TECH EXPERTS

Hong Ling Tim is currently a Principal Lecturer under Industry track at Republic Polytechnic. He has held various positions within Republic Polytechnic such as the Senior Conexus Manager for the SMART Engineering Technology Centre and also Manager for the industry joint laboratory with Texas Instruments specialising in low power wireless applications. Ling Tim was also involved in numerous grants or funding for research and development in the areas of biomedical electronics and has engaged in consultancies project with the industry. Some of his recent projects include Gamified Fine Motor Skill Rehabilitation Device for Children with Developmental Disorders, Wireless Monitoring of the Muscle Blood Flow in Low Back Pain Population, and Smart Sanitizer System for Hand Infection Prevention.   Prior to joining Republic Polytechnic, he held a senior position as a project manager at Willowglen Services Pte Ltd, and was project engineer at Defence Science and Technology Agency. He graduated with a Master of Science in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from the National University of Singapore, a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University and a Diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He was recently awarded the Crescendas Medal and Prize for Outstanding Applied Physics Researcher (Polytechnics) 2019.

With two decades of expertise in food, nutrition, and agricultural research and education, Dr Heng Kiang Soon is at the forefront of sustainable food innovation. As a nutrition scientist, his research focuses on food waste valorisation for both food and agricultural applications, alongside the development of functional foods from sustainable sources. His groundbreaking research and consultancy work have been widely embraced by the industry, translating science into real-world impact. Beyond research, Dr Heng is deeply committed to public health and sustainability, engaging communities through thought leadership, media features, and his health column in Lianhe Zaobao. A highly sought-after speaker, he brings an insightful and engaging approach to nutrition and food sustainability. His contributions have earned him prestigious accolades, including the 2024 Public Sector Transformation (Dare to Do) Award and the MOE Outstanding Innovator Award, Singapore.

Dr Li Chunxiang is currently Senior Research Scientist and Technical Group Leader in Singapore Polytechnic with a strong academic and engineering background in chemistry and materials (inorganic, organic, nanomaterials and colloids). She has more than 20 years' experience in research and development of active ingredients and delivery system development, nanomaterials synthesis and applications and chemical compound synthesis. With her extensive research experiences in active ingredient extraction, encapsulation, fermentation, cosmetic efficacy testing and product formulation, she has successfully developed several commercial products containing active ingredients extracted from plant sources which were licensed to the industry. She has successfully secured S$17 million of research funds together with collaborators over the past ten years and has extensive experiences in successfully leading and managing the research projects.

Dr Song Sung Do has over 18 years of experience in senior management leadership, strategic development, business development, consulting, as well as sales and marketing. Dr Song has managed research, technology commercialisation and innovation in the agriculture, environmental sciences and chemical technology industries. Dr Song has 30 years of experience in crop science, and 20 years of experience in agriculture, horticulture and phytochemical ingredient science and technology. In addition, he has extensive knowledge in food production and process of agribusiness and environment - soil, weather and water - in both chemical and biological technology applications. Backed by comprehensive and practical working knowledge of Asia Pacific agriculture, bioenergy markets and industry trends, as well as a keen interest in a sustainable bio-based economy, Dr Song has successfully completed projects in agronomic, agro-ecological and land evaluation, farm construction, field evaluation, plant cultivation and optimisation for urban farming around South East Asia and China. Dr Song has a PhD in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences from Yeungnam University, Master of Science in Agronomy from Seoul National University, and an MBA from National University of Singapore.

A/Prof Jack Wong has over 20 years of experience in regulatory, quality, clinical trial and pharmacovigilance in Asia, for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, nutritional, consumer healthcare and biological products. He has received awards on improving processes, including reducing 20% of time required for a product launch, and grooming people to contribute to their fullest ability. A/Prof Wong plays a leading role among all the regional regulatory professionals in the Asian Harmonisation Working Party (AHWP). He has developed the first Asia Regulatory Affairs Certificate course, which has been held since 2007 with over 2800 students from the industry, government and universities. A/Prof Wong is the founder of ARPA, which was established in 2010 with over 3600 members to date. He also wrote the first Asian regulatory book, ”Handbook of Medical Device Regulatory Affairs in Asia: Second Edition”. A/Prof Wong has a Six Sigma Black Belt certified by International Association For Six Sigma Certification (IASSC); the license as a Qualified Auditor of ISO 13485, Japanese Regulations for Medical Devices; and qualifications as an ISO 9000 Lead Auditor by British Standards Institution (BSI).

With over 30 years of experience in the luxury cosmetics, skincare and personal care industry in Europe and Asia, Domenico Balassi possesses a deep understanding of the industry on a local and global scale. He is now part of a team of consultants, located in Singapore and Milan, that provides companies with support to expand their businesses between Asia and Europe through different segments, such as advising on product regulatory and registration, designing the right strategy and finding the best opportunities. Domenico offers a single point of contact for manufacturers and brand owners in Singapore to help facilitate their product registration in the European Union.

May Ng is the Global Director of ARQon, Asia Regulatory & Quality Consultancy for medical devices and drugs, assisting in product development and registration in Asia, CE and global approval. She is also an advisor for National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC) on all government hospital clinical trial funding in Singapore and sits on the main committee of Singapore Manufacturing Federation's Medtech Industry Group, ASEANMed and China-ASEAN Medical. May was in Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for almost 10 years to complete the implementation of the Singapore regulatory framework based on IMDRF/GHTF principles, and reviewing/approval of companies with ISO13485/GDPMDS and medical device/IVD. She joined Biosensors drug-coated stent manufacturing headquarter in Singapore for four years as Regulatory Director after two years working in the IVD industry. May has degrees in Biochemistry & Microbiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Medtech Manufacturing.

Dr Aravind Dasari is Associate Professor at NTU, School of Materials Science and Engineering. He is experienced in the design and development of composites, nanocomposites and coatings for utilisation in construction/building sector, electrical and electronic industries, food packaging and renewable energy sector. He is involved in the study of flame retardancy, and the development of various flame retardant coatings and materials in collaboration with various industry partners. Dr Dasari holds a PhD in Materials Engineering from University of Sydney.

Ee Bin Liew is Group Executive Director of Access-2-Healthcare, a global commercialisation and market access consulting company that physically executes end-to-end market entry and product launch activities to help overcome various challenges faced by medical technology companies globally - specifically in areas of healthcare business due diligence, commercialisation solutions from concept to market, and market access activities such as regulatory, quality and trade compliance.  Prior to founding the company, he spent most of his career in the medical device industry with MNCs, from product development to manufacturing, operations and product commercialisation. He held executive management and leadership roles of multi-cultural teams in Asia Pacific. He has the practical experience in various medical device environments and functions for turn-key go-to-market solutions through integration of marketing, IP, clinical affairs, reimbursement and regulatory affairs, and now lends his experience and energy to the medtech SMEs around the world. Ee Bin is in the forefront of the key Standards and Regulations development in the medical device industry for 12 years working directly in several drafting committees in the International Organisation on Standardisation (ISO) – namely, the TC210 Working Group 1 that was responsible for releasing the ISO13485:2016 and the Practical Guide to ISO13485:2016; ISO14971:2019 and its Technical Report; ISO TR20971 for Risk Management under Joint Working Group 1, as well as ISO TR20416 in Working Group 6 for Post-market surveillance. Ee Bin is also the Asian Harmonisation Working Party Technical Committee Co-Chair for Working Group 7 – Quality Management System – Operations and Implementation for the past 10 years, and its industry representative in the ISO committee. Ee Bin attained the Singapore Professional Certification in Management Consultancy in 2017 and is accredited to execute grant-funded projects. Ee Bin combines his long-term deep relationships with the senior management of the various government agencies and standards bodies, with the technical and commercial know-how relating to product development, go-to-market, as well as every countries’ unique challenges. This allows an objective perspective to both regulators and industry, R&D and commercial, to drive the future of healthcare. Besides his efforts for AHWP and ISO, Ee Bin also gives his time as the leader of the several medtech and digital health industry groups, fostering the growth of medical technology and Digital Health community globally. Ee Bin takes special interest in active devices and technologies involving AI software, through executing projects for his company’s clients, standards development, and being deeply involved with research projects involving software as a medical device and digital health. This balanced view, along with various market insights, provide a pragmatic approach towards regulation of software in the healthcare industry.