Asst Prof Delicia Ooi

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Doctor Details

2025/04/09

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Asst Prof Delicia Ooi

Designations:

Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

Qualifications:

PhD Philosophy (NUS)

Special Interests:

Obesity and obesity-related morbidities including metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

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Contact Us:

paeosqd@nus.edu.sg

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Biosketch

Dr Delicia Ooi is an Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator in the Department of Paediatrics at the National University of Singapore (NUS). She also holds adjunct appointments as a Research Assistant Professor at the Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI) and as an Associate Investigator at the National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB), Singapore.

Her research focuses on obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders, with the overarching goal of understanding why individuals differ in their susceptibility to obesity and their risk of developing metabolic complications. Her research integrates genetic susceptibility, environmental and developmental risk factors, and molecular mechanisms, including adipose tissue dysfunction, immune dysregulation and inflammation, to investigate the biological determinants of obesity and its metabolic heterogeneity.

She leads the Obesity in Singaporean Children (OBiSC) study, a cohort of 406 Singaporean children and adolescents with severe, early-onset obesity, providing a valuable platform for investigating the biological heterogeneity of childhood obesity. She also supports the growth, metabolic and puberty domains of two major Singapore birth cohorts, GUSTO and S-PRESTO, contributing to longitudinal research on developmental, metabolic, and pubertal determinants of health. In addition, she is a Co-Investigator of SG-LEADS, a nationally representative longitudinal study examining social, family, environmental, and developmental factors that influence child development and wellbeing.

Awards

2019 - NUSMed Outstanding mentor award for Research Fellow
2018 - Best Team presentation at the 8th Hope meeting with Nobel Laureates, Japan
2016 - Wong Hock Boon-Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund: Best Mentor Award
2014 - Wong Hock Boon-Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund: Best Mentor Award

Journals & Publications

Quek AML, Ooi DSQ, Teng O, Foon CH, Li PP, Er BGC, Mahmud NFB, Shunmuganathan B, MacAry PA, Lim ECH, Seet RCS. Adiposity shapes the immune architecture independent of antibody responses in mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Int J Infect Dis. 2026 Sep;170:108932.
Lu, S., Ooi, D.S.Q., Michael, N., Lee, Y.S., and Yeung, W.J. (2026). Low birth weight infants and parental nativity in Singapore: epidemiological paradox in Asia - a nationally representative population-based cohort study. BMJ Public Health 4, e003456. 10.1136/bmjph-2025-003456.
Ng DZW, Shie YH, Piyasanka SR, Kioh DYQ, Sng AA, Lee BW, Lee YS, Chan ECY, Ooi DSQ. Metabolome alterations in pediatric metabolically unhealthy obesity are primarily linked to abnormal glucose homeostasis. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 4;15(1):23934.
Leroy A, Gupta V, Tint MT, Ooi DSQ, Yap F, Lek N, Godfrey KM, Chong YS, Lee YS, Eriksson JG, Álvarez MA, Michael N, Wang D. Prospective prediction of childhood body mass index trajectories using multi-task Gaussian processes. Int J Obes (Lond). 2025 Feb;49(2):340-347.
Ong SM, Ng DZW, Chee TEZ, Sng AA, Heng CK, Lee YS, Chan ECY, Ooi DSQ. Plasma fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids and surrogate fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids hydrolysis activity in children with or without obesity and in adults with or without coronary artery disease. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024 May 29.
Ong SG, Dehghan R, Dorajoo R, Liu JJ, Sng AA, Lee YS, Ooi DSQ. Novel Melanocortin-3 and -4 Receptor Functional Variants in Asian Children With Severe Obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Feb 20;109(3):e1249-e1259.
Lee VV, Vijayakumar S, Ng WY, Lau NY, Leong QY, Ooi DSQ, Su LL, Lee YS, Chan SY, Blasiak A, Ho D. Personalization and localization as key expectations of digital health intervention in women pre- to post-pregnancy. NPJ Digit Med. 2023 Sep 30;6(1):183. doi: 10.1038/s41746-023-00924-6.
Ooi DSQ, Toh JY, Ng LYB, Peng Z, Yang S, Rashid NSBSA, Sng AA, Chan YH, Chong MF-F, Lee YS. Dietary Intakes and Eating Behavior between Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obesity Phenotypes in Asian Children and Adolescents. Nutrients. 2022; 14(22):4796.
Ooi, D.S.Q., Ong, S.G., Lee, O.M.H. et al. Prevalence and predictors of metabolically healthy obesity in severely obese Asian children. Pediatr Res 92, 1374–1380 (2022).
Ooi DSQ, Ling JQR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Ong FY, Khoo CM, Tai ES, Henry CJ, Leow MKS, Khoo EYH et al: Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Does Not Preserve Lean Mass or Affect Metabolic Profile in Adults with Overweight or Obesity in a Randomized Controlled Weight Loss Intervention. J Nutr 2021, 151(4):911-920.

2026/08/21