Appointment(s)
Head of Department, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University Singapore
Chief, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University Hospital
Group Chief, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University Health System
Co-Director, National University Centre for Women and Children (NUWoC) Women’s Clinic
Senior Consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, National University Hospital
Dean’s Chair, National University Singapore
Degree(s)
PhD, Imperial College, University of London, London, UK, (2002)
MSc (Medical Genetics), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, (2022)
FAMS, Clinician Scientist, O&G, Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, (2013)
FRCOG, Royal College of O&G, (2007)
FRANZCOG, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of O&G (2003)
MMED (OG), National University Singapore (1994)
MRCOG, Royal College of O&G (1993)
MBBS, National University Singapore (1987)
Biography
Associate Professor Mahesh Choolani is an obstetrician specialising in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. He is currently the Head and Chief of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National University Hospital (NUH), respectively. Additionally, he is a Co-Director of the National University Centre for Women and Children (NUWoC) Women’s Clinic at the NUHS.
His research interests span prenatal diagnosis, stem cells, fetal therapy, ovarian cancer biomarkers, and recently, artificial intelligence. Since returning from the UK with a PhD, Associate Professor Choolani has been fortunate enough to secure grants which has translated to more than 260 peer-reviewed articles (Scopus June’24), including top-tier journals such as The Lancet, Nature, PNAS and Cell. He has a h-index of 51 (Scopus June’24), field-weighted citation impact of 2.2 (Scopus June’24) and has filed a total of eleven unique patents, both locally and internationally, covering various areas of innovation.
Amongst his contributions, Associate Professor Choolani pioneered a technique using epsilon-globin as a fetal cell marker, published in Blood, which significantly enhanced prenatal diagnosis specificity. He introduced two tests to Singapore and the region, now considered a standard of care for pregnant women, the First Trimester Screening (FTS) and the Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) test. In 2014, he reported a groundbreaking case where his team delivered mesenchymal stem cells in utero to treat Type IV Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), marking only the second time in the world that a fetus with OI was treated with stem cells in utero, and the first time in Asia. Ovarian cancer is poorly understood and has high mortality rates, with existing prediction models lacking accuracy. His discovery of haptoglobin as an intratumoral biomarker improves prediction accuracy, with an AUC close to 1. This breakthrough is patented, CE-marked, HSA-registered, and licensed for commercialisation.
In recent years, Associate Professor Choolani has focussed on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into O&G care. Collaborating with A*STAR’s Diagnostics Development Hub, he developed Machine Learning (ML) models using initial antenatal data for early risk stratification. The models’ performance improved with features from later pregnancy stages, potentially serving as an adjunct in personalised care and equitable resource allocation.
In addition to his research endeavours, Associate Professor Choolani holds various leadership roles within healthcare, including serving as President of the College of Clinician Scientists at the Academy of Medicine, Vice-President of the College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Chairman of the Residency Advisory Committee, and Chairperson of the Medical Association of South-East Asian Nations Group of Journals Committee. Internationally, he has the privilege of holding leadership positions such as the President of the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD), President-at-Large of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society (IFMSS), and the past Co-Chairman of the International Fetal Transplantation and Immunology Society (iFETIS).
A clinician, researcher, and leader, Associate Professor Choolani has consistently strived to enhance healthcare outcomes for women and infants worldwide. In 2023, he was honoured with the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award by the Singapore Ministry of Health for his commitment to developing the clinician-scientist community in Singapore and his outstanding leadership in revolutionising the field of O&G. He continues to provide specialised care for high-risk mothers and babies at the National University Hospital.
ChatGPT outscored human candidates in a virtual objective structured clinical examination in obstetrics and gynecology.
Li SW, Kemp MW, Logan SJS, Dimri PS, Singh N, Mattar CNZ, Dashraath P, Ramlal H, Mahyuddin AP, Kanayan S, Carter SWD, Thain SPT, Fee EL, Illanes SE, Choolani MA
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and pregnancy.
Dashraath P, Wong JLJ, Lim MXK, Lim LM, Li S, Biswas A, Choolani M, Mattar C, Su LL.
COVID-19 vaccination before or during pregnancy results in high, sustained maternal neutralizing activity to SARS-CoV2 wild-type and Delta/Omicron variants of concern, particularly following a booster dose or infection.
Mahyuddin AP, Swa HLF, Weng R, Zhang J, Dhanaraj JP, Sesurajan BP, Rauff M, Dashraath P, Kanneganti A, Lee R, Wang LF, Young BE, Tambyah PA, Lye DC, Chai LYA, Yee S, Choolani M, Mattar C.
Care of the pregnant woman with coronavirus disease 2019 in labor and delivery: anesthesia, emergency cesarean delivery, differential diagnosis in the acutely ill parturient, care of the newborn, and protection of the healthcare personnel.
Ashokka B, Loh MH, Tan CH, Su LL, Young BE, Lye DC, Biswas A, Illanes SE, Choolani M.
Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidance on Behalf of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society.
Deprest J, Choolani M, Chervenak F, Farmer D, Lagrou K, Lopriore E, McCullough L, Olutoye O, Simpson L, Van Mieghem T, Ryan G.
A reasoned approach towards administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women.
Pramanick A, Kanneganti A, Wong JLJ, Li SW, Dimri PS, Mahyuddin AP, Kumar S, Illanes SE, Chan JKY, Su LL, Biswas A, Tambyah PA, Huang RY, Mattar CNZ, Choolani M.
Mechanisms and evidence of vertical transmission of infections in pregnancy including SARS-CoV-2.
Mahyuddin AP, Kanneganti A, Wong JJL, Dimri PS, Su LL, Biswas A, Illanes SE, Mattar CNZ, Huang RY, Choolani M.
Pregnancy Outcomes in COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study in Singapore.
Mattar CN, Kalimuddin S, Sadarangani SP, Tagore S, Thain S, Thoon KC, Hong EY, Kanneganti A, Ku CW, Chan GM, Lee KZ, Yap JJ, Tan SS, Yan B, Young BE, Lye DC, Anderson DE, Yang L, Su LL, Somani J, Tan LK, Choolani MA, Chan JK.
Simultaneous fetal cell identification and diagnosis by epsilon-globin chain immunophenotyping and chromosomal fluorescence in situ hybridization.
Choolani M, O'Donnell H, Campagnoli C, Kumar S, Roberts I, Bennett PR, Fisk NM.
Detection of aneuploidy from single fetal nucleated red blood cells using whole genome sequencing.
Hua R, Barrett AN, Tan TZ, Huang Z, Mahyuddin AP, Ponnusamy S, Sandhu JS, Ho SS, Chan JK, Chong S, Quan S, Choolani M.
Diagnostic accuracy of haptoglobin within ovarian cyst fluid as a potential point-of-care test for epithelial ovarian cancer: an observational study.
Mahyuddin AP, Liu L, Zhao C, Kothandaraman N, Salto-Tellez M, Pang B, Lim D, Annalamai L, Chan J, Lim T, Biswas A, Rice G, Razvi K, Choolani M.
Perturbation of fetal liver hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell development by trisomy 21.
Roy A, Cowan G, Mead AJ, Filippi S, Bohn G, Chaidos A, Tunstall O, Chan JK, Choolani M, Bennett P, Kumar S, Atkinson D, Wyatt-Ashmead J, Hu M, Stumpf MP, Goudevenou K, O'Connor D, Chou ST, Weiss MJ, Karadimitris A, Jacobsen SE, Vyas P, Roberts I.
Pre- and postnatal transplantation of fetal mesenchymal stem cells in osteogenesis imperfecta: a two-center experience.
Götherström C, Westgren M, Shaw SW, Aström E, Biswas A, Byers PH, Mattar CN, Graham GE, Taslimi J, Ewald U, Fisk NM, Yeoh AE, Lin JL, Cheng PJ, Choolani M, Le Blanc K, Chan JK.
Human fetal dendritic cells promote prenatal T-cell immune suppression through arginase-2.
McGovern N, Shin A, Low G, Low D, Duan K, Yao LJ, Msallam R, Low I, Shadan NB, Sumatoh HR, Soon E, Lum J, Mok E, Hubert S, See P, Kunxiang EH, Lee YH, Janela B, Choolani M, Mattar CNZ, Fan Y, Lim TKH, Chan DKH, Tan KK, Tam JKC, Schuster C, Elbe-Bürger A, Wang XN, Bigley V, Collin M, Haniffa M, Schlitzer A, Poidinger M, Albani S, Larbi A, Newell EW, Chan JKY, Ginhoux F.
Microbial exposure during early human development primes fetal immune cells.
Mishra A, Lai GC, Yao LJ, Aung TT, Shental N, Rotter-Maskowitz A, Shepherdson E, Singh GSN, Pai R, Shanti A, Wong RMM, Lee A, Khyriem C, Dutertre CA, Chakarov S, Srinivasan KG, Shadan NB, Zhang XM, Khalilnezhad S, Cottier F, Tan ASM, Low G, Chen P, Fan Y, Hor PX, Lee AKM, Choolani M, Vermijlen D, Sharma A, Fuks G, Straussman R, Pavelka N, Malleret B, McGovern N, Albani S, Chan JKY, Ginhoux F.
Validation of the first-trimester machine learning model for predicting pre-eclampsia in an Asian population.
Nguyen-Hoang L, Sahota DS, Pooh RK, Duan H, Chaiyasit N, Sekizawa A, Shaw SW, Seshadri S, Choolani M, Yapan P, Sim WS, Ma R, Leung WC, Lau SL, Lee NMW, Leung HYH, Meshali T, Meiri H, Louzoun Y, Poon LC.
