As clinical trials continue to expand across Asia-Pacific, Sponsors need a laboratory partner with both regional expertise and globally standardized operations. Since joining Medpace in 2018, Paul Tan, PhD, Senior Director, Clinical Laboratory Services, Medpace Singapore and Shangai, has helped strengthen Medpace’s laboratory capabilities throughout the region while maintaining the quality, consistency, and scientific rigor expected across our global network.
Drawing on experience spanning academia, government laboratories, and biotechnology, Dr. Tan oversees laboratory operations in Asia-Pacific and Greater China with a focus on delivering high-quality testing, supporting complex global studies, and helping Sponsors bring innovative therapies to patients faster.
Senior Director, Clinical Laboratory
Q&A with Paul Tan, PhD
What initially drew you to Medpace?
Fulfilling my childhood dream of working in the clinical trial industry. I remember reading a book about clinical trials and becoming fascinated by the opportunity to help bring new medicines to patients. Losing my father to disease during my teenage years reinforced my conviction that I wanted to contribute to improving patient health through clinical research.
How has your background prepared you for your role leading Medpace’s Singapore and Shanghai laboratories?
I earned my doctorate in Bioinformatics from the National University of Singapore before pursuing immunology research as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. After returning to Singapore, I worked as a forensic scientist, supported public health laboratories focused on bioterrorism agents and next-generation sequencing of emerging pathogens, and later joined both a biotechnology startup and the cord blood banking industry.
This diverse experience across academia, government, and industry has given me a broad scientific and operational perspective that helps me lead Medpace’s central laboratory through complex regulatory environments while maintaining high-quality standards for our Sponsors.
What makes Medpace’s Asia-Pacific and Greater China laboratory capabilities stand out for Sponsors conducting clinical trials in the region?
Medpace’s Asia-Pacific and Greater China laboratories combine strong local expertise with the consistency of a truly global central laboratory network. Sponsors benefit from a laboratory team that understands the regulatory requirements, operational nuances, and cultural differences across the region, while still receiving the same standardized testing, instrumentation, laboratory information systems, and operating procedures used throughout Medpace’s global laboratories.
How does collaboration across Medpace support Sponsors?
Close collaboration across Medpace’s laboratory operations, project management, logistics, and other functional teams allows us to provide seamless service for our Sponsors while reducing the complexity that often comes with managing multiple vendors.
What also sets Medpace apart is the strength of our scientific organization. Our team of doctoral-level scientists brings expertise across diverse therapeutic areas, allowing us to review Sponsor protocols, discuss testing strategies, and develop new biomarker validation assays that support each study’s unique objectives.
What motivates you in such a fast-paced clinical trial environment?
I am motivated by the belief that my work contributes to better health for patients. Every study represents an opportunity to help advance new therapies that may improve or save lives, and that purpose continues to drive our team every day.
Supporting Sponsors Throughout Asia-Pacific and Greater China
Medpace’s Singapore and Shanghai laboratories serve as strategic hubs for clinical trials across the Asia-Pacific and Greater China region, providing comprehensive central laboratory services while operating as a fully integrated part of our global laboratory network. Together with our laboratories in the United States and Belgium, the facilities utilize harmonized instrumentation, standardized operating procedures, and a global laboratory information system to deliver consistent, high-quality results regardless of where a study is conducted.
From safety testing, biomarker analysis, molecular and genomics, flow cytometry, and biorepository services to expanding histology capabilities, Medpace offers Sponsors a comprehensive testing portfolio backed by experienced scientific leadership and local operational expertise. Combined with Medpace’s full-service CRO capabilities and established regulatory presence throughout Asia-Pacific, Sponsors benefit from a seamless partner capable of supporting complex regional and global clinical development programs from Phase I through Phase IV.
