Prof. Melissa TEO National Cancer Center Singapore

Biosketch

Professor Melissa Teo is a General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena and Farrer Park Hospital, Singapore. She was the Director at Centre for Peritoneal and Pelvic Disease, and remains as a Visiting Senior Consultant at National Cancer Centre Singapore.

She completed her General Surgical training in Singapore and was awarded the MOH Health Manpower Development Programme scholarships for two Fellowships in Surgical Oncology and Colorectal Surgery, where she built on her expertise in Complex Abdominal and Pelvic Surgery. She returned to Singapore thereafter where she was rapidly promoted to Senior Consultant and Head of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). At NCCS, she co-chaired the Sarcoma and Melanoma workgroup and was a member of the Gastrointestinal Tract workgroup for NCCS Cancer Service Line, writing the treatment guidelines for the management of these cancers. She was the Director of Strategic Initiatives of Oncology Academic Clinical Programme and Chair of the NCCS New Building Committee. In addition, she was the Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development in ACP Surgery, Singhealth. Whilst in the public institution, she held many leadership positions and pursued clinical excellence, as well as clinical research and teaching.

She was the principal investigator of more than 60 IRB-approved studies and has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications and 6 book chapters. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Singhealth Service Excellence Award, Outstanding Faculty Award – Residency in SingHealth Excels (RiSE) award in 2018 and Outstanding Faculty for Surgery – Duke NUS Medical School in 2016. She continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor at DUKE-NUS Medical School.

She remains a strong advocate for improving cancer care in Singapore and is a member of the Singapore Society of Oncology. She was on the Singapore Cancer Network Sarcoma Guideline Committee and was a member of the Ministry of Health Technology Advisory Committee. Her mission as a surgical oncologist is to improve cancer care in Singapore and the region, through increased patient awareness of the disease, and its management, contributing to the setting of guidelines and pushing the frontiers for cancer management in her areas of expertise and education of the next generation of surgical residents, clinical fellows and medical students.