Lisa Ng is a Singaporean viral immunologist. In 2008, she became the first Singaporean and the first woman to win the ASEAN Young Scientist and Technologist Award for her work in developing diagnostic kits for Avian Influenza and Sars-CoV.[1] She has been featured as part of the "Beyond Curie" project as a pioneer in viral immunology, as well as being inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.[1][2] Her ongoing research includes endemic tropical diseases and Sars-CoV-19.[3][4]
Lisa Fong Poh Ng was born as the eldest of two daughters to a father who is a contractor and a mother who is a teacher.[5] In 1989, she enrolled in a biotechnology course at the Singapore Polytechnic after her completion of GCE O levels at Marymount Convent.[5] Her family considered polytechnic studies to be second-rate and did not believe it would help her get into a university afterwards.[5] Lisa pursued a course that would allow her to involve herself in scientific research immediately. She completed her polytechnic studies with good grades but was unable to secure a place at the National University of Singapore afterwards.[5]
She is working at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) where she is the Senior Principal Investigator of a project undertaking research on immunology of viral infections that are epidemic or highly endemic in the tropical region.[4][7] These include chikungunya virus, dengue virus, Zika virus and other related alpha- and flavi-viruses. She has previously developed diagnostic kits for detecting Avian Influenza H5N1 and Sars.[7][8][9][10][11] She currently holds the position of Executive Director of the A*STAR Graduate Academy, Senior Principal Investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network, Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, and Professor and Chair of Viral Immunology at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool, UK.[12][3][2] Her ongoing research includes that of the viral immunology of Sars-CoV-19.[4][13] Her team's discovery in Sars-CoV-19 is centered around neutralizing antibodies that are able to prevent the virus from infecting and replicating inside human cells.[14]
