Professor Yee Sin Leo

Prof Leo Yee Sin is a Senior Advisor to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore, and holds concurrent faculty appointments at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, and the Lee Kong Chien School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University. Prof Leo served as the inaugural Executive Director of the NCID from 2017 to 2023. 

An adult infectious disease specialist, Prof Leo has led her team through multiple outbreaks in Singapore, including the Nipah virus outbreak in 1999, SARS in 2003, the H1N1 pandemic influenza in 2009, Zika virus in 2016, multiple dengue epidemics, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, where she played a pivotal role. 

Prof Leo has published more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Her extensive expertise in outbreak management has made her a sought-after advisor and speaker at national, regional, and international levels. In addition to her clinical and administrative duties, she is actively engaged in research and teaching. Her research interests include dengue, influenza, emerging infections, HIV, and COVID-19. 

Prof Leo has received numerous prestigious awards, including two National Day Public Service Star Awards for her contributions during the SARS-CoV-1 outbreak in 2003 and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2021. She was also honored with the National Day Awards for Public Administration Medals in Silver (2020) and Bronze (2012) and the Lee Foundation-NHG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. In 2020, she was recognized as one of the BBC 100 Women, and in 2022, she was conferred the title of Knight of the French Order of the Legion of Honour.