Dr Lisa Ooi

Dr Lisa Ooi is currently the Assistant Chief Executive of the A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council (BMRC). She drives the implementation of A*STAR's strategies and initiatives in the biomedical domains to create industry and societal impact, and to build long-term R&D capabilities for Singapore. Spanning nine research institutes, the mission-directed biomedical R&D portfolio she oversees leverages core research areas such as bioprocessing, genomics, proteomics, molecular and cell biology, bioengineering, nanotechnology and computational biology.

Dr Ooi was the Chief Operating Officer at Hummingbird Bioscience, where she oversaw the company's pipeline and portfolio, with a focus on the development and commercialisation of new therapies and building of differentiated technology platforms.

Prior to Hummingbird, Dr Ooi was the Vice President (Healthcare and Wellness) at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), where she partnered global leading biotech and medtech companies in innovation. She was also on the COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccines review panel and a member of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination, appointed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to make recommendations to the government on its COVID-19 vaccination strategy.

Dr Ooi has extensive experience in the biomedical industry having led drug discovery and development projects, engaging with international experts and regulators. She was formerly scientific director at ASLAN pharmaceuticals and had been with the Biomedical Sciences Industry Partnership Office (BMSIPO), which catalyses academic-industry biomedical research and clinical partnerships across Singapore's ecosystem. She had also previously worked with the planning and policy division at A*STAR and was attached to the alliance management division at Bayer Pharmaceuticals.

Dr Ooi holds a PhD from Stanford University, in Chemical and System Biology. She received the Glaxo Wellcome Scholarship from the EDB to pursue an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a master's degree in Chemical Engineering.