Who We Are

Our Team

Director

Associate Prof. Nagaendran Kandiah

MBBS, FRCP (Edinburgh), FAMS (Neurology)
+

Prof Nagaendran Kandiah is a Senior consultant neurologist. He holds a clinician scientist position with the National Medical Research Council of Singapore, He holds several national grants investigating these research areas with a focus on neuropsychology, MRI, functional MRI and cerebrospinal fluid studies. He is also the chairman of the Neurocognitive and Research Training Consortium of Southeast Asia (NRTC-SEA). He was the chair of the Singapore Ministry of Health, Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia (2013-2018). In his free time, he enjoys doing carpentry work and his most gratifying work was a plant house he built together with his 11-year-old son, which now stands proudly in his home.

Centre Manager

Jin Leow

Graduate Diploma in Clinical
Psychology (Australia)
+

My name is Jin, and I am the Centre Manager at DRCS. My background is in clinical psychology. I find fulfilment in clinical, research, and statistical endeavours, focusing on cognitive resilience, peak performance, motivation and business psychology in my work. Outside of work, I prioritize mind-body wellness, often dedicating my free time to the gym, yoga studio, and beach.

Neuropsychological Team

We perform cognitive assessments and associated analyses

Pricilia Tanoto

Master of Psychological Science (JCU)
+

I am a research associate who has a master’s degree in psychology and an overseas bachelor degree as medical doctor. From the start, I am deeply interested in understanding the connection between diseases and patients’ psychology. In that sense, my research interests reside in developing cognitive and behavioral assessment tools for neurodegenerative disorders like dementia, facilitating early detection & prevention purposes.

Furthermore, I have a fervent desire in optimizing study designs and statistical analyses to provide research with good validity and reliability. Lastly, you can find me watching K-drama & solo karaoke-ing during my leisure time.

Faith Phemie Lee Hui
En

Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (Singapore)
+

I am a research assistant with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Having an interest in human behaviour, I aspire to be a clinical neuropsychologist through building upon opportunities in the coming years. I take an interest in the structure and function of the brain behind psychological disorders observed on the surface. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my dogs, eating, playing hockey, and sometimes playing the piano.

Smriti Ghildiyal

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology (Yale-NUS College)
+

I am a research assistant with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and literature. I have a keen interest in understanding the interplay between behaviour and psychophysiology, neuropsychological disorders and cognitive development. In my free time, I enjoy delving into medieval literature, practicing yoga and crocheting!

Liew Shan Yao

Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Psychology (SMU)
+

I am a Research Assistant that believes strongly in looking out for the ones who need it most: From the children struggling to express themselves, to the elderly that cannot reach out to get help, and everyone in between. Being able to participate and contribute to a meaningful study such as this is its own reward. In my free time I love to sing my favourite songs, read fantasy novels, and cook some of my favourite foods.

Tan Yu Zhen Isabelle

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sport Science & Management (NTU)
+

I am a research assistant with an Honours degree in Sport Science and Management. With an interest in understanding how physical activity affects the human body, I am curious to explore the different types of exercise and their impact on cognitive function and decline. To me, movement is medicine, hence I enjoy practicing yoga and Pilates. I also enjoy photography.

Wayne Freeman Chong

PhD (Singapore), PDClinPsyc (Australia), ACTA (Singapore)
+

I am a research fellow and postgraduate tutor with DRCS-LKCMedicine, a part-time lecturer with the School of Social Sciences at NTU Singapore, a non-executive director with GeroPsych Consultants Pte Ltd, and a council member of Gerontological Society (Singapore). A social scientist and geropsychologist, I am interested in developing and administering non-pharmacological and technology-mediated interventions for people at various stages of cognitive impairment. I am married with two children. Outside of work, I enjoy making music with a church worship team.

Eunice Seah Limin

Master of Psychology (Clinical), James Cook University (Singapore)
+

I am a Research Associate with the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore) as well as Clinical Psychologist in private practice. Inspired by how cognitive impairment (e.g. mild cognitive impairment, dementia) goes beyond symptoms to impact on the individuals and their families, based on my clinical interactions and in my personal life, I started work at the Centre to learn as well as to contribute relevant clinical knowledge towards research that is conducted at the Centre. My research interests revolve around better understanding the lived experiences of individuals with cognitive impairment and potentially their families (e.g. their strengths, challenges, the way they live life and the type of supports that could be useful to them) through conducting interviews. Outside of work, I look forward to chilling out by reading, hanging out with friends and family, exploring food places as well as getting out of that couch to engage in stretches and exercises that I had learnt in adult ballet classes!

Translational Cognitive Neuroimaging

We perform MRI and associated analyses

Dr Ashwati Vipin

PhD in Neuroimaging in
Dementia (Duke-NUS)
+

I am a Research Fellow and my key research interests lie in delineating early brain changes that predict the onset and progression of young and late-onset dementia using multimodal neuroimaging techniques and how they relate to neurocognition and fluid biomarker profiles. When I am not exploring the human brain, I enjoy diving into fiction with some coffee and my dog. I also immensely enjoy travel, nature, photography and music, preferably all at the same time!

Dilip Kumar

Masters in Biomedical
Engineering (NTU)
+

As a research associate, I like to delve into novel aspects of neuroimaging and clinical neuroscience data to unravel the causes of early stages of dementia. I am particularly interested in fusing information from multitudes of MRI sequences, neuropsychiatric assessments and blood-based biomarkers to discover unknown insights along the early dementia spectrum for the betterment of dementia care. In my spare time, I like to immerse myself into sitcoms, music and cooking my favourite meals.

Translational Cognitive Biomarkers

We evaluate the expression of fluid biomarkers and conduct associated analyses

Dr Gurveen Kaur
Sandhu

PhD in Biochemistry and
Molecular Cell Biology
(Australia)
+

I am a research fellow with a focus on the elucidation of differential fluid biomarker profiles in dementia. My key research interest involves studying the impact of inflammatory and metabolic processes on cognition. My hobbies include reading, listening to music, doing yoga, watching sit-coms and documentaries and travelling.

Fatin Zahra Zailan

Honours in Biomedical Science
(UK), Diploma in Nursing
(NYP)
+

I am a research assistant and principal phlebotomist. Previously, I was a registered staff nurse for over 7 years with specialization in Eye and Trauma. I am interested in studying markers that will enable us to identify pathological trajectories unique to Alzheimer’s Disease within the Asian population. On top of clinical trials, it is exciting to operate state of the art technology and developing novel biomarkers that can make an impact to lives. I hope that one day, we can develop a tool that can enable healthcare facilities to diagnose dementia with precision and evolve treatment strategies in the Alzheimer’s continuum. In my free time, I love spending moments with my little one, drumming and making music videos on youtube. I am also a car enthusiast and enjoy a good race!

James Chen Xiao Yuan

Bachelors of Engineering in Materials Engineering (NTU)
+

I am a current PhD student under LKC-DRCS and my research interests is in developing a novel MRI toolbox to facilitate the characterization of blood-brain barrier dysfunction and its associated risk of progression to dementia. My personal interests include hiking/trekking and a game of bowling.

Dr Dang Chao

Visiting Research Fellow
MD, PhD (Sun Yat-Sen University)
+

Dr. Dang Chao is currently a visiting research fellow under the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore). He is from the department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. He received his PhD degree in medicine from the Sun Yat-sen University. Currently focus on the diagnosis and management of cerebrovascular disease, including acute stroke therapy, secondary prevention of stroke, and recovery of stroke. Current research focus on the investigation the neuroimaging basis of post-stoke recovery. Memberships: Guangdong medical Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases; China Neurologist association; Chinese Stroke Association.

Technology Development

Mohammed Adnan
Azam

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering specializing in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (NTU)
+

I am a Technology Development Officer with experience in digitizing metals and minerals manufacturing processes in companies in India and Africa. I am a co-founder of CREaiTORS where we built an integrated machine learning app to detect behavioural symptoms in patients with dementia. During my time at Bosch Research Singapore, I helped develop a patented Machine Learning algorithm to detect torque in real time in Bosch drills.

I am passionate about using technology to revolutionise healthcare by using AI and ML to make personalised healthcare cheap and accessible to the masses.

My vision for DRCS is to build a cognitive screening app that is sensitive and clinically validated to detect cognitive impairment at the earliest stages. When I’m not at work, you can catch me in the gym or in the ocean.

Farid Tan Bin Hasyim
Tan

Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) in Communications & New Media (NUS)
+

As a dedicated digital health research assistant, I spearhead the development of user experience and product design for our innovative digital products and interactive platforms. Championing intuitive and accessible designs, my interests resonate at the intersection of technology, community engagement and sustainability. When I’m not getting creative on Figma, you can find me lost in a good movie or passionately playing video games. I also love cafe and gallery hopping, and am often dreaming of my next travel adventure, probably under the sea.

Scientific Advisors

Prof. Paul Matthews

Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute Centre at Imperial College London
+

Dementia is a global and growing challenge for everyone. However, our knowledge now is largely based on studies of European or North American populations. There is an urgent need to better understand the types of dementias that affect the peoples of the Far East. The new DRCS promises a step change in this effort by bringing medical centres across Singapore together for a common mission. I feel privileged to join all of you in DRCS as an advisor as you begin this work.