Ling Su Yuen, Chief Architect, Synapxe, Singapore

1. How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organisation. 

Healthier SG and Age Well SG encourages preventive healthcare and active aging.

Healthier SG encourages all of us to stay healthy, screen yourself regularly for chronic disease, take the right vaccinations, and engage a trusted family doctor regularly. Age Well SG encourages seniors to stay active, alert and socially engaged through Active Ageing Centres in the community. 

In my role as as Chief Architect for Synapxe, I am the co-chair the Technology Design Authority of both programmes.  We establish the design principles, design concepts and review the solution architecture to ensure that every technical decision enhances scalability, data security, and citizen-centricity.

To ensure seamless integration across the healthcare ecosystem, we leverage data interoperability standards and modular architectures as part of our design. These are crucial considerations in delivering scalable and efficient public health programs.

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2. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year? 

For me, this year’s most exciting project is the development of a national predictive preventive care programme for Familial Hypercolesteromia (FH).

Genetic testing is not new, but doing this at scale, and with the intent of providing early therapy for FH patients and their immediate family to significantly reduce the risk of premature heart diseases and avoid future cardiovascular complications. 

This is an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives and health of young people who are at risk.

3. What was one unexpected learning from 2024? 

A significant learning in 2024 was the complexity of establishing data standards for emerging biotechnologies like Cell, Tissue, and Gene Therapy Products (CTGTP).

We discovered that existing international standards were insufficient, requiring us to innovate in how we classify and manage data for these advanced therapies.

This work has deepened our understanding of the underlying science, enhancing our ability to ensure regulatory compliance and interoperability.

Additionally, we explored the emerging field of Quantum Computing, particularly its implications for cryptography.

Quantum resilience is a future-critical capability, and preparing for the obsolescence of certain cryptographic methods has underscored the need to stay ahead of technological evolution.

4. What’s a tool or technique you’re excited to explore in 2025? 

I’m particularly excited about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its untapped potential in healthcare. AI and large language models have dominated the conversation, but healthcare uses a lot of medical devices that we need to track and manage.

IoT enables real-time monitoring, asset tracking, and supply chain optimisation and transform operational efficiency.

For instance, integrating IoT with predictive analytics can enhance our pandemic preparedness by monitoring early indicators across medical facilities, logistics, community health trends.

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5. Everybody’s talking about AI today – give us your hot take on AI and what it means for the public sector.

Analysts are indicting that deriving business value is challenging and that we will soon be facing the “trough of disillusionment”.

But I think there is still much more opportunity and possibility.

AI makes us question our prevailing model of responsibilities. We are all responsible for what we say and the advice that we give. If we do not understand the derivation of AI generated insights, then how do we responsibly rely on it or advise patients?

In the public service, AI must support decision-makers, not replace them; particularly in sensitive areas like healthcare and public safety. We have a responsibility to ensure that AI aligns with public values and social equity.

6. What are your priorities for 2025? 

One of my priorities is creating a safe space for tech-savvy users, such as PHI clinicians, to develop applications for their own productivity and use.

Establishing a more formal approach, with "guardrails" will empower them to contribute to digital transformation while ensuring organisational compliance and cybersecurity.

Another priority is achieving frictionless cloud migration by simplifying the migration of legacy systems to cloud.

Personally, my favourite area of work is population health, and cloud integration enables data interoperability across healthcare and social services to provide more holistic and responsive care models.

7. Who inspires you today? 

I recently listened to an interview with the founder of Duolingo, a language learning app that provides short daily lessons.

The founders realised that language teaching is not difficult; the real challenge is motivation and sustaining motivation.

Their understanding of the psychology of user engagement inspires me to explore how we can translate this in population health to drive positive health outcomes at scale.

This feature was made possible in partnership with Synapxe.