Prof Celia Tan started in healthcare as a physiotherapist in 1983 and quickly developed the passion for clinical capacity building and service expansion to meet the increasing health care needs of her patients and fellow medical colleagues. In her 35 years of experience in the healthcare sector, she has started many new clinical services and educational and research centres in SGH and in SingHealth. She was recently awarded the Monisaraphorn Thipadin Medal from the Prime Minister of Cambodia, His Excellency, Hun Sen, for the more than 15 years of volunteer services in developing education and health care in Cambodia.
Her clinical expertise and interest started with sports therapy with the Singapore Sports Council, moving to working with disabled children and premature neonates at the National University Hospital and now specialising in spine rehabilitation and exercise prescription for the disabled, elderly and oncology populations in Singapore General Hospital and SingHealth.
A strategic visionary and administrative leader, Celia established the satellite Rehabilitation services (Rehab Associates) in the community polyclinics to bring rehabilitation closer to the patient’s home in 2002; started the first postgraduate Allied Health training institute (PGAHI) in 2003; created an interdisciplinary SGH Lifestyle Improvement and Fitness Centre (LIFE) in 2007, with the Heads of Endocrine and Behavioural Medicine Departments; set-up the SHS Group AH Office in 2011; Biomedical Skills training and research laboratory to support AH and medical research in robotics and movement science in 2013 and College of AH (CAH) in 2017.
She is currently Senior Director, Special Projects and held the position of Group Director, AH SHS for 3 terms (9 years), but is also actively involved in teaching at the PGAHI and CAH, which provides much needed continuing training for our local and Asian AH professionals to develop new clinical skills and knowledge, as well as training for educators and researchers.
Her overseas education and research collaboration include Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. She volunteers as a Singapore Specialist Volunteer Overseas Team Leader with Singapore International Foundation and Temasek Foundation in medical missions since 2002, and is also the co-Core Lead for Capacity Building with the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.
Managing international medical and humanitarian missions has always been a passion for Prof Celia, who takes the lead in meeting up with the host country representatives and working together with all the industry partners to conduct feasibility studies to bridge the gaps in healthcare needs. Often these feasibility studies require detailed interviews with the professional cohort, patients, surveys and pilot studies to determine the impact on the patients. All training and projects will evaluate the outcome before and after the training sessions or interventions to ensure there is proper audit and follow-up of outcomes. The greatest challenge in these projects is to ensure that there is multidisciplinary healthcare professional collaboration, governmental support, joint industry partnerships and system changes that can be sustained in the long run.
After her PhD studies in 2003, Celia developed an interest in innovative robotics and rehabilitation research that has seen her embark on many innovative device collaborations with engineering lecturers and students from various academic institutions. She was appointed Core lead for the Bioengineering research platform in SGH in 2013 and is PI for the MOH Ageless grant for robotic Ultrasound (US) scanning and home exercise to prevent frailty in 2017/18. These collaborative innovative ideas have won local innovation awards and been patented, commercialised and published.
With an eye on professional and community outreach, Celia has been invited to provide physiotherapy and Allied Health leadership consultation to the Ministry of Health, Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore Physiotherapy Association. She is also an Honorary Fellow of Melbourne University, Physiotherapy Steering Committee, University of Health Science, Cambodia and External Examiner with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. Celia’s passion is to encourage health care professionals to rise to their highest potential as clinicians, educators and researchers, so that patients receive the best care possible.
Research Appointments
- Adjunct Research Consultant School of Mechanical Engineering, Ngee Ann
Polytechnic, Singapore (2006-2019) - Surgical Academic Clinical Program - Dy Director, Biomechanics Research (2015-2019)
- SingHealth Research Council (Member 2012 to 2019)
- SGH Centre Grant (Biomechanical Core) (Chairperson 2013 to 2017)
Research Grant Awards – SingHealth and other grants
- MOH National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confidant (MOH/NIC/HAIG01/2017): SAFE Trip – Steps to Avoid Falls in the Elderly. Translating Research into Practice (2018 to 2021). PI Angelique Chan, Co-PI Prof Celia Tan.
- Grant Approval for Ageless Workplaces Innovation Grant under National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confident Ageing (MOH/NIC/AWIG01/2017).
ROBUST: ROBotic assisted UltraSonography sysTem for radiographers in the healthcare industry: PI, Celia Tan Project duration 3 years. 2017-2020
- National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC NTU)
“Design & Development of a Passive Cervical Traction Device using 3D Printing”
Prof Chou Siaw Meng, ( PI) NTU & Prof Celia (Co-I), SGH.
Project Duration : 3rd January 2017 – 3rd July 2018 (18 months) 2017-2018
- 6th Translational R & D and Innovation Fund (TIF) grant
OKC Exercises Rehabilitation Machine for lower limbs (Collaborator) – collaboration project with ITE West College, Singapore and Singapore General Hospital. MOE2014–TIF–1-T-024 (2015-2017)
- SGH Research Grant Award
Comparative Effectiveness of Different Support Surfaces and Turning Frequency in Reducing skin-bed interface pressures of bony prominences. (Inventor and Co-I) 2014
- SGH Research Grant Award
A Prospective observational study on the discharge options of patients with spinal symptoms from the Emergency Department. (Co-I) 2014
- Health Promotion Board grant (Co –I)
Project Title: A prospective pilot study evaluating the effects of a clinically-supervised weight loss intervention programme combined with behavioural change strategy in morbidly obese adults – 2012
- SGH Research Grant Award
A clinical study into the effectiveness of the Mobile Lumbar Traction Unit in the reduction of pain and neurological symptoms in patients with radicular low back pain (Inventor and Mentor). Project Grant ID: SRG#01/2011. 2011
- Singapore Physiotherapy Association Research Grant Award
“The use of a multiple cueing device as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy to improve gait and quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s Disease- A pilot study” (PI) 2011
- SingHealth Research Grant Award
Approved Grant No. SHF/FG440S/2009 - The use of a multiple cueing device as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy to improve gait and quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s Disease –A pilot study (PI). 2010
- SGH Work-Off-Weight Research Project, Project Leader 2009
- SingHealth Talent Development Sabbatical Grant
Development of the Risk Assessment and Predictor Tool (RAPT) for Total Knee and Total Hip Replacement Arthroplasty study. (PI) 2009
Research Project Grant Awards – Ngee Ann and Tote Board grants
- Ankle Foot Orthosis Device with Biofeedback (Co-I) total grant ($120,000) 2011-13
- Automated Pressure Relief & Turning Aid for Bed- ridden Patient (Co-I) total grant ($170,000) 2011-14
- Mobile Lumbar Traction Device (Co-I) total grant ($160,000) 2012-14
- Parkinson’s Patient Mobility Aid (Co-I) total grant ($170,000) 2013-15
- Unilateral Spatial Neglect Rectifier (USNR) Co-I total grant ($170,000) 2013-16
SGH Provisional Patent Application (co-inventor with Ngee Ann Polytechnic School of Mechanical Engineering)
- Mobile Spinal Traction - Jan 2013
- Automated Pressure Relief and Turning Aid for Bedridden Patients - Jan 2011
- Unilateral Spatial Neglect Rectifier - Jan 2011
- Active Assisted Shoulder Exercise Device (commercially licensed Nextan) - Jan 2013
- Dynamic Lumbar Support - Jan 2012
- Elbow Exerciser - May 2013
- Adaptive Modular Kerb Crawler - Jan 2014
- Dysphagia Rehabilitation Training System, Method And Apparatus - March 2015
- Applicant(s): Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd and National University of Singapore
- Walking Frame for Climbing stairs - May 2017