Dr MacDonald is a senior consultant cardiologist and certified obesity physician with a particular interest in the weight management of people with heart disease.

In 2015, Dr MacDonald moved to Singapore with his family and instantly fell in love with the country. Today, they are permanent residents. In his free time, Dr MacDonald loves to cycle and work out several times a week. He also enjoys fishing with his son and has recently taken up golf. “I love to keep moving; exercise and healthy living are my passion. This is a huge part of my motivation to work as a cardiologist. I want people to attain their best level of fitness and health, so they can enjoy their lives!”

Dr Michael Ross MacDonald studied medicine at Aberdeen University, Scotland and graduated in 2000 with MBChB. He also undertook a Bachelor of Science research degree in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, graduating BSc (Hons) in 1998. He was accepted onto the prestigious Glasgow cardiology training program in 2008. In addition, he undertook a 3-year fellowship at the Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Unit and was mentored by two of the founding fathers of modern heart failure therapies, Professor Henry Dargie and Professor John McMurray. Whilst there he undertook his second research degree on the relationship between diabetes and heart failure, graduating MD in 2011. He is experienced in managing complex heart failure cases and inherited cardiomyopathies, including those requiring device and cardiac transplantation.

Dr MacDonald developed a subspecialty interest in cardiac imaging. He began a fellowship in cardiovascular MRI at Royal Brompton Hospital, London and in 2013 gained the top level of accreditation. He also received his UK Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in 2013 and was appointed Consultant Cardiologist at Western Infirmary, Glasgow, UK.

In 2015, Dr MacDonald was head-hunted by Changi General Hospital (CGH) and was integral in the development of their heart failure and cardiac imaging services. The heart failure programme in CGH was the only heart failure programme in Singapore to be awarded the coveted JCI accreditation.

With his extensive training and contributions to teaching and research in cardiology and heart failure, he was elected Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) in 2004 and Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) in 2010.

Dr MacDonald has a strong track record in basic, epidemiological and clinical research. His first research degree examined the relationship between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which was one of the reasons he entered into cardiology. He designed and obtained funding for the world’s first randomised trial examining the use of ablation in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation. He presented his work as a late-breaking clinical trial at the ESC Heart Failure Congress in 2010.

Dr MacDonald’s primary research interest is in the relationship between diabetes and heart failure, which is also the subject of his research doctorate awarded in 2011. He is recognised globally and has presented his work nationally and internationally. He was an invited panellist to the ESC Workshop on diabetic cardiomyopathy and was a keynote speaker at the Japanese Circulation Society.

Dr MacDonald has published extensively in top journals and has been widely cited. He is a reviewer for high-impact journals including the Lancet and the European Heart Journal. He regularly sits on committees for international large-scale randomised controlled trials. In 2019, Dr MacDonald was appointed Adjuvant Associate Professor by Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and regularly teaches medical undergraduates.