First Singaporean appointed as a chief scientific adviser to European Commission

Straits Times

2 days ago

Life sciences professor Mangala Srinivas is head of the cell biology and immunology department at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.
SINGAPORE – Life sciences professor Mangala Srinivas, 44, is the first Singaporean among a team of top scientists advising European Union (EU) politicians on shaping new policies and laws based on science.
Prof Srinivas, who is based in the Netherlands, is one of seven new chief scientific advisers to the European Commission – the EU's executive body – and the first non-EU citizen to take up this role, which was created in 2015.
The advisers, who serve three-year terms, were chosen from around 400 nominees, including Nobel laureates.
Appointed in May, Prof Srinivas – along with the other advisers – provides independent advice to the European Commission's political leaders on any science-related matter, including policy issues that the European Parliament and the European Council consider to be of major importance.
Topics that previous advisers have weighed in include sustainable agriculture, cancer screening, clean energy and controversial methods to reduce global warming by reflecting sunlight back into space.
Their opinions and reports are published on the commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism website. The 2022 opinion on cancer screening, for example, underpinned the new EU Cancer Screening Scheme, which aims to ensure that 90 per cent of eligible Europeans are offered breast, cervical and colorectal screening by 2025.
'I think it's really heartening, especially now, to see that politicians still take science seriously, at least in this part of the world,' said Prof Srinivas, who grew up in Tampines.
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She has lived in the Netherlands for the past 17 years after completing her PhD in the US. Since 2021, she has headed the department of cell biology and immunology at Wageningen University and Research.
As an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, she was torn between medicine and biology, but eventually chose biochemistry. She was 'drawn to understanding how cells function and how different biological systems connect'.
After her doctorate, she worked at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, planning to stay for just two years. However, with further research funding and young children to care for, settling in Europe became the easier choice.
She has a 14-year-old son and two girls aged 11 and eight. They visit Singapore every two years, with her last visit in February for a conference.
Her current research focuses on improving how doctors see specific cells such as immune or therapeutic cells in the body. Current techniques like MRI often fall short in tracking such cells closely over time, she noted.
This visibility is especially important when scientists are evaluating promising but often extremely costly cell therapies for diseases like cancer, she said.
To address this, Prof Srinivas and her team have been developing novel ​nanoparticles, or tiny tools, that can be used to track immune cells in both humans and animals.
Her team , together with international collaborators, are preparing to start a clinical trial using these nanoparticles to track the immune cells of patients with rectal cancer.
But when wearing her scientific adviser hat, she has to take a step back when handling questions from politicians on life sciences to avoid bringing personal bias into the final opinion.
'The aim isn't to offer my own expert opinion but to help translate input from a wide range of specialists into something policymakers can use,' she said.
On her decision to throw her hat into the ring, Prof Srinivas said: 'When I looked at the former members of this group, they are really established. One of them was the director of Cern (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research). It's that level of people, and I thought I probably have no chance of getting it.
'But on the other hand, if I don't apply, I really have no chance. So let's just give it a go.'
The selection process for the new batch of top scientists took about a year. In early 2024, Prof Srinivas was nominated by the Young Academy of Europe – a coalition of young scientists who champion science policy – where she served as chair and board member.
She was interviewed by former chief scientific advisers. The EU commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation hand-picked the final seven who were announced in late May.
Onboarding for the new team took place in Brussels in early July.
Prof Srinivas credited her selection to her contributions to science policy with the Young Academy, as well as her international background. She has industry experience, where she focused on strategy at multinational corporation GE Healthcare (now Cytiva) and co-founded a medical imaging start-up.
'I was really excited, but then you realise this is actually an important position, and it's a responsibility... I could have impact on a lot of people on real matters. And representing not only my university and the Netherlands but also Singapore,' she said.
Soon after, the weight of her selection sank in: She is not just a prominent expert but also a representative of female scientists of colour and working mothers.
When her children were between ages one and five, she raised them alone for a few years as a single mother. She is now remarried.
'My husband is very supportive. But in the few years when I was a single mother, it was really a challenge, especially during the (pandemic) lockdown and I had to homeschool them,' she said.
'A lot of people were sceptical that it's feasible to mix a position like being professor with having young children.'
Beyond advising the European government, she hopes to continue representing minority women in science.
'I hope to champion evidence-based policymaking while highlighting diversity and inclusion – especially for women and scientists from under-represented backgrounds.'