Faculty & Staff

Professor Ho joined the Department of Psychological Medicine, NUH in July 2002 as a medical officer. Professor Ho did his Psychiatry residency and fellowship training at the Department of Psychological Medicine, NUH and rose through the academic and clinical ranks in NUS and NUH.

Professor Ho obtained his basic medical degree (MBBS) from the University of Hong Kong. He received the Master of Medicine (MMED) in Psychiatry from the National University of Singapore. He received his higher research degree, Doctor of Medicine by research (MD) from the University of Hong Kong.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK). Royal College of Physicians (Canada), Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh) and Academy of Medicine (Singapore).

Professor Ho has clinical and research interests in applying functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in diagnosing psychiatric disorders including attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder and dementia. He conducted research to improve the accuracy of psychiatric diagnosis by machine learning. He has translated his research findings into clinical implementations at NUS iHealthtech.

Prof Ho is involved in multiple research endeavours, which primarily aim to study the interface between psychiatry and medicine. His earlier research involves elucidating psychiatric symptoms associated with medical disorders include systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes and eczema as well as medical complications of depression and buprenorphine misuse. His research extended to the laboratory and studied of effects of antidepressants on the immune system in animals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he conducted global mental health research to study the psychological impact of the pandemic in different countries.

Professor Ho has published over 500 papers in peer reviewed journals (H-index > 77). In 2021, he was identified by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science) as one of the Most Highly Cited and Influential Researchers in the world.

Prof Ho is extensively involved in medical education.  He disseminated psychiatric knowledge through publications of academic books with global influence. An example is the co-authorship and publication of a postgraduate textbook, Revision Notes in Psychiatry (3^rd edition), CRC Press and this book has been one of the most commonly used reference texts since 1998 by psychiatric trainees in Commonwealth countries. Professor Ho has received numerous awards throughout his academic career including the NUS Annal Teaching Excellence Award in 2012 and Special Recognition Award (2016 – 2020). He has supervised many medical students through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity programme (UROP) and be main/co-supervisor for more than 20 MSc/PhD candidates. He is a regular PhD Qualifying Examination and oral defence examiner for other departments and faculties at NUS.