Rate My Professor Anissa Widjaja

Anissa Anindya Widjaja is an Assistant Professor in the Signature Research Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders at Duke-NUS Medical School. She earned her Bachelor of Science with Honours and her Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Science from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, completing her PhD in 2013. Following her doctorate, she completed postdoctoral training in molecular biology, biochemistry, and antibody therapeutics under the mentorship of Professor Stuart Cook.

Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of organ injury, tissue regeneration, fibro-inflammatory diseases, ageing, and related conditions including diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, and cardiovascular fibrosis. Key contributions include co-authorship on the 2017 Nature paper identifying IL-11 as a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis, the 2019 Science Translational Medicine paper on interleukin-11 as a therapeutic target in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and additional publications in journals such as Nature Communications and Gastroenterology addressing IL-11 signalling in models of kidney disease, liver injury, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. At Duke-NUS, she leads her own laboratory, serves as Faculty-Industry Liaison, and contributes to strategic partnerships and industry alliances. She has received grant awards and team recognition, including involvement in the SingHealth Duke-NUS Research Team Award for work on IL-11 inhibition.