Appointment(s)
Associate Professor with Tenure (Clinician-Scientist), National University of Singapore, Medicine, Singapore (1 Jul 2024)
Assistant Professor (Clinician-Scientist Tenure Track), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (1 Aug 2017)
Assistant Professor (Clinician-Investigator Practice Track), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (10 Mar 2015 – 31 Jul 2017)
Degree(s)
Fellow, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians, United Kingdom (2 May 2019)
Fellow Academy of Medicine of Singapore, Medicine, Academy of Medicine, Singapore (11 May 2015)
Doctor of Philosophy, Medicine, Imperial College London, United Kingdom (1 Jan 2013)
Diplomate of the Imperial College, Medicine, Imperial College London, United Kingdom (1 Jan 2013)
Member, Royal Coll of Physicians, Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, UK, United Kingdom (1 Jan 2006)
Master of Medicine (Internal Medicine), Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore (1 Jan 2006)
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore (1 Jan 2003)
Biography
Dr Catherine W.M. ONG MBBS MRCP(UK) MMed (Int Med) PhD FAMS FRCP is Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, Assistant Dean of Research in Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Head of NUHS Clinician-Scientist Academy, Principal Investigator in iHealthtech, Senior Consultant with the Division of Infectious Diseases in the National University Hospital and Visiting Consultant at the Tuberculosis Control Unit Singapore with both research and clinical interests in Tuberculosis. She serves in international journal editorial boards; as Associate Editor of the leading European Respiratory Journal and Deputy Editor of the flagship International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Her other portfolios include Elected Executive Council and Treasurer to the ESCMID Study Group for Mycobacterial Infections (ESGMYC). She previously served as Vice-President of Society of Infectious Disease (Singapore) 2018 – 2023, Honorary Secretary to the Chapter of Infectious Disease Academy of Medicine Singapore 2017 – 2023 and elected Council Member and then Treasurer of College of Clinician Scientists Singapore 2020-2023. She is expert reviewer to global funding agencies such as the Wellcome Trust, UK RI and ESCMID and is internationally-recognised.
Catherine graduated in medicine from NUS in 2003 and completed a full-time PhD in 2013 at Imperial College London under Professor Jon S. FRIEDLAND funded by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) on the competitive National Research Foundation – Ministry of Health Scholarship. Her laboratory focuses on Tuberculosis host-pathogen interactions, biomarker discovery and TB host-directed therapies in multi-national clinical trials. Work is funded by the NMRC, National Centre for Infectious Diseases and NUS with grant income as Lead-PI of over SGD $12 million. Her research team of outstanding graduate students and research staff have won multiple national and international-level awards notably from ECCMID, APCCMI and the Wellcome Trust.
On clinical aspects of TB, Catherine serves the Ministry of Health Singapore and works with WHO Coordinating Centres and WHO itself. For her work, she received multiple national and international accolades. They include a Presidential Award at the American Society for Leukocyte Biology 2011, Global Health Travel Award by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2012, International Investigator Award by the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2013, NMRC Transition Award 2015, Institut Merieux-SIDS Young Investigator Award 2018 and NMRC Clinician Scientist Award 2018 with successful renewal in 2022 in recognition of her achievements in Tuberculosis.
