Brave Hearts

These three inductees to our Gen.T List 2019 do not believe in the status quo, not when there are life-saving innovations and life-changing paradigms that can transform society for the better. Hong Xinyi finds out how inventor Dean Ho, entrepreneur Ankiti Bose and lawyer Amanda Chong are trying to change the world

- Hong Xinyi

DEAN HO

Provost’s chair professor and director of The N.1 Institute for Health at National University of Singapore

“To take an innovative idea all the way to the finish line involves everything from behavioral sciences to healthcare economics, and Singapore is a place that recognizes that. I was looking for a culture, a mindset, a full-fledged ecosystem that is willing to innovate together”

DEAN HO WAS BORN AND raised in a Los Angeles beachside neighborhood called Palos Verdes, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. Before relocating to Singapore in 2018, he had spent six years as a professor in his alma mater. So why did he pick this little red dot over his home base? After all, the West Coast also includes Silicon Valley, a global engine of tech innovation, and Ho is a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create precision and personalized medicine.

Silicon Valley is a great place for certain types of technology, and the US has vibrant innovation communities. “But innovation is more than just creating ideas,” he tells us. “You have a responsibility to talk to patients and understand their concerns. You have to figure out how to work with all the stakeholders—policymakers, regulators, clinicians. So, to take an innovative idea all the way to the finish line involves everything from behavioral sciences to healthcare economics, and Singapore is a place that recognizes that. I was looking for a culture, a mindset, a full-fledged ecosystem that is willing to innovate together.”