Singapore honours 17 doctors and dentists with Eminent Academician title

Singapore has honoured 17 pioneering doctors and dentists with the Eminent Academician title, recognising their long-standing contributions to clinical care, research, education and leadership in the medical profession.

Among the recipients are Professor Venkataraman Anantharaman, widely recognised as the “father of emergency medicine” in Singapore, and paediatrician Phua Kong Boo, who led clinical studies that contributed to the development of an oral rotavirus vaccine for infants. The honours were conferred by the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, on September 12 at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine’s Clinical Sciences Building.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the title recognises clinicians whose contributions have extended across their careers and who have helped advance Singapore’s healthcare system. He said the recipients had made significant contributions through clinical excellence, research, education and professional leadership.

Anantharaman, a 74-year-old emeritus consultant at Singapore General Hospital, said his efforts to improve emergency care were driven by dissatisfaction with the treatment available to emergency patients when he began working as a medical officer at the hospital in the 1970s.

After emergency medicine became recognised as a specialised discipline in the 1980s, he helped develop and organise regular training programmes for doctors in public hospitals. He also worked to strengthen emergency treatment so patients could receive definitive care more quickly and, in some cases, avoid hospital admission.

His work extended beyond hospitals. Anantharaman helped establish the National Resuscitation Council in the 1990s, contributing to public training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators. About 180,000 people are now trained each year in these life-saving skills, according to the report.

He also played a role in strengthening Singapore’s medical response to major emergencies. Following the collapse of Hotel New World in 1986, he developed a plan for medical support during civil disasters that was subsequently accepted by the Ministry of Health.

Phua, an emeritus consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, was recognised for his contribution to paediatric medicine and research. In the early 2000s, he led clinical studies involving more than 2,000 healthy babies to evaluate a new oral rotavirus vaccine.

More recently, Phua identified a rare genetic disorder after investigating unusual symptoms in a six-year-old patient. Genetic testing revealed a mutation in the EIF6 gene, and the condition was subsequently named PKB syndrome. The discovery was published in a scientific paper in 2020.

Phua, who is 85, also highlighted childhood obesity, mental health and inflammatory bowel disease as areas that require greater attention from the next generation of paediatricians.

The 17 recipients were mainly nominated through their respective colleges within the Academy of Medicine. The nominations were also submitted to the Ministry of Health’s director-general of health for comments and concurrence.

Ong said the recognition places Singapore’s medical and dental professions alongside countries with established systems for acknowledging outstanding professional achievement. He also pointed to the three main career tracks now established for doctors in Singapore: family physicians serving communities, hospital clinicians providing broad-based care, and specialists offering expertise in specific fields.

Looking ahead, the health minister identified an ageing population, mental health challenges, antimicrobial resistance and the possibility of another global pandemic among the major challenges facing Singapore’s healthcare system. He said addressing these issues would depend on combining the experience and expertise of healthcare professionals.