Email ephlyq@nus.edu.sg

Yu Qi is a Senior Research Fellow at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Dr Lee was trained as a clinical dietitian and attained her PhD (Human Physiology) at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her PhD research investigated the relationship between maternal nutrition, obesity and diabetes in pregnancy and offspring kidney structure and function in an Australian Indigenous population.

Since joining NUS, she worked with the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO), a mother-offspring cohort study in Singapore and the Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS). Her current research centres on nutritional epidemiology and cardiometabolic disease, with a strong focus on dietary pattern analysis, diet-related inflammation, longitudinal disease outcomes, and sustainable diets in Asian populations. Her expertise also includes systematic reviews, longitudinal data analysis, and survey development. She has led and contributed to multidisciplinary research projects in partnership with industry stakeholders and national government bodies, supporting evidence-informed policy and practice.

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

• Nutrition and Lifestyle epidemiology
• Maternal and Child Nutrition
• Systematic review and meta-analysis

• Public Health and Epidemiology
• Data literacy

• Doctor of Philosophy (Human Physiology), University of Newcastle, Australia
• Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (First Class Honours), University of Newcastle, Australia

• Research Fellow Teaching Award, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, 2025

• Lee YQ, Chia A, Sim X, van Dam RM, F-F Chong M. Substituting animal protein foods with plant protein foods influences vitamin B12 and folate statuses in a multiethnic Asian population. European Journal of Nutrition. 2025 Oct 13;64(7):294.
• Lee YQ, Tai BC, Sim X, van Dam RM, F-F Chong M. Association between plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and metabolic syndrome risk: A prospective and mediation study in a multiethnic Asian population. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2025 Aug 6;69:482-491.
• Stemerdink NC, Wesselink E, Lai JS, Loh J, van Dam RM, Sim X, Chong MF, Lee YQ. An empirical dietary inflammatory pattern increases the incidence of the metabolic syndrome in a multi-ethnic Asian population. Eur J Nutr. 2025 Aug 14;64(6):256.
• Lee YQ, Tan KH, F-F Chong. Biomarkers of polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular risk factors and events in healthy Asian populations: a systematic review. Br J Nutr. 2024 Nov 4:1-53.
• Lee YQ, Lim C, Chng CY, Chien CM, Fong MCF. Promoting breastfeeding in Singapore-a case study. BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2024 Jul 5;7(2):e000887.
• Lim Charissa, Li Priscilla, Chng Chee Yeong, Chong Foong-Fong Mary, Lee YQ, Chua Mei Chien, Pang Eunice. Breastfeeding Prevalence and Child Feeding Practices: Key findings from Singapore’s National Breastfeeding and Child Feeding Survey 2021/22. The Singapore Family Physician Vol 50 No 7 – Combatting Common Respiratory Illnesses: Vaccination Strategies in Singapore
• Lee YQ, Chia A, Whitton C, Cameron-Smith D, Sim X, van Dam RM, F-F Chong M. Isocaloric Substitution of Plant-Based Protein for Animal-Based Protein and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in a Multiethnic Asian Population. J Nutr. 2023 May;153(5):1555-1566.
• Lee YQ, Whitton C, Neelakantan N, van Dam RM, Chong MF-F.Dietary patterns and predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in a multiethnic Asian population. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 2022. 32(9): p. 2093-2104.