My research is focused on the development of rapid non-invasive diagnostics and predictors to personalize the management of cancer and infectious diseases. For example, this may be achieved through monitoring circulating tumor cells. Additional dimensions of my work are guided by an interest in fundamental biological processes, such as bioenergetics and angiogenesis. I graduated from the medical school at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and subsequently completed my internal medicine residency with the National Healthcare Group, Singapore. My medical oncology fellowship training was at the National Cancer Centre Singapore and I remain a visiting consultant there to provide specialist care for patients with urological cancers and clinical cancer genetics. My PhD training was at NUS, and I was awarded two postdoctoral fellowships in cancer genetics at the Cleveland Clinic and the Van Andel Research Institute in the USA.

In my free time, I enjoy stealing away to pleasant and relaxing places - with Internet access - over the weekends. One of my favorite weekend haunts would be Desaru or the adjacent Sungai Rengit in Malaysia for the beaches, relatively open roads and small town atmosphere.

Since young, I have always liked and kept all sorts of animals. I now have a pet rabbit called Alfonso, who is a very resilient rabbit. I adopted him from an unwanted litter because my wife felt sorry for him as the runt of the bunch. He was born with congenitally splayed legs, arising from painless dislocations due to malformed joints. Subsequently, Alfonso developed skin cancer in one ear, which had to be amputated, thus acquiring the status of a cancer survivor! Today, he is six years old, and has accumulated lots of frequent flyer points from accompanying us from Singapore to the USA, and back again.

I hold the firm conviction that systems medicine is the way forward for our future – engineering, biology, chemistry and computational tools are being integrated to enhance the point-of-care for patients. Many of the major advances in medicine in the 20th century that have a direct impact on patient care were derived from a diverse range of sources, and not just academic biology. For example, the CT scanner was invented by an electrical engineer and the first antimicrobials in clinical use were synthesized by chemists working in industry. Great work occurs in an ecology of individuals from diverse backgrounds and training, where the buzz, energy and direction are focused on making a difference in terms of practical clinical and industrial outcomes, and IBN clearly provides an attractive and exciting multidisciplinary environment for this to happen.