Step into Prof Hugo’s consultation room and you’ll be greeted with his booming voice and warm temperament.
Professor Hugo Van Bever is a senior consultant at the National University Hospital’s Paediatric Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology division. His research is focused on eczema, food allergy, allergic rhinitis, sublingual immunotherapy, and primary prevention of allergy.
Outside of his pediatric clinical work, Prof Hugo also enjoys writing, having penned fiction books, books on allergy and eczema and also hundreds of academic papers in his 40-year career.
He will speak at a SPEAK webinar hosted by the National Library Board on Saturday, June 5th 2021 on the connection between food allergy and eczema in young children, and their impact on each other.
Register for the event here: https://speakallergy.org.sg/events-2/
We asked Prof a few questions to get to know him a little better:
If you are not a paediatric allergist, what would be your profession? And why?
I still love being a pediatric allergist, and not for one day I ever regretted it. However, if you ask me what other profession I ever would consider I guess it would be something in the arts, which is now one of my biggest hobbies. Something like novelist, movie director, actor or even opera singer (I love opera).
In the 2018 Singapore Lyric Opera production of “Aida” as high priest. (Photo: Prof Hugo)
What’s your favourite local food and why?
I love to eat, and I love to explore new dishes, and Singapore is the ideal place to live for this. I only cannot eat durian (I tried it many times). I have many favourite dishes and I love all cuisines. As for local food I would go for chicken rice or chilli cab or laksa, or prawn noodles (and for breakfast: kaya toast)
Where can people find you on your off day, and what would you be doing?
Two things: long walks in nature (or in Botanic Gardens) and Esplanade attending a concert or an opera (but this was mainly before the COVID pandemic)
In the chorus (top-left) singing Brahms’ Requiem in 2016. (Photo: Prof Hugo)
You’ve seen so many parents of eczema and allergic babies struggle. What is your biggest hope for the allergic and eczema community?
That all allergic children can have a normal life, and that we can control those with severe allergies.
