Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis graduated as the pioneer Clinician Scientist resident in the National University Health System (NUHS) Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programme in 2017. He clinched the Best Senior Resident Award for three consecutive years during his residency. He was also the Chief Resident and was part of the nationwide Singapore Chief Residency Programme (SCRP). As part of his training as an Orthopaedic Surgeon-Scientist, Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis went on to complete his Masters of Clinical Investigation (MCI) and his PhD, specialising in Cartilage Regeneration with Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) and MSC Exosomes therapy, in National University of Singapore, being the first Singapore orthopaedic surgeon to accomplish this level of higher education in the field of orthopaedic regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy.
Being a pioneer in both clinical and research for cartilage diseases, Dr Francis Wong became the very first Southeast Asian to be awarded the prestigious Vericel-ICRS Clinical Travelling Fellowship of the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS) in 2019. He learnt cartilage repair and restoration techniques from world-renowned joint preservation and cartilage restoration orthopaedic surgeons in North America. He was also trained in arthroscopic cartilage repair and restoration techniques by Professor Tomasz Piontek from RehaSport, Medical University Poznan, Poland. He is currently a member of the Nominations and NextGen Committees in ICRS. He continues to play a significant role as a Key Opinion Leader, with regular invitations as expert faculty for various professional societies such as ICRS, Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association, Indian Cartilage Society, and the Asian Cartilage Research Society. Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis offers a full range of cartilage restoration and repair surgeries for suitable patients.
Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis is also an expert in the field of wound healing and was bestowed Honorary Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University for his work. He sits on several advisory boards as a Key Opinion Leader for industry leaders such as CellResearch Corporation, Solventum (3M), Molnlycke, and Urgo. He is also invited regularly as an expert faculty from various international wound societies to provide his insights and expertise in wound healing. For the exceptional improvements in diabetic foot management and wound care, his team won the Best Team Award in the Singapore Health Quality Service Awards in 2023.
Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis specialises in Orthopaedic Surgery. Apart from General Orthopaedics, he has two main clinical interests:
For his clinical work and patient service, Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis was awarded the prestigious Singapore Health Quality Service Award, STAR award category, in 2022.
“Patient care is always a journey of ups and downs. I aspire to bring the best evidence-based care to my patients, while walking this journey with each and every one of them, assuring them that I am here, for every step of the journey.”
Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis worked as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) prior to joining Island Orthopaedics. During his time in SKH, he initiated various clinical initiatives to improve patient care, such as the;
He was also the chair of the hospital’s wound committee and spearheaded the advanced wound-healing aspects of the hospital.
For his expertise in Orthobiologics and Cell Therapy, he was also the Campus Service Chief for the SingHealth Duke-NUS Cell Therapy Centre to coordinate cell therapy efforts within the hospital. Nationally, Dr Wong Keng Lin Francis has also served in the Singapore Orthopaedic Association (SOA) as an Executive Committee member from 2019 to 2023 as their editor and was the Scientific Chair of the SOA Annual Scientific Meeting in 2023. He remains committed to public service as a Visiting Consultant at both the National University Hospital (NUH) and Sengkang General Hospital (SKH).
As an Orthopaedic Surgeon-Scientist, Dr Wong is prolific in his basic, translational and clinical research. He joined the Musculoskeletal Academic Clinical Programme (MSK ACP) at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in August 2018 as the Research Lead of the SKH Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He was the inaugural Orthopaedic Surgeon Resident to win the prestigious National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Research Training Fellowship. In 2022, he became the first nationally funded Orthopaedic Surgeon-Scientist by securing his NMRC Transition Award (SGD$943,500) to further his research. For his research efforts, Dr Wong Keng Lin Francis was promoted to Assistant Professor (Regular Rank-Research Track) and became the Research Director of Sengkang General Hospital. He led the hospital to secure its first NMRC Centre Grant (SGD$ 3,000,000) to bolster its research capabilities in both clinical and translational research. Currently, Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis, has more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, with H-index of 23, and accumulated more than $2 million in funding for research. He continues to engage in research to bring cutting-edge therapies to his patients. He is an expert reviewer and editorial board member for various high-tiered orthopaedic journals. He remains committed to his academic strengths and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the National University of Singapore.
Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis is also an avid educator. He was a Clinical Senior Lecturer at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, a Clinical Teacher and Adjunct Lecturer at NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and a Clinical Physician Faculty Member for the SingHealth Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programme. He is a member of the Master of Medicine (MMed) Orthopaedic Surgery Committee to facilitate the examinations for registrars and is regularly invited as an examiner for the Final MBBS examinations at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Dr Wong Keng Lin, Francis is also regularly invited as expert faculty for postgraduate Orthopaedic surgery courses, such as the NUS Postgraduate Course in Orthopaedics, which incorporates the FRCS (Orth) Preparatory Course. For his education work, he was awarded the SingHealth Outstanding Faculty Award in 2020. He was awarded the Special Recognition Award by NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine for three years for being a role model to medical students.
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