Sumytra Menon
Director
Profile
Dr Sumytra Menon is Director of CBmE, a legal scholar and bioethics educator whose work bridges academic leadership, research, and national capacity building in healthcare ethics. She is also Co-Director of the Clinical Ethics Network + Research Ethics Support (CENTRES) initiative, where she leads educational efforts in clinical and research ethics to strengthen ethics committee capabilities in Singapore and the Programme Director of Science, Health and Policy-relevant Ethics in Singapore (SHAPES).
A lawyer by training, Dr Menon’s research has focused on healthcare decision-making, mental capacity law, and end-of-life issues. She is currently conducting research on the ethics of genetic discrimination and longevity, including a recent national survey exploring public perspectives on genetic testing and discrimination.
Dr Menon’s work is policy-oriented, with a focus on translating academic and research insights into practical frameworks that enhance outcomes for patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Her approach is grounded in clinical realities and lived experiences, ensuring that contributions are responsive to the ethical challenges encountered in healthcare practice and research.
Dr Menon serves on a range of national committees and ethics panels, including Clinical Ethics Committees, Institutional Review Boards, and national committees on advance care planning, MediFund and transplant ethics.
Research
Sumy’s research focuses on the legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare decision-making. In particular, Sumy is interested in understanding the tensions and implications on healthcare practice when patients and their relatives expectations of healthcare decision-making are not aligned with the law and professional norms.
Sumy is currently working on a Delphi study of advance care planning involving five countries in Asia, and advising on an international and interdisciplinary study on the role of values and participation in judicial deliberation and mental capacity law.
Selected Publications
Menon, S., Entwistle, V., Campbell, A. V., & van Delden, J. J. (2020). How should the ‘privilege’in therapeutic privilege be conceived when considering the decision-making process for patients with borderline capacity?. Journal of Medical Ethics.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105792
Menon, S., Entwistle, V. A., Campbell, A. V., & van Delden, J. J. (2020). Some unresolved ethical challenges in healthcare decision-making: navigating family involvement. Asian Bioethics Review, 1-10.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41649-020-00111-9
Schaefer, G.O., Laurie, G., Menon, S. et al. Clarifying how to deploy the public interest criterion in consent waivers for health data and tissue research. BMC Med Ethics 21, 23 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-00467-5
Menon, S., Kars, M.C., Malhotra, C.; Campbell, A.V.; van Delden, J.J.M. (2018) “Advance Care Planning in a Multi-Cultural Family-Centric Community: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Professionals’, Patients’ and Caregivers’ Perspectives.” J. Pain Symptom Manag., 56, 213–221.
https://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(18)30252-5/abstract
Menon, S. & Voo, T.C. “Singapore Modifies the U.K. Montgomery Test and Changes the Standard of Care Doctors Owe to Patients on Medical Advice”. (2018) Journal of Bioethical Enquiry. 15 (2):181-183.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-018-9868-3
Angamuthu, N., Queck K.K., Menon, S., Ho, S.S., Ang, E., De Silva, D.A.. (2017) “Surveys of Stroke Patients and Their Next of Kin on Their Opinions Towards Decision-Making and Consent for Stroke Thrombolysis”. Annals Academy of Medicine, Singapore Feb;46(2):50-63.
http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf/46VolNo2Feb2017/MemberOnly/V46N2p50.pdf
Tay, K., Lee, R.J.Y., Sim, S.W., Menon, S., Krishna, L.K.R.. (2017) “Cultural Influences Upon Advance Care Planning in a Family-Centric Society.” Palliat Support Care. Feb 8:1-10.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/palliative-and-supportive-care/article/cultural-influences-upon-advance-care-planning-in-a-familycentric-society/E8F63471CC6C88A8409C7665F65BA556
Chang, M.K., Lim, M.X., Tay, K., Lee, R.J.Y., Sim, S.W., Menon, S., Kanesvaran, R., Pevanendran, R., Krishna, L.K.R. (2017) “The Influence of Evolving Confucian Beliefs in the Selection of Proxy Decision-Makers at the End of Life in Singapore”. Asian Bioethics Review. July 9:117-128.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41649-017-0003-2
Menon, S. & Ho, C.W.L., “Decision-making for adults lacking the capacity to consent” in Jacqueline Chin, Nancy Berlinger, Michael C Dunn, Calvin WL Ho, Michael K Gusmano (eds.) Making Difficult Decisions with Patients and Families: A Singapore Casebook. Singapore: National University of Singapore, 2014. https://bioethicscasebook.sg
http://www.bioethicscasebook.sg/backgrounder/medical-decisionmaking/
Chong, J.A., Quah, Y.L., Yang, G.M., Menon, S., Krishna, L.K.R. (2013) “Patient and family involvement in decision making for management of cancer patients at a centre in Singapore.” BMJ Support Palliat Care. 5(4), 420–426.
https://spcare.bmj.com/content/5/4/420
Menon, S. “The Mental Capacity Act: Implications for Patients and Doctors Faced with Difficult Choices.” (2013) Annals Academy of Medicine, Singapore; 42:200-2.
http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf/42VolNo4Apr2013/V42N4p200.pdf
Teaching and Service
Undergraduate (NUS)
- Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism: Lecturer and Tutor for Phase II.
- Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism: Tutor for Phases I, III and IV.
Graduate (NUS)
- MDG5231: Topics in Biomedical and Behavioural Research Ethics. Lecturer (Research Governance in Singapore).
- MDG5215: Healthcare Ethics & Law
Continuing Professional Education
- Educators Course in Healthcare Ethics, Law & Professionalism
- Core Module in Healthcare Ethics, Law & Professionalism
- CENTRES Workshops for Transplant Ethics Committee Members. Lecturer & Facilitator.
Committee Memberships, Editorial Board Memberships and other service roles or affiliations
Sumy serves as a member of several committees and panels to advise on healthcare law and ethics matters:
- Joint Steering Committee for Advance Care Planning (ACP)
- Expert ACP Panel
- Clinical Ethics Committee at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National University Hospital, and Woodlands Health Campus
- Sengkang Health Medifund Committee
- National Transplant Ethics Panel of Laypersons, and
- Singhealth Centralized Institutional Review Board
