Professor Tan Chorh Chuan
Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development),
Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister’s Office
Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Chairman, MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation
Chair, Healthier SG Implementation Office, Ministry of Health
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan was appointed Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development), Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister’s Office and Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on 1 October 2023. In addition, he will continue with his appointments as the Chairman of the MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) and the Chair of MOH’s Healthier SG Implementation Office.
Prior to his current appointments, Professor Tan served as the inaugural Chief Health Scientist and Executive Director of the new Office for Healthcare Transformation in Singapore’s Ministry of Health from 1 January 2018 to 30 September 2023. He was the President of the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 2008 to 2017. He held the positions of NUS Provost, then Senior Deputy President from 2004 to 2008. He was former Dean of the NUS Faculty of Medicine and served as the Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health, from 2000 to 2004, in which capacity he was responsible for leading the public health response to the 2003 SARS epidemic. He was also the Chairman of the Board of the National University Health System from 2011 to 2018.
Professor Tan is a key leader in Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences Initiative since its inception in 2000, for which he was awarded the National Science and Technology Medal in 2008. He has also received the Public Service Star in 2003; the Public Administration Gold Medal in 2004; the Meritorious Service Medal in 2015; the Distinguished Service Order in 2022 and Public Service Star (COVID-19) in 2023. Professor Tan is the recipient of several international awards and is the first Singaporean to be elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Medicine.
A renal physician, he obtained his medical training at NUS, and research training at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford.
