A/Prof Zhong Liang is an academic senior clinician-scientist and engineer specializing in cardiovascular imaging, artificial intelligence, and translational medicine. He is Principal Investigator working in the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), an Associate Professor with Duke-NUS Medical School and Department of Biomedical Engineering at National University of Singapore. He is also the Chair of College of Healthcare Engineering (CHE), Co-director of Cardiovascular Systems Imaging and Artificial Intelligence (CVS.AI) Lab, and the Head of Cardiovascular Bioengineering and Technologies at NHRIS. He leads interdisciplinary initiatives that integrate engineering innovation into clinical practice.
His research focuses on developing and deploying AI-driven solutions for cardiovascular disease, spanning methodological innovation, large-scale multi-center validation, and real-world clinical implementation. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, with an H-index of 41 and more than 6,500 citations, reflecting sustained and impactful contributions across cardiology, medical imaging, and biomedical engineering.
As Principal Investigator, he has secured over S$15 million in competitive research funding across more than 20 grants. He leads several major programmes, including the APOLLO platform for AI-enabled coronary CT analysis, which has established large multi-center datasets and enabled automated characterization of coronary disease. He also leads the SENSE programme, focused on integrating AI tools into clinical workflows across healthcare systems, addressing key challenges in real-world adoption.
His work extends into next-generation concepts such as cardiovascular digital twins, integrating imaging, biomarkers, and artificial intelligence to enable predictive and personalized care. These efforts have led to successful technology translation, including licensing and commercialization through a spin-off company (Theia Health), bridging academic innovation with industry and regulatory pathways.
Internationally, he is recognized for his leadership across disciplines, serving as Associate Editor for leading journals including JACC: Asia, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, and the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and editorial in Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. These roles reflect his influence in shaping research directions across cardiology, imaging, and engineering communities.
In addition to his research contributions, he plays a key role in institutional development. As Chair of the College of Healthcare Engineering, he drives initiatives to build interdisciplinary talent and foster collaboration between clinicians and engineers. He is also leading the development of a bioengineering institute designed to accelerate translation of engineering innovations into healthcare impact.
For the accomplishment, Dr Zhong received many prestigious scientific awards, including Young Investigator Award of the Singapore Cardiac Society (2011 & 2012), Young Investigator Award of the ASEAN Federation of Cardiology (2012), Sejong Medical Award from Asia-Pacific Pediatric Cardiac Society (2012), “Huanghe Bei” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Award (2015), and GCEO excellent research award (2021), Senior Clinician Innovator Award (2024).
Through his research, leadership, and translational efforts, A/Prof Zhong Liang has established himself as a leading figure in cardiovascular AI and imaging, with a distinctive focus on bridging technological innovation and clinical implementation at scale.