KOH Hwee Ling

Associate Professor KOH Hwee Ling is a faculty member at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS), within the Faculty of Science. She holds a BSc (Pharm) (Hons) and MSc (Pharm) from NUS, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board and Herchel Smith Scholarship. Her research focuses on medicinal plants, herbal medicine quality control, safety, and efficacy, with a particular emphasis on tropical species. She has advised national and international committees, including the Singapore Food Agency and Health Sciences Authority.

Education:

• BSc (Pharmacy) (Hons), National University of Singapore
• MSc (Pharmacy), National University of Singapore
• PhD (Cambridge University, UK)

Research interests include traditional Chinese medicine, antimalarial compounds from plants like Clausena lansium, and public awareness of complementary health products. She has published four books and numerous journal articles on topics like natural product cytotoxicity and herbal safety. Her work bridges laboratory research with policy, contributing to regulatory frameworks for herbal products.

Grants and advising: She has led studies on medicinal plants’ therapeutic potential, collaborated with institutions like the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and organized exhibitions to educate the public. She chairs teaching and outreach committees at NUS, emphasizing pedagogical excellence.

Labs/Teams: Leads the NUS Medicinal Plants Research Group, which explores ethnobotanical applications and collaborates with global organizations such as the US Pharmacopeia. The group recently exhibited at the Singapore Botanic Gardens to highlight traditional medicinal plant uses.