Prof Alex Sia Tiong Heng

Trained in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Prof Alex Sia is a Senior Consultant in the Department of Women’s Anaesthesia, KK Women's and Children's Hospital. Prof Sia is Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and since 2013, he has been Clinical Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He is also Adjunct Professor, Engineering Design & Innovation Centre, at the National University of Singapore.

Prof Sia’s pursuit of advancement in the safety and reliability of patient care includes the development of closed-loop, automated and computer integrated administration of medications. He has filed three patent applications in this area of healthcare development and advancement. He is also involved in research into the pharmacogenomics of pain, particularly in relation to the use of opioids.

• MMed Anaesthesia (Singapore) 1994
• MBBS National University of Singapore 1989
  

• Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School
  
• Clinical Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
  
• Adjunct Professor, Engineering Design & Innovation Centre, National University of Singapore
  
• Senior Consultant, Department of Women’s Anaesthesia, 1994 - Present
• Member, FAMS, 2013
  

• AM-ETHOS Learning Enhancement & Progress (LEAP) Award – Merit (Mentor) (SingHealth-Duke NUS Academic Medicine Centre), AY205-2016
• WHO Team Award for contributions to Health Development in Perinatal Medicine (UAE Foundation Award), 2009
• National Clinical Excellence Team Award (citations by the Minister for Health, Minister Khaw BW) – Perinatal Team Award, 2008
• Star Excellent Service Award (EXSA), 2007
• Young Investigator Award, KK Women's and Children's Hospital O&G Inaugural Scientific Meeting, 1997
  

• Interactive & closed loop therapeutic systems
• Pharmacogenomics of pain
  
  

• Comparison of double intravenous vasopressor automated system using nexfin versus manual vasopressor bolus administration for maintenance of haemodynamic stability during spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery: A randomised double-blind controlled trial. Sng BL, Du W, Lee MX, Ithnin F, Mathur D, Leong WL, Sultana R, Han NR, Sia ATH.
• Incidence and risk factors for epidural re-siting in parturients with breakthrough pain during labour epidural analgesia: a cohort study. Sng BL, Tan M, Yeoh CJ, Han NR, Sultana R, Assam PN, Sia AT. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2017 Dec 8. pii: S0959-289X(17)30247-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2017.12.002. [Epub ahead of print]
• Maintenance of epidural labour analgesia: The old, the new and the future. Sng BL, Sia ATH. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2017 Mar;31(1):15-22. doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2017.01.002. Epub 2017 Jan 12.
• A case series of vital signs-controlled, patient-assisted intravenous analgesia (VPIA) using remifentanil for labour and delivery. Leong WL, Sng BL, Zhang Q, Han NLR, Sultana R, Sia ATH. Anaesthesia. 2017 Jul;72(7):845-852. doi: 10.1111/anae.13878. Epub 2017 Apr 18.
• Development of a real-time lumbar ultrasound image processing system for epidural needle entry site localization. Yusong Leng, Shuang Yu, Kok Kiong Tan, Tildsley P, Sia AT, Ban Leong Sng. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2016 Aug;2016:4093-4096. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591626.
• A preliminary assessment of the LMA protector™ in non-paralysed patients. Sng BL, Ithnin FB, Mathur D, Lew E, Han NR, Sia AT. BMC Anesthesiol. 2017 Feb 20;17(1):26. doi: 10.1186/s12871-017-0323-5.
• Ethnicity-dependent influence of innate immune genetic markers on morphine PCA requirements and adverse effects in postoperative pain. Somogyi AA, Sia AT, Tan EC, Coller JK, Hutchinson MR, Barratt DT. Pain. 2016 Nov;157(11):2458-2466.
• Hyperbaric versus isobaric bupivacaine for spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section. Sng BL, Siddiqui FJ, Leong WL, Assam PN, Chan ES, Tan KH, Sia AT. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Sep 15;9:CD005143. [Epub ahead of print] Review.
  
• Comparison of epidural oxycodone and epidural morphine for post-caesarean section analgesia: A randomised controlled trial. Sng BL, Kwok SC, Mathur D, Ithnin F, Newton-Dunn C, Assam PN, Sultana R, Sia AT. Indian J Anaesth. 2016 Mar;60(3):187-93. doi: 10.4103/0019-5049.177877.
• Lumbar Ultrasound Image Feature Extraction and Classification with Support Vector Machine. Yu S, Tan KK, Sng BL, Li S, Sia AT. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2015 Oct;41(10):2677-89. doi: 0.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.05.015. Epub 2015 Jun 26.
• Common variants of catechol-O-methyltransferase influence patient-controlled analgesia usage and postoperative pain in patients undergoing total hysterectomy. Tan EC, Lim EC, Ocampo CE, Allen JC, Sng BL, Sia AT. Pharmacogenomics J. 2016 Apr;16(2):186-92. doi: 10.1038/tpj.2015.33. Epub 2015 May 12.