BIC 30th Anniversary Awards Nominees
BIC30 Anniversary Awards Nomination Committee
Tan Tin Wee (Chair)
P Kangueane
Shoba Ranganathan
BIC30 Anniversary Awards Selection Committee
Tan Tin Wee (Chair)
Caroline Lee
N Latha
AMBIS ExCo for National Endorsement
APBioNet ExCo for Regional Endorsement
BiC30 awards is held in conjunction with the 10th International Symposium on Bioinformatics (InSyB2026).
Both the APBioNet ExCo and AMBIS ExCo members have endorsed the BIC30 Awardees. As such, the Awards are now officially known as the APBioNet-AMBIS-BIC30 Awards.
Awards Process
Nominations Committee solicits, collects and collates nominations from the community and processes the nominations for CV/BioData/draft Citation and decides to escalate the nominees to Selection Committee, for BIC30 Anniversary event (14 Oct 2026 NUS Univ Hall auditorium), or for future awards, particularly if the nominee is not ready or for whatever reasons. Nomination Committee also reviews suitability for the category of award, and decides new categories if necessary.
Selection Committee reviews the candidates for awards according to category and determines if candidates are suitable and sufficiently meritorious for the award nominated for.
Once the awardees are determined, Nomination Committee will escalate it to AMBIS ExCo for their endorsement or not at National Level.
For those endorsed at National Level, they will have the AMBIS designation prefixed to the name of their award, e.g. AMBIS-BIC30 Award. These awardees shall be escalated to APBioNet ExCo for their endorsement, or not, at the Regional Level. If accepted, they will have the APBioNet designation prefixed to the name of their award, e.g. APBioNet-AMBIS-BIC30 Singapore Awards
Awardees will have their citations edited and sanitised for website display prior to the award ceremony on 14 Oct 2026 (evening dinner at NUS University Hall Nexus room)
Awardees may be invited by the InSyB 2026 symposium programme subcommittee to present a short paper during the 10th InSyB 2026. They may be invited to say a few words in their acceptance speech during the award ceremony.
Awardees will have a small trophy as a token of their award, and will have their citations and photograph kept in the online websites of the various relevant organisations.
Award Nominees
Dr Victor Tong Joo Chuan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-tong-joo-chuan-0345465/
BIC 30th Anniversary Awards
APBioNet-AMBIS-BIC30 International Recognition and Outstanding Achievement Award
Nominated several times but self-declined
Dr Victor Tong Joo Chuan is a Singaporean computer scientist, bioinformatician, and technology leader known for his pioneering work in computational biology and personalized vaccine design. He graduated with a Bachelor of Computing (Honours) in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2002 and subsequently earned a PhD in bioinformatics from NUS in 2007.
His early research combined computer science, machine learning, and immunology to develop algorithms that predict vaccine antigens while accounting for genetic variations in human immune responses. This work contributed to the emerging field of personalized vaccines and earned him international recognition.
In 2008, Dr Tong received the prestigious MIT Technology Review’s Global TR35 Award, becoming the first native Singaporean to be recognized among the world’s top young innovators under the age of 35 for his contributions to personalized vaccine design. Fellow awardees included Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Jack Dorsey (Twitter).
Beyond bioinformatics, he has held leadership roles within Singapore’s research and technology ecosystem, including positions at A*STAR, where he helped establish research programs in social and cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, analytics, and smart cities. He later served as Chief Digital and Information Officer and Chief Data and Information Officer for major cultural institutions, including the National Gallery Singapore.
His life-time service included driving the final stages of the global online bioinformatics course of S* Life Sciences Alliance (2005-2007), President of the Association for Medical and Bio Informatics Singapore (AMBIS) (2004-2010), Senior Innovation Advisory Board Member of Pfizer (2009-2010), Board Chairman, Social Innovation Park (2013-2016), Founding Chairman, Trampolene a social service non-profit (2016-2019).
Dr Victor Tong’s career exemplifies the successful integration of computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, and life sciences to address challenges in healthcare, biotechnology, and digital transformation
Dr Justin Choo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-choo-91b142211/
BIC 30th Anniversary Awards
APBioNet-AMBIS-BIC30 Distinguished Bioinformatics and Entrepreneurship Award
(Nominated and self-declined)
Justin is a technology entrepreneur, researcher, and industry leader whose career spans bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, and digital advertising.
Justin began his career at the National University of Singapore, where after completing NUS BSc Computer Science in 2002, he pursued a PhD in Bioinformatics at the Department of Biochemistry, NUS Medicine, graduating in 2009. From 2003, he also served as a Teaching Assistant for the Department’s second-generation bioinformatics courses and contributed to the administration of online courses under the S* Life Science Informatics Alliance.
His entrepreneurial journey began while he was still pursuing his doctorate. In 2004, Justin co-founded a financial software company with two friends, developing ChartNexus, a financial charting and market-analysis software platform.
Before completing his PhD, Justin joined ASTAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R), where he worked on the technology that form the early foundation of KNOREX in text mining and Natural Language Processing. He subsequently licensed the technology from ASTAR and spun it off into Knorex Pte Ltd, embarking on a 16-year journey of building and transforming the company into an AI-driven advertising technology business.
In September 2025, KNOREX was listed on the NYSE American (NYSE American: KNRX), marking a significant milestone in Justin’s entrepreneurial journey. As Chairman and CEO, he leads a team of more than 80 employees across the United States, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Singapore.
From his early research applying computational methods to signal peptide processing and the life sciences, to building financial software and ultimately applying artificial intelligence at scale in digital advertising, Justin’s career reflects an enduring ability to translate technical expertise into real-world innovation. His journey is distinguished by perseverance, adaptability, entrepreneurship, and sustained leadership in bringing Singapore-developed technology to the global marketplace.
K. Tan
BIC 30th Anniversary Awards
APBioNet-AMBIS-BIC30 Administrative Excellence Award
Nominated and self declined
Acknowledging sustained administrative mastery, organizational management, and operational leadership.
K Tan’s career is marked by a strong record of administrative leadership, operational stewardship, and strategic business development—repeatedly bridging technical life science capabilities with organizational growth and external partnerships.
K stepped in at the Bioinformatics Centre (BIC) to build upon its early foundation and lead the centre through a key phase of maturity and expansion. Managing complex, multi-party budgets and academic operations, K oversaw the administrative execution of research grants, personnel, and institutional collaborations. Her leadership ensured operational continuity and financial clarity across BIC’s expanding suite of regional bioinformatics services and training initiatives.
Recognizing the growing need to interface academic research with industry demand, K later trained new administrative staff as she transitioned into BIC’s Business Development Unit. In this role, she drove strategic outreach—fostering industry partnerships, managing intellectual asset collaborations, and commercializing the centre’s specialized training and analytical capabilities. Her work expanded BIC’s footprint beyond traditional academic boundaries, positioning it as a key regional hub for bioinformatics solutions and industry engagement.
Through her dual contributions in core administrative management and business development, K played a pivotal role in sustaining BIC’s long-term growth and establishing its enduring legacy within the NUS life sciences ecosystem.