Visiting experts engage in scientific exchange with Singapore’s healthcare research and geriatrics community

As part of GERI’s 10^th anniversary celebrations, we welcomed our international experts Professor John N. Lavis and Professor Sharon Straus for a week of scientific exchanges from 7 to 11 July 2025 with Singapore’s healthcare research and geriatrics community, across the healthcare clusters.

Facilitated by GERI, Professor Lavis and Professor Straus engaged with members of the Academy of Clinician Scientists and Innovators (ACSI) under the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University and NHG Health; the Chapter of Geriatricians, College of Physicians under the Academy of Medicine, Singapore; the SingHealth Centre for Population Health Research and Implementation (CPHRI) and the Institute of Geriatrics and Active Ageing (IGA) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Professor Lavis is GERI’s International Scientific Advisor. He directs Canada’s McMaster Health Forum​and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy, and co-leads the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges​.

Professor Straus is an Adjunct Scientist at GERI. She is Director of the Knowledge Translation Program and Executive Vice-President, Clinical Programs and Chief Medical Officer at Unity Health Toronto. She is a Professor in the ​​Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation and Quality of Care.

Care of older patients shaped by real-world insights: Dinner talk with Chapter of Geriatricians

Addressing the Chapter, Professor Straus spoke about the role of evidence-based medicine – which seeks to integrate best available evidence with patients’ unique values and circumstances – in achieving quality care of older patients. Professor Straus emphasised that guidelines for patient care should reflect patient diversity, especially for demographic groups that are often under-represented in clinical trials.

Image: Chapter of Geriatricians, College of Physicians

In the ensuing panel discussion moderated by Chapter Chair, Dr Melvin Chua (Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Senior Consultant at Sengkang General Hospital), the focus was on how practitioners, such as geriatricians, could inform decision-making processes and potentially shape agendas on the care of older persons at the organisational, healthcare cluster and policy levels.

Associate Professor Ding Yew Yoong, Executive Director and Lead Scientist, GERI, highlighted policymakers’ varied considerations in deciding on the utility of healthcare programmes for older adults. Factors weighed include the programme’s scientific credibility, its operational aspects (such as its fit within the existing care ecosystem, and the available workforce to support it), its financial feasibility and its political viability among the older population and other stakeholders.

Exchanging expertise on research translation: Visits to CPHRI, ACSI and IGA

Elsewhere during their week-long programme, Professor Lavis and Professor Straus engaged in a closed-door session with the leadership of SingHealth’s CPHRI. Professor Lavis also participated in a fireside chat with members of ACSI on the topic “Evidence-based Practice: Translating evidence to real-world insights in health care and policy”.

Separately, Professor Straus visited IGA, where she met with the ADL 2.0+ study team to discuss their work in developing an AI-assisted multidomain digital intervention that aims to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. Led by IGA and funded by the National Innovation Challenge grant call, GERI is the project’s implementation research partner, supporting ADL 2.0+’s potential plans for national scale-up.

Images: CPHRI and IGA

Click here to read more about how GERI is building up its health policy research and implementation science capabilities.

Read highlights of Professor John Lavis and Professor Sharon Straus's plenary presentations at GERI’s 10th Anniversary Research Symposium here.