Dr Delicia Ooi is an Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator in the Department of Paediatrics at the National University of Singapore (NUS). She also holds adjunct appointments as a Research Assistant Professor at the Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI) and as an Associate Investigator at the National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB), Singapore.
Her research focuses on obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders, with the overarching goal of understanding why individuals differ in their susceptibility to obesity and their risk of developing metabolic complications. Her research integrates genetic susceptibility, environmental and developmental risk factors, and molecular mechanisms, including adipose tissue dysfunction, immune dysregulation and inflammation, to investigate the biological determinants of obesity and its metabolic heterogeneity.
She leads the Obesity in Singaporean Children (OBiSC) study, a cohort of 406 Singaporean children and adolescents with severe, early-onset obesity, providing a valuable platform for investigating the biological heterogeneity of childhood obesity. She also supports the growth, metabolic and puberty domains of two major Singapore birth cohorts, GUSTO and S-PRESTO, contributing to longitudinal research on developmental, metabolic, and pubertal determinants of health. In addition, she is a Co-Investigator of SG-LEADS, a nationally representative longitudinal study examining social, family, environmental, and developmental factors that influence child development and wellbeing.
2019 - NUSMed Outstanding mentor award for Research Fellow
2018 - Best Team presentation at the 8th Hope meeting with Nobel Laureates, Japan
2016 - Wong Hock Boon-Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund: Best Mentor Award
2014 - Wong Hock Boon-Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund: Best Mentor Award
