She graduated with a PhD from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), as well as with a BSc (Pharmacy) (Honors) and MSc (Pharmacy) from NUS. She is a registered pharmacist with the Singapore Pharmacy Council. She has been teaching and carrying out research on traditional Chinese medicine and medicinal plants at NUS for more than 15 years. Her research areas include quality control and safety of botanical products, and the study of natural products and medicinal plants as potential sources of lead compounds of novel therapeutics.