The National University of Singapore (NUS) has appointed Professor Teo Yik Ying to be the next dean of its Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. He will take on the post on Jan 1, 2018.

Prof Teo does research in biostatistics, population genomics and genetic epidemiology. He is currently vice-dean for research at the school, and holds a joint appointment at the department of statistics and applied probability under the NUS Faculty of Science.

Prof Teo will succeed Professor Chia Kee Seng, who is the founding dean of the school, which was established in October 2011.

Prof Chia specialises in molecular epidemiology - which is a scientific field that studies how genetic and environmental factors cause or prevent disease - with a focus on chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The school has led the Singapore Population Health Studies - a population-based health research initiative that aims to discover how lifestyle, physiology, genes and their interactions impact the development of common health conditions. Some 50,000 community-based participants have been recruited.