Professor Robert K. Kamei

Robert K. Kamei, MD, is Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He also holds a tenured faculty position at Duke University, USA.

From 2006 to 2016, he served as the founding Vice Dean (Education) at Duke-NUS Medical School, a collaboration between Duke University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). In that role, he led the development of a pedagogical approach (Team LEAD) at our new school that served as a model for curriculum change at Duke University Medical School, USA; and other schools in Singapore and around the world, such as the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore. In 2014, he was a recipient of the Outstanding Educator in Residence Award given by the Singapore Ministry of Education.

He was Associate Provost (Education) and founding Director, Institute for Application of Learning Science and Educational Technology (ALSET) at NUS from July 2016 to 2019. ALSET focuses on the rigorous study of educational best practices in the classroom.

He currently teaches two undergraduate courses at the National University of Singapore on the learning sciences and cognitive biases. These courses are among the most popular elective courses at NUS, with a current enrolment of over 1200 students this semester. His book, Strategic Learning: A Holistic Approach to Studying, will be published later this year to guide students in higher education to learn better.

A paediatrician by training, his career has been devoted to medical education and the learning sciences. At the University of California, San Francisco he directed one of the largest paediatric training programs in the United States at the time (1989-2006).

While at UCSF, he co-edited the reference textbook, “Fundamentals of Pediatrics” with Dr Abraham Rudolph. This textbook was one of the major resource books for medical students in the United States.
Professor Kamei holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. In 2000, he served as a United States Fulbright Senior Scholar in Indonesia.