Tel (65) 6601 5096
Email ephsx@nus.edu.sg

Xueling is a molecular epidemiologist who uses omics techniques to better understand the etiology of cardio-metabolic traits and diseases. She uses statistical methods to identify omics biomarkers that increase the risk of disease outcomes and related complex traits, and is internationally recognised for her research in statistical genetics, having conducted many of the key genetic association studies in East and South Asian populations. The discovery of such biomarkers can aid in the interpretation of biological pathways, highlight differences in risk profiles across populations, and eventually motivate changes in disease prevention, risk prediction, clinical diagnostics and risk stratification practices. Her full publication records can be viewed at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xu8JrQIAAAAJ&hl=en.

Since 2021, she has taken up positions as cohort custodian of the Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS, https://blog.nus.edu.sg/sphs/), and Director of the National Cohorts Office (NCO, https://nco.nus.edu.sg/). As custodian of the SPHS (a suite of seven independent cohorts spanning over 20 years), she oversees a cornerstone for epidemiological research at NUS, contributing to national projects on precision health (e.g., PRECISE-SG100K), and diabetic complications (e.g., DYNAMO), Leveraging on her experience as a cohort custodian, as NCO director, she leads efforts to develop and strengthen the national cohort ecosystem by fostering a vibrant community of cohort creators and users to maximise the value, utility, and impact of population cohorts for research and public health

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

• Molecular epidemiology
• Biostatistics

• Biostatistics

• Aug 2001 – May 2005: BSc. Hons. in Statistics, Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Aug 2007 – Sept 2011: Doctor of Philosophy, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore

• July 2005 – Sept 2011: Research Assistant, Centre for Molecular Epidemiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
• Oct 2011 – Dec 2014: Research fellow, Department of Biostatistics, Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
• Jan 2015 – Dec 2022: Assistant Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Jan 2023 – present: Associate Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore

• Custodian, Singapore Population Health Studies (SPHS)
• Director, National Cohorts Office (NCO)

• Liang Y, Lim CGY, Ritchie SC, Bertin N, Chai JF, Yao J, Li Y, Tai ES, van Dam RM, Sim X. Circulating Proteomic Profiles Are Associated With Incident Type 2 Diabetes in Asian Populations. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Sep 16;110(10):e3391-e3400. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaf045. PMID: 39842943; PMCID: PMC12448639.
• Lim CGY, Ozkan B, Liang Y, Chen J, Yao J, Khaing NEE, Rooney MR, Ndumele CE, Tai ES, Coresh J, Sim X, van Dam RM. Plasma Proteomic Signatures of Adiposity Are Associated With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in a Multiethnic Asian Population. Diabetes. 2025 Mar 1;74(3):416-426. doi: 10.2337/db24-0184. PMID: 39621883; PMCID: PMC11842604.
• Chen Y, Torta F, Koh HWL, Benke PI, Gurung RL, Liu JJ, Ang K, Shao YM, Chan GC, Choo JC, Ching J, Kovalik JP, Kalhan T, Dorajoo R, Khor CC, Li Y, Tang WE, Seah DEJ, Sabanayagam C, Sobota RM, Venkataraman K, Coffman T, Wenk MR, Sim X, Lim SC, Tai ES. Metabolomics profiling in multi-ancestral individuals with type 2 diabetes in Singapore identified metabolites associated with renal function decline. Diabetologia. 2025 Mar;68(3):557-575. doi: 10.1007/s00125-024-06324-z. Epub 2024 Dec 2. PMID: 39621102.
• Seah JYH, Yao J, Hong Y, Lim CGY, Sabanayagam C, Nusinovici S, Gardner DS, Loh M, Müller-Riemenschneider F, Tan CS, Yeo KK, Wong TY, Cheng CY, Ma S, Tai ES, Chambers JC, van Dam RM, Sim X. Risk prediction models for type 2 diabetes using either fasting plasma glucose or HbA1c in Chinese, Malay, and Indians: Results from three multi-ethnic Singapore cohorts. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2023 Aug 15;203:110878. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110878. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37591346.
• Seah JYH, Hong Y, Cichońska A, Sabanayagam C, Nusinovici S, Wong TY, Cheng CY, Jousilahti P, Lundqvist A, Perola M, Salomaa V, Tai ES, Würtz P, van Dam RM, Sim X. Circulating metabolic biomarkers are consistently associated with type 2 diabetes risk in Asian and European populations. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Jun 16;107(7):e2751-e2761. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgac212. PMID: 35390150.
• Chen Y, Kassam I, Lau SH, Kooner JS, Wilson R, Peters A, Winkelmann J, Chambers JC, Chow VT, Khor CC, van Dam RM, Teo YY, Loh M, Sim X. Impact of BMI and waist circumference on epigenome-wide DNA methylation and identification of epigenetic biomarkers in blood: an EWAS in multi-ethnic Asian individuals. Clin Epigenetics. 2021 Oct 20;13(1):195. doi: 10.1186/s13148-021-01162-x. PMID: 34670603; PMCID: PMC8527674.
• Chai JF, Kao SL, Wang C, Lim VJ, Khor IW, Dou J, Podgornaia AI, Chothani S, Cheng CY, Sabanayagam C, Wong TY, van Dam RM, Liu J, Reilly DF, Paterson AD, Sim X. Genome-wide association for HbA1c in Malay identified deletion on SLC4A1 that influences HbA1c independent of glycemia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Dec 1;105(12):dgaa658. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa658. PMID: 32936915.
• Spracklen CN*, Horikoshi M*, Kim YJ*, Lin K, Bragg F*, Moon S, Suzuki K, Tam CHT, Tabara Y, Kwak SH, Takeuchi F, Long J, Lim VJY, Chai JF, Chen CH, Nakatochi M, Yao J, Choi HS, Iyengar AK, Perrin HJ, Brotman SM, van de Bunt M, Gloyn AL, Below JE, Boehnke M, Bowden DW, Chambers JC, Mahajan A, McCarthy MI, Ng MCY, Petty LE, Zhang W, Morris AP, Adair LS, Akiyama M, Bian Z, Chan JCN, Chang LC, Chee ML, Chen YI, Chen YT, Chen Z, Chuang LM, Du S, Gordon-Larsen P, Gross M, Guo X, Guo Y, Han S, Howard AG, Huang W, Hung YJ, Hwang MY, Hwu CM, Ichihara S, Isono M, Jang HM, Jiang G, Jonas JB, Kamatani Y, Katsuya T, Kawaguchi T, Khor CC, Kohara K, Lee MS, Lee NR, Li L, Liu J, Luk AO, Lv J, Okada Y, Pereira MA, Sabanayagam C, Shi J, Shin DM, So WY, Takahashi A, Tomlinson B, Tsai FJ, van Dam RM, Xiang YB, Yamamoto K, Yamauchi T, Yoon K, Yu C, Yuan JM, Zhang L, Zheng W, Igase M, Cho YS, Rotter JI, Wang YX, Sheu WHH, Yokota M, Wu JY, Cheng CY, Wong TY, Shu XO, Kato N, Park KS, Tai ES, Matsuda F, Koh WP, Ma RCW, Maeda S, Millwood IY, Lee J, Kadowaki T*, Walters RG*, Kim BJ*, Mohlke KL*, Sim X*. Identification of type 2 diabetes loci in 433,540 East Asian individuals. Nature. 2020 Jun;582(7811):240-245. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2263-3. Epub 2020 May 6. PMID: 32499647; PMCID: PMC7292783.
• Leong A, Lim VJY, Wang C, Chai JF, Dorajoo R, Heng CK, van Dam RM, Koh WP, Yuan JM, Jonas JB, Wang YX, Wei WB, Liu J, Reilly DF, Wong TY, Cheng CY, Sim X. Association of G6PD variants with hemoglobin A1c and impact on diabetes diagnosis in East Asian individuals. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2020 Mar;8(1):e001091. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2019-001091. PMID: 32209585; PMCID: PMC7103857.
• Chai JF, Raichur S, Khor IW, Torta F, Chew WS, Herr DR, Ching JH, Kovalik JP, Khoo CM, Wenk MR, Tai ES, Sim X. Associations with metabolites in Chinese suggest new metabolic roles in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Hum Mol Genet. 2020 Jan 15;29(2):189-201. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddz246. PMID: 31628463.
• Spracklen CN*, Chen P*, Kim YJ*, Wang X*, Cai H*, Li S*, Long J*, Wu Y*, Wang YX*, Takeuchi F*, Wu JY*, Jung KJ*, Hu C*, Akiyama K*, Zhang Y*, Moon S*, Johnson TA*, Li H*, Dorajoo R*, He M*, Cannon ME, Roman TS, Salfati E, Lin KH, Guo X, Sheu WH, Absher D, Adair LS, Assimes TL, Aung T, Cai Q, Chang LC, Chen CH, Chien LH, Chuang LM, Chuang SC, Du S, Fan Q, Fann CS, Feranil AB, Friedlander Y, Gordon-Larsen P, Gu D, Gui L, Guo Z, Heng CK, Hixson J, Hou X, Hsiung CA, Hu Y, Hwang MY, Hwu CM, Isono M, Juang JJ, Khor CC, Kim YK, Koh WP, Kubo M, Lee IT, Lee SJ, Lee WJ, Liang KW, Lim B, Lim SH, Liu J, Nabika T, Pan WH, Peng H, Quertermous T, Sabanayagam C, Sandow K, Shi J, Sun L, Tan PC, Tan SP, Taylor KD, Teo YY, Toh SA, Tsunoda T, van Dam RM, Wang A, Wang F, Wang J, Wei WB, Xiang YB, Yao J, Yuan JM, Zhang R, Zhao W, Chen YI, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Wang TD, Wu T, Lin X*, Han BG*, Tanaka T*, Cho YS*, Katsuya T*, Jia W*, Jee SH*, Chen YT*, Kato N*, Jonas JB*, Cheng CY*, Shu XO*, He J*, Zheng W*, Wong TY*, Huang W*, Kim BJ*, Tai ES*, Mohlke KL*, Sim X*. Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Hum Mol Genet. 2017 May 1;26(9):1770-1784. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddx062. Erratum in: Hum Mol Genet. 2018 Mar 15;27(6):1122. PMID: 28334899; PMCID: PMC6075203.

• https://www.npm.sg/working-the-nuts-and-bolts-in-a-cohort-study/
• https://sph.nus.edu.sg/news/first-of-its-kind-study-identifies-novel-genetic-markers-of-type-2-diabetes-in-east-asians/