People Drive the Future of Science

Dr. Mohamed ElSayed serves as the Executive Director of the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi), Singapore’s national platform dedicated to positioning the country as a regional hub and model of excellence in nucleic acid therapeutics research, clinical translation, and commercialisation.

A seasoned biopharmaceutical executive, Dr. ElSayed brings over 25 years of global experience across leading pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic institutions. His career has been defined by the development of transformative medicines including small molecules, biologics, genetic medicines, and precision therapies across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Prior to joining NATi, Dr. ElSayed served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at RVAC Medicines, where he led a global R&D organisation focused on democratising access to mRNA vaccines in emerging markets, with a particular emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. Before that, he was Vice President of Biotechnology at Eli Lilly, where he built the Oral Biologics and mRNA platforms from the ground up and advanced multiple assets from concept to clinical proof-of-concept for diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic diseases. His contributions earned him Lilly’s President’s Scientific Recognition Award. Dr. ElSayed has also held advisory and operational roles of increasing responsibility at other biopharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, Samyang Research Corporation, and Guilford Pharmaceuticals.

Earlier in his career, Dr. ElSayed was a tenured professor at the University of Michigan, where he established an internationally recognised research programme focused on investigational therapeutics for cancer and immunological diseases. He received more than 25 honours and awards, including the U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership Award, and the U.S. Department of Defense Award. He has authored over 180 research articles and conference proceedings, delivered more than 80 invited talks, and holds eight patents.

He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Cairo University and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. His postdoctoral research at the University of Washington was supported by fellowships from the National Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Dr. Vira Bitko is the Head of Vaccines & Immunology at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi). With over 20 years’ experience in vaccine R&D and biopharmaceutical leadership, she has a strong record of advancing vaccines from concept to clinic. She previously held senior roles at RVAC Medicines, BlueWillow Biologics, AGTC and other companies, driving preclinical development, translational research, and innovative vaccine platforms. Her expertise spans microbiology, pharmacology, and biochemistry. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Gerontology.

Ms. Chwee Fern Bok is a Scientist at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) specialising in vaccines and immunology. She has more than 7 years of experience in translational virology amassed from Duke-NUS Medical School and the A*STAR Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology. At NATi, Ms. Bok will be instrumental in shaping and driving our laboratory workflows to generate reliable scientific data for advancing our asset pipeline toward IND-enabling stages.

Dr. Pin Koon Ee is a Senior Scientist at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) specialising in nucleic acid chemistry. He has more than 9 years of professional experience in synthetic chemistry and (oligo)nucleotide chemistry, having held key positions at Amgen Singapore, Lerna Biopharma (formerly known as Cargene Therapeutics), Illumina, the Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology, and more. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Nanyang Technological University. At NATi, Dr. Ee will advance the oligonucleotide platform and its related technologies.

Dr. Lisiena Hysenaj is a Senior Scientist and Programme Leader, Autoimmune Diseases at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi), specialising in translational immunology. She brings more than 10 years of experience from Parvus Therapeutics, NextVivo, University of California and beyond, where she worked across functions to enable discovery and early clinical development for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Hysenaj holds a Ph.D. in Immunology & Infectious Diseases from Aix-Marseille University. At NATi, Lisiena’s expertise will help to advance multiple therapeutic programmes toward the clinic.

Dr. Ekambar Kandimalla is the Head of Oligonucleotides Platform at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi). With more than 150 research publications, book chapters, and reviews, and over 300 patent applications backed by over 35 years of research experience, Dr. Kandimalla is a pioneer and world-class expert in nucleic acid chemistry, biochemistry, and oligonucleotide conjugations. He has held senior scientific and strategic roles driving impact at highly innovative companies including Prime Medicine, Luye Boston R&D, Exicure, Idera Pharma, Hybridon, and beyond. At NATi, his unparalleled expertise in nucleic acid drug design and chemical modifications will be instrumental in advancing our asset pipeline.

Dr. Arpan Mukherjee is a Senior Scientist at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) specialising in process development for mRNA unit operations. He started his professional journey at the Nucleic Acids Technology group of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he built out mRNA platform processes for rare diseases. Next, he became a Programme Manager at the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) specialising in biomanufacturing innovation. In his last role, he led the mRNA/LNP process development team at Precision Biosciences Inc to support ex vivo and in vivo gene editing programmes. Dr. Mukherjee holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University. At NATi, his expertise will support the preclinical and clinical advancement of multiple therapeutic programmes.

Dr. Surya Prakash is the Head of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases (CVMD) at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi). He brings over two decades of experience in translational pharmacology and therapeutic innovation. He previously served as Vice President of Metabolic Diseases at Evotec, Germany, and held senior roles at Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Dr. Reddy’s Labs and Duke-NUS Medical School. A pharmacology graduate from The University of Queensland, Australia, Dr. Prakash specialises in novel target identification, validation, project enablement, asset generation and multi-modality therapeutics, including nucleic acid therapies. At NATi, he drives internal discovery and strategic collaborations to deliver transformative therapies.

Ms. Amberlyn Tan is a Scientist at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) specialising in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. She has more than 10 years of experience in translational research spanning preclinical pharmacology, in vivo and in vitro disease models, and therapeutic evaluation, amassed from Duke-NUS Medical School, A*STAR, as well as the National University of Singapore. At NATi, Ms. Tan will advance our translational pharmacology capabilities and support the development of therapeutic programmes in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Dr. Peng Wang is a Senior Scientist at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) specialising in lipid nanoparticle formulation and process development. He brings over 10 years of research experience from both industry and academia, having held notable positions at Mammoth Biosciences, Sorrento Therapeutics, and The Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Wang is a graduate of Peking University and holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Michigan State University. At NATi, his expertise will support the preclinical and clinical advancement of multiple therapeutic programmes.

Dr. Goey Cher Hui is a Portfolio Manager at NATi, where she oversees RNA technology programs from early discovery to clinical translation. She brings over 12 years of experience in drug development, biotech strategy and advanced therapeutics, with roles across global corporations, local biotechs and academia, including Hummingbird Bioscience, IQVIA, Autolus Therapeutics and Imperial College London.

Dr. Goey holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Imperial College London and an M.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham.

Dr. Kathy Rivett-Carnac has over ten years of experience in life sciences innovation, covering biotech venture creation, portfolio management, and translational research. She is the Head of Grants & External Portfolio Management at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi), where she works on advancing RNA-based therapeutics and developing national biotech strategy. Dr. Rivett-Carnac’s background combines scientific research and investment analysis. As a Venture Fellow at EVX Ventures, she participated in early-stage biotech company development, evaluated scientific opportunities, and supported portfolio companies. Her previous experience includes research in developmental biology and genomics, with positions such as the Lee Kuan Yew Fellowship at the National University of Singapore and a Ph.D. from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) institute and Université Aix-Marseille. Dr. Rivett-Carnac has experience across science and business and is involved in applying research to translational development. She has worked across academia, government, and venture sectors. She also possesses multilingual skills and international experience.

Dr. Kelvin Ng is Director and Head of Operations at the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi) where he oversees all operations and policies to guide and implement NATi’s overall strategy. He brings and integrates diverse experiences across public- and private-sector R&D, commercialisation, venture capital investment, and public grant administration. These include an executive role in a USD 250M agri-food private equity fund, a founding role in the SGD 144M Singapore Food Story 1.0 R&D programme, and strategic roles in several multimillion-dollar programmes in biologics, cell therapy, and alternative proteins. Part of his work led to the world’s first regulatory approval of a biotech-enabled food ingredient.

Dr. Ng is passionate about operational agility and scalability. Formerly at RoosterBio, Inc. in the United States, Dr. Ng scaled up manufacturing processes for cell therapy and exosomes. He enabled technology transfer to GMP environments and launched two product lines within a year. During the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore, He was selected to expand the capacity of a national diagnostic laboratory by 14 times, which his team accomplished within 3 months amidst volatile supply chains. With an eye for both operations and strategy, he went on to enable strategic innovation at A*STAR and served as Chief Scientific Officer at Bloom8 venture capital.

Dr. Ng holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from a joint programme between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. He serves as a nominated Volunteer Career Advisor at Workforce Singapore. Outside of work, Dr. Ng is an avid foodie and enjoys table tennis as well as cultural history.

Ms Emilie Soh brings diverse experience across industries, including manufacturing and hospital operations, with strong expertise in setting up and optimising systems for efficiency and effectiveness. She has a proven track record in managing internal and external stakeholders, enabling seamless coordination and communication across teams and partners. At NATi, Emilie supports the planning, coordination, and execution of operational and strategic initiatives, ensuring smooth delivery of programmes while managing workflows, resources, and stakeholder engagement.

Ms. Tam Lay Hong is Senior Assistant Director at NATi, where she leads alliance and partnership management to support strategic collaborations and drive impactful initiatives. She is an accomplished professional with over 10 years of experience in drug discovery and development, with a strong focus on business development and project management in the biotechnology sector.

Driving strategic alignment and operational excellence at NATi, Ms. Vanessa Tay, Senior Assistant Director, plays a key role in the organisation’s strategic operations. Her experience spans drug development, research, lab management, and project management in both public and private sectors, and was involved in the setup of various laboratories, including a GLP-compliant facility to support preclinical workflows. At NATi, she leads initiatives that streamline internal processes, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, and support long-term planning to achieve the organisation’s mission. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from the University of Western Australia.

Jasmine is a seasoned finance professional with over a decade of experience in general ledger control, financial reporting, and tax compliance across multinational organisations. She has led finance operations across Asia-Pacific, streamlining month-end closings, resolving intercompany differences, and supporting ERP rollouts, with expertise spanning IFRS compliance, tax reporting, and stakeholder engagement across Singapore, India, Australia, and China. Passionate about driving financial accuracy and operational efficiency, Jasmine is also a proud mother of two energetic boys and enjoys brewing speciality coffee and perfecting latte art. She is currently pursuing Chartered Accountant certification to further strengthen her credentials.