Dr Cyrus Ho is a general adult and consultation-liaison psychiatrist. He manages psychiatric conditions across the age continuum from adolescence to old age, with particular interests in the interface between medicine and psychiatry, complex mood disorders and neuropsychiatry. He is also the clinical lead for the Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) service in the Department of Psychological Medicine.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Dr Ho obtained a Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry from Ireland. He was conferred memberships to the Royal College of Psychiatrists from the United Kingdom and the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. In addition to being a Fellow of the Singapore Academy of Medicine, he received the International Fellowship to the American Psychiatric Association. With a keen interest in neuroscience, he earned a Master of Science in Research from NUS based on his work on neuroimaging in depressed and chronic pain patients. He was further awarded Distinction in the Master of Science in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College London. He underwent further neuropsychiatry training in the Montreal Neurological Hospital in Canada and the Royal Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Unit in Australia under the MOH Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) award, where he enhanced his expertise in the diagnosis and management of patients with complex neurological and psychiatric needs.

Being an avid researcher, Dr Ho has published more than 270 academic papers in international peer-reviewed journals, including The Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, Autoimmunity Reviews and Brain, Behavior and Immunity. He is also the Editorial Board Member for the British Journal of Psychiatry and BMC Psychiatry and Associate Editor for the Frontiers in Psychiatry. He has given oral presentations at international psychiatry conferences, including the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting and the European Congress of Psychiatry, the two largest psychiatry conferences worldwide.

Besides his interest in clinical service and research, Dr Ho is passionate about student and resident teaching. He is currently the NUS Psychiatry Undergraduate Education Director. His recognition in education is exemplified by the several teaching awards that he has received, such as the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence and Junior Doctor Teaching Award. He is the co-author of four postgraduate guidebooks published by Taylor and Francis and the Mastering Psychiatry Textbook, a popular reference book used by Singapore medical students during their postings.

Always interested in pushing the boundaries of research to effect innovative healthcare, Dr Ho welcomes clinical and research collaboration locally and internationally.

1. Ng CYH, Tay SH, McIntyre RS,… Ho CSH. Elucidating a bidirectional association between rheumatoid arthritis and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2022 May 25;311:407-415. [IF 4.839]

2. Li Z, McIntyre RS, Husain SF,…, Ho CS, Chen N. Identifying neuroimaging biomarkers of major depressive disorder from cortical hemodynamic responses using machine learning approaches. EBioMedicine. 2022 Apr 28;79:104027. [IF 8.143]

3. Ho CSH, Chua J, Tay GWN. The diagnostic and predictive potential of personality traits and coping styles in major depressive disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 28;22(1):301. [IF 3.630]

4. Lee ARYB, Tariq A, Lau G,…, Ho CSH. Vitamin E, Alpha-Tocopherol, and Its Effects on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2022 Feb 3;14(3):656. [IF 5.091]

5. Ho CS, Chan YL, Tan TW, et al. Improving the diagnostic accuracy for major depressive disorder using machine learning algorithms integrating clinical and near-infrared spectroscopy data. J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Jan 12;147:194-202. [IF 4.791]

6. Wang W, Yang J, Xu J,…, Ho CSH, Pan F. Effects of high-fat diet and chronic mild stress on depression-like behaviors and levels of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rats. Neuroscience. 2021 Nov 16:S0306-4522(21)00573-X. [IF 3.59]

7. Li H, Xiang Y, Zhu Z,…, Ho CSH. Rifaximin-mediated gut microbiota regulation modulates the function of microglia and protects against CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors in adolescent rat. J Neuroinflammation. 2021 Nov 4;18(1):254. [IF 8.322]

8. Husain SF, Ong SK,… Ho CS. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy during a decision-making task in patients with major depressive disorder. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 10:4867420976856. [IF 5.744]

9. Hao F, Tam W, Ho CSH, et al. A quantitative and qualitative study on the neuropsychiatric sequelae of acutely ill COVID-19 inpatients in isolation facilities. Transl Psychiatry. 2020 Oct 19;10(1):355. [IF 6.222]

10. Wang C, Pan R,…, Ho C. A Longitudinal Study on the Mental Health of General Population during the COVID-19 Epidemic in China. Brain Behav Immun. 2020 Apr 13. pii: S0889-1591(20)30511-0. [IF 7.217]