Impact
- As Infectious Disease specialist, Professor Leo led her team through multiple major outbreaks over the past decades. These include the Nipah outbreak in 1999, SARS in 2003, Chikungunya in 2008, the pandemic influenza in 2009, recurring dengue surges since 2013, Zika in 2016, and COVID-19 in 2020-2022.
- Published over 400 peer-reviewed publications, with key research interests spanning dengue, influenza, emerging infections, HIV, and COVID-19.
Collaborations, Achievements & Honours
Professor Leo is widely recognised for her outstanding contributions to healthcare, public service, and infectious disease management, earning numerous prestigious national and international honours. Her accolades include Singapore’s National Day Awards such as The Public Service Star in recognition of her outstanding battle against SARS, and the Public Administration Medal, as well as the National Awards (COVID-19) for her leadership during the pandemic. Internationally, she was conferred the title of Knight of the French Order of the Legion of Honour and named among the BBC 100 Women, reflecting her global impact.
Research Areas
Arboviruses (special focus on adult dengue), Emerging Infection, Pandemic Preparedness, Health Policies
Affiliations
- Senior Advisor & Senior Consultant (APOHI), TLL
- Professor (Practice), Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS
- Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU
- Senior Advisor, National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore
Question
Why I set up APOHI? APOHI stands for Asia Pacific One-Health Initiative, a philanthropic funded start up project applying integrated multidisciplinary approach to study and improve the health of human, animal, environment and planet. The recent histories show a distinctive feature of zoonotic spill-over and spill-back events are occurring at closer frequency, accelerated by climate change threatening living things on the planet. To better prepared for the next pandemic, it is imperative to study upstream events to understand the interplay of multiple contributing factors.
Bio
Professor Leo holds dual specialist accreditations as an adult infectious disease physician and public health practitioner. She is the inaugural Executive Director of Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) from 2017 to 2023. During her tenure, she established NCID as an innovative institution integrating clinical care, public health, research, training, and community outreach. She has played a key leadership role in guiding responses to multiple major infectious disease outbreaks in Singapore over the years. She has published over 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers and received numerous national and international awards. A recognised authority in her field, she chairs and serves as member in numerous committees and advisory boards including multiple World Health Organization workgroups.
Senior Advisor & Senior Consultant (APOHI)
Leo Yee Sin
The lab focuses on Asia Pacific One-Health Initiative (APOHI) to safeguard populations from emerging and existing health threats by advancing One Health across human, animal and planetary systems.