Dr Ling obtained his medical degree from the National University of Singapore in 1993. After completing basic specialist training in Internal Medicine, he trained in Gastroenterology at the Singapore General Hospital from 1997 – 2000. He was then awarded a fellowship by the Ministry of Health in 2001 to train in the management of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in the University of Oxford under Professor Derek Jewell and Dr Simon Travis. He was subsequently awarded a National Medical Research Council Research Fellowship and remained in Oxford for another 3 years from 2002 – 2005 where he studied for a Phd in cancer immunology.

Dr Ling returned to the Singapore General Hospital as a consultant in the Department of Gastroenterology &Hepatology in 2005 and was made the Head of Department in 2012. His main areas of clinical interest is in Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis and the inflammatory bowel diseases. Working with the Pathology department in SGH, he helped to introduce Helicobacter pylori stool test and Helicobacter pylori culture into routine clinical service. He was a member of the Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium and was involved in research on the development and progression of pre-cancerous lesions in the Helicobacter pylori infected stomach.

In IBD, he validated the use of stool calprotectin as a measure of gut inflammation in local patients and helped the Pathology department bring this test into service. Working with a team of doctors from SGH, NUH, TTSH, CGH and KKWCH, and in collaboration with the Singhealth Pharmacology Core Facility, Dr Ling was awarded a grant by MOH to set up tests for azathioprine drug monitoring. He is also working with the same group of doctors in measuring levels of infliximab and adalimumab in patients on these medicines. Results from these tests help determine the best cause of action when patients lose response to these medicines.

Dr Ling is active in the local Gastroenterology community and is the current President of the Gastroenterological Society of Singapore. Dr Ling has also been actively engaged in the teaching and training of the next generation of doctors. He is an Associate Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School and lectures students on the basic science of the gastrointestinal tract and on clinical nutrition. He is also a Visiting Consultant to the Singapore General Hospital where he supervises trainees in the management of IBD patients and on the provision of nutrition support.