Prof Wee—Emeritus Professor at the Department of Pathology in NUS Medicine and Emeritus Consultant at the Department of Pathology in the National University Hospital (NUH)—has a distinguished career spanning five decades in clinical practice, research and medical education.

Her work focuses on hepatobiliary pathology, with expertise in medical liver biopsy interpretation, fine needle aspiration cytology and liver transplantation pathology. Through a body of work in 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 to improve diagnostic precision and support more consistent clinical decision-making, she has explored the application of second‐harmonic generation-based AI as an assistive tool for assessing key histological parameters of metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The accurate assessment of these parameters related to disease activity and chronicity is critical for the evaluation of the effects of new therapeutics and clinical trial outcomes for this global disease of epidemic proportions.

Prof Wee expressed her appreciation to the School for naming a professorship after her. “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.”

Prof Wee has trained generations of medical students, residents and specialist pathologists, and has been widely recognised for her dedication to teaching and mentorship. She served as Director of Undergraduate Medical Education at NUS Medicine’s Department of Pathology from 1985 to 2012 and was the coordinator of the School’s Undergraduate Medical Curriculum from 1995 to 2012. She was Course Director for the nine biennial Diagnostic Cytopathology Workshops organised by the National University Health System, providing comprehensive training in cytopathology for the region.

Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, lauded Prof Wee as a leading global leader in liver cytopathology. She is “someone who is 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 it, 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.