Delivered by Professor Quek Swee Chye

A prominent figure in paediatric cardiology in Singapore, Prof Yip graduated from the University of Singapore with MBBS in 1974.   He went on to specialize in Pediatrics under Professor Wong Hock Boon, and obtained the Master of Medicine in Pediatrics in 1978, and the MRCP in 1980.  He was   subsequently admitted as a fellow to the Royal College of Physicians in 1988. 

As a pediatrician, Prof Yip decided to sub-specialize in cardiology.  At that time, pediatric cardiology was a new subspecialty and so he spent time training at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh and London.  He also trained at the Royal Children Hospital with Dr TH Goh in Melbourne. Together with Professor John Tay, then Head of Department of Paediatrics, Prof Yip was instrumental in setting up the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at the National University Hospital.  This was a niche area at that time which was in rapid development.  He pressed ahead with interventional procedures such as pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty and device closure for the patent ductus arteriosus and atrial septal defect.  Supporting Prof CN Lee, then Head of Cardiothoracic unit, surgery for infants and children became a reality even for those with complex heart lesions.

Deeply committed to education, Prof Yip has taught many undergraduate and postgraduate students, mentored paediatric cardiologists and supervised post-graduate candidates at the National University of Singapore, and served as examiner for various national medical examinations.

With a prolific academic output, he has authored 191 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference abstracts, and book chapters. He co-authored a multi-media textbook on congenital heart disease with Prof. Siew Yen Ho of the Brompton Hospital.  Prof Yip has many won numerous awards under his belt, including the Haridas Memorial Gold Medal (1983), and was accorded the Singapore Cardiac Society Lectureship (2009), and the Singapore College of Paediatrics Lectureship (2019). He was a Visiting Professor to the Augusta University in Georgia in 2017.

Being limited to 300 words for this citation does not allow me to do justice to Professor William Yip’s contributions to the field of pediatric cardiology from the 1980s to-date. He continues to be a well -respected pediatric cardiologist, colleague and friend, and our fraternity would like to congratulate him on a lifetime of achievements and a well-deserved award from the Singapore Cardiac Society!