Singapore's Prof Marcus Ong elected to US National Academy of Medicine

One of 10 international members elected in 2026

Prof Ong is the Director of the Health Services Research and Population Health Signature Research Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School. He is among 10 international members elected to the NAM in 2026.

NUS News describes election to the Academy as "among the highest honours in health and medicine". The recognition goes to individuals for their professional achievements and service to medical sciences, healthcare and public health.

Beyond being the first emergency medicine specialist from Singapore to be elected, Prof Ong is the fourth Singaporean to join the Academy.

His roles and research focus

Alongside his programme directorship, Prof Ong directs the Prehospital and Emergency Research Centre at Duke-NUS. He is also a Senior Consultant and Distinguished Senior Clinician at Singapore General Hospital.

According to NUS News, his work has contributed to improving emergency care in Singapore and across the Asia-Pacific region. His research brings together data science, medical innovation and artificial intelligence, with the aim of improving outcomes for patients who experience cardiac arrest outside hospital.

He has also worked on ambulance deployment and on heart attack care.

What the election means

The election places emergency medicine research from Singapore within the Academy's international membership for the first time, as far as the specialty is concerned. It also highlights the use of data science and AI in prehospital care, an area where timing and resource allocation, such as ambulance deployment, can affect patient outcomes.

The source does not detail further plans or projects linked to the election. It does confirm that Prof Ong's work spans both clinical practice and research, and that this combination is part of the profile the Academy recognised.