, and health outcomes. 

Mira Azztiyana is a patient engagement professional with a background in nursing and patient safety. Committed to advancing patient and public involvement (PPI) in Singapore's healthcare and research ecosystem, she works to strengthen partnerships between patients, researchers and educators through the Office of Patient Engagement (OPEN) at NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

As Patient Partner Manager at OPEN, she leads the development and growth of the OPEN Voices Patient Partner Network, creating frameworks, training programmes and engagement opportunities that support meaningful collaboration between patients and researchers. She designs and facilitates workshops to build PPI capabilities and mentors patient partners in contributing their lived experiences to research, education and healthcare improvement initiatives.

In advocating for stronger patient involvement in research, she is a member of the core working group developing Singapore's National Guidance Document for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in Health Research, helping to shape national efforts to embed patient perspectives in research processes and decision-making. Through her work, Mira champions the integration of lived experience into healthcare research and education, ensuring that patient voices are valued as equal partners in driving meaningful change.

Sook Mei leads Office of Patient Experience (OPE) initiatives in patient experience, staff awards and recognition, 1SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network, and patient feedback and complaints resolution. At SingHealth, Sook Mei leads efforts in deriving System-level insights about patients’ and caregivers experience of care. At CGH, she regularly reads patients’ letters and emails aloud at meetings and staff recognition platforms so that the voice of the patient is heard by staff to motivate them to put patients at the centre.  

Sook Mei began her career as a pharmacist in Guardian Pharmacy. During those formative years, she was privileged to have managed pharmacies and learnt about retail business. Prior to joining CGH, Sook Mei worked with Zuellig Pharma (Singapore), a pharmaceutical distributor and Reckitt-Benckiser, a pharmaceutical company. 

Outside of work, she serves as a member of the Ethics Review Board of Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and is a volunteer fundraiser for Ambulance Wish Singapore (AWS), a charity which grants last wishes for people with life-limiting conditions.  

Ms Serene Mai is the Deputy Head of Corporate Communications & Outreach at The National Kidney Foundation (NKF), where she drives strategic efforts to shape public understanding and awareness of kidney health in Singapore. With over 18 years of experience in healthcare and community care, she has been instrumental in crafting narratives that drive awareness, inspire behavioural change, and foster greater advocacy around kidney disease prevention and management. She was recognised as one of the NCSS 40-Under-40 leaders in 2024. 

Serene is also a distinguished Patient Advocate with more than 30 years of lived experience with lupus and chronic kidney disease. She has been representing the patient voice for over 13 years across various platforms. A former Council Member of the Lupus Association of Singapore, Serene now leads patient advocacy efforts at NKF. She represents Singapore in the International Society of Nephrology Patient Liaison Advisory Group, serves as a Patient Partner with Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and contributes to A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network in the SLE Patient Advisory Group and NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Policy’s Centre for Health Intervention and Policy Evaluation Research (HIPER). 
 

Serene’s advocacy experience spans internationally with Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN); and locally with the Ministry of Health, National University Health System (NUHS), Centre for Healthcare Innovation, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, Bayer, and patient organisations like Lupus Association Singapore and Autoimmune Diseases Singapore.  

Living true to her belief of “using sickness for good”, Serene’s commitment to amplifying patient perspectives reflects her vision of a more empathetic, inclusive, and truly patient-centered healthcare system, and building a culture of patient involvement within research and education. 

Annie is a Research Fellow at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, where she works with the Office of Patient Engagement (OPEN). Her work focuses on generating academic evidence and expert input to support the development of Singapore’s National Guidance Document for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health research. Through this, she aims to advance meaningful, inclusive, and system-level approaches to patient partnership in research. 

Her research interests include patient and public involvement, implementation science, and health system strengthening, with a particular focus on translating evidence into practice and policy. She is especially interested in designing research that is methodologically rigorous while remaining responsive to the needs of patients, providers, and health systems. Annie has a background in maternal and newborn health, health services research, and public health. 

Dr Rayner Kay Jin Tan leads The Courage Lab at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. He is an implementation researcher and applied social scientist with expertise in community engagement in health and health equity as applied in the fields of infectious diseases, mental health, and LGBTQ+ health. He is deputy editor at both the Journal of the International AIDS Society and Global LGBTQ+ Health, and serves as Associate Editor at Implementation Science Communications, International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, and the Asia Pacific Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. He is an incoming Governing Council member of the International AIDS Society, a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Communications Director of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections, and leads several nonprofit and professional organisations that advance behavioural health and the welfare of marginalised communities.

Shannon Heo was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010 and has since become a passionate advocate. She believes that lived experience is a powerful force for change and that patient voice can help shape and improve healthcare. In 2024, together with a few equally passionate MS Warriors, she co-founded the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Singapore (MSSS), where she now serves as President. Through this role, Shannon is dedicated to empowering, educating and advocating for MS Warriors and spreading awareness of the condition.

Outside of advocacy, Shannon is a full-time veterinarian and proud mother of five (three humans and two cats).

Raj is an OPEN Voices Patient Partner and trained teacher specializing in Economics and Theory of Knowledge. He is married and a proud parent of two children, one of whom is a child with autism. 

His journey as a parent has inspired him to conduct workshops for parents of children with autism, equipping them with practical strategies and support. He is deeply committed to promoting an inclusive society—one that values and supports caregivers and individuals with disabilities, particularly children with autism. 

To advocate for this cause, he organized the ASIRVATHAM Exhibition, an initiative dedicated to sharing caregivers’ stories and fostering awareness of their well-being. Raj aspires to contribute to this mission through grassroots efforts, collaborating with organizations that share the vision of inclusion.

Phyllis is a dedicated advocate and mother of two whose journey into diabetes advocacy began when her son, now three, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in 2024.  

Transitioning from a successful decade-long corporate career to become a caregiver, she channels her firsthand experiences into support for families navigating similar paths. Through her platform @PhyllingPhyne, Phyllis shares candid insights into daily T1D management from a caregiver’s perspective, fostering a community for families managing chronic health conditions.  

Undaunted by the limited diabetes care options and subsidies in Singapore, she explores medtech options from other countries and constantly seeks funding for diabetes care in Singapore. Cognisant of the long-term financial cost of chronic conditions, she also founded @MightyMoneyMinds— an early childhood financial literacy platform designed to teach parents how to raise money-smart children.  

Today, Phyllis combines her background in finance with her passion for caregiving to champion patient advocacy and guide parents to raise financially savvy kids. 

Mak used to speak to computers until depression kicked the doors down in 2017. Now he speaks to people about mental health and recovery, and tries to promote active listening. He has published a book, blogs at dpressioninsg.com and draws a comic at depressedavecomics.com. Mak joined OPEN Voices in 2025. 

Sherry has been living with vasculitis, an autoimmune disease, for the past 20 years, and the journey has not been easy for her due to the uncertainty of this chronic condition, which can be debilitating at times. She started Autoimmune Diseases SG as she did not know of anyone else living with an autoimmune disease and wanted to seek people with such conditions.

She attributes the success of ADSG to being started by someone living with an autoimmune disease who truly understands what it’s like for others in the same situation. A few members bonded through an appreciation project this year and are helping to grow the group.

She is a member of the OPEN Voices Taskforce, co-creating OPEN Voices, providing critical patient perspective, and is therefore a pioneer OPEN Voices Patient Partner. 

Candy Gan is a two-time TEDx speaker, patient advocate, and co-author of My Name is Adam. I have Type 1 Diabetes – Singapore’s first bilingual children’s picture book that vocalises, localises, and normalises the T1D lived experience. 

 
She leads typeOne.sg with 3 other administrators on a volunteer basis, managing Singapore’s sole community group for everyone living with, or caring for those living with, Type 1 Diabetes. Having lived with T1D for 27 years, she has been a speaker, panellist, and emcee at various health events in Singapore (e.g. Patient Voices Symposium, CHI INNOVATE, Allianz 2nd Global Health Summit). Internationally, she has contributed in various T1D lived experience panels and advocacy groups. 
In the day, she works in public health for NUHS, having begun her career in MOH healthcare services regulations. She obtained her Bachelors and Masters from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). 

 
As a patient partner, Candy has contributed her lived experience to LKC 1st year MBBS students; for NLB’s AI in Healthcare session; and as emcee for the Patient Voices Symposium (2024-25).