NUS Medicine launches Aileen Wee Professorship in Liver Diseases
Published: 15 Jun 2026
Launch of the Aileen Wee Professorship in Liver Diseases on 11 June 2026
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) today announced the establishment of a professorship in honour of Professor Aileen Wee, an internationally recognised authority in hepatobiliary pathology, with a distinguished career spanning five decades in clinical practice, research, and medical education. Prof Wee is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Pathology in NUS Medicine and Emeritus Consultant at the Department of Pathology in the National University Hospital.
Prof Wee’s work focuses on hepatobiliary pathology, with expertise in medical liver biopsy interpretation, fine needle aspiration cytology and liver transplantation pathology. With over 150 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals, Prof Wee has contributed to foundational advances in liver cytopathology – a specialised branch of pathology that involves examining cells to diagnose disease, as well as liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases. More recently, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in digital pathology for improving diagnostic precision and supporting more consistent clinical decision-making, she has explored the application of second-harmonic generation-based AI as an assistive tool in the assessment of key histological parameters of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The accurate assessment of these parameters, which are related to disease activity and chronicity, is critical for the evaluation of the effects of new therapeutics and the outcome of clinical trials for this global disease of epidemic proportions.
Prof Wee said, “I am very honoured and deeply grateful for this magnanimous gesture of the School and the many donors who have shown their generous support. The liver is one of the most complex organs in the human body. The study of liver diseases is multidimensional, multidirectional and multifaceted. As a multidisciplinary approach is the way to go, this professorship is not confined to any discipline, and I hope it will benefit scholars who are actively pursuing any aspect of research to uncover some of the many unknowns in the diseased liver for the betterment of patients.”
Professor Chong Yap Seng, Lien Ying Chow Professor in Medicine, Dean of NUS Medicine, said, “Professor Aileen Wee is recognised globally as a key leader in liver cytopathology, and often regarded as the pathologist’s pathologist – a highly experienced expert whom other pathologists turn to for guidance on the most complex cases. With the establishment of the Aileen Wee Professorship in Liver Diseases, we honour not only her remarkable contributions to pathology, research and medical education, but also her enduring impact on the practice of medicine in Singapore and around the world. This professorship will carry forward her legacy by advancing interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthening innovation in liver disease research and diagnosis, and inspiring future generations of clinician-scientists and educators.”
The Aileen Wee Professorship in Liver Diseases is the latest in a series of professorships launched by NUS Medicine to recognise outstanding Singaporeans. Through the professorship, NUS Medicine aims to catalyse the formation of partnerships with experts from various disciplines to address cancer and other pressing healthcare challenges, and spur important discourse to improve the practice of healthcare to serve the population in Singapore and beyond.
Read more in the press release here.
