Abilitas Consulting / Dr. Sylvia Ramirez

Clinical research and medical advisory

Clinical evidence and medical advisory for aesthetic medicine.

I design and lead clinical studies, chair advisory boards and train faculty for aesthetics companies. My research career began in 1994 at Harvard Medical School and runs through US national program evaluations to investigator-initiated studies in aesthetic medicine today.

Sylvia Ramirez, MD, MPH, MBA, Dip Derm, MSc · Singapore

Discuss a study or advisory board See the research record
PI

Two US CMS evaluations. Principal investigator of national Medicare demonstration evaluations; co-PI of the CMS ESRD Core Performance Measures and the CDC CKD registry.

3 boards

Chaired for Allergan Aesthetics in 2025. Medical advisory boards on skin quality, biostimulation and a neuromodulator launch.

2005 to 2015

DOPPS Steering Committee. The international Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study.

MPH

Harvard School of Public Health. Quantitative methods: study design, biostatistics and epidemiology.

What I'm engaged for

My clients are aesthetics pharmaceutical and device companies, their medical affairs teams, and research partners. I do not offer patient consultations or treatment through this practice.

You need a principal investigator who can design, run and publish the study.

I take the site PI role from protocol to manuscript: endpoints and sample size, instruments and imaging, ethics submission, site budget, recruitment, data quality and the paper. Operations and budget governance are handled within the firm, so the medical team stays on the science.

Current work: Singapore site PI for a two-site investigator-initiated study on cannula delivery of a skin-quality injectable, run jointly with a US research center, about 30 participants at the Singapore site. Investigator in a multicenter long-term real-world study of onabotulinumtoxinA since 2024.

You need credible medical input before a launch or a label decision.

I chair and contribute to advisory boards and consensus panels, frame the clinical questions before the meeting, and write the output in a form medical affairs can use.

Done before: chaired Allergan Aesthetics medical advisory boards for skin quality (March 2025), a pre-launch neuromodulator board (March 2025) and biostimulation (November 2025); member of a Delphi consensus panel on fillers in Asian patients (October 2025).

Your trainers and faculty need scientific depth, not just technique.

I build and deliver faculty programs and symposium content that cover the evidence, the pharmacology and the clinical reasoning behind each technique.

Done before: Allergan Aesthetics International Faculty; trained new Allergan trainers on onabotulinumtoxinA (September 2026); symposium speaker for Allergan Aesthetics Thailand at AMWC Southeast Asia, Bangkok (November 2026); lecture selected for IMCAS Academy.

You want evidence on ethics, consent and patient decision-making.

I research and publish on how patients choose aesthetic treatment and what ethical practice requires of clinicians and companies, and I advise on consent and patient communication frameworks.

Published: a review on the primacy of ethics in aesthetic medicine (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 2024) and a book chapter on medical ethics in aesthetic practice (IntechOpen, 2025), with further work under review.

Research record

Three decades of research leadership across academic medicine, public health and industry.

2008 to present

Medical and Scientific DirectorCutis Medical Laser Clinics, Singapore

Leads clinical research and medical governance; investigator-initiated studies, multicenter industry studies and peer-reviewed publication.

2013 to 2018

Chief Medical OfficerDaVita Asia Pacific

Clinical leadership and quality programs for a dialysis provider across the region.

2006 to 2013

Vice President, Global Research and DevelopmentArbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor

PI of two Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services evaluations: the Disease Management Demonstration and the Quality Incentive Payment Demonstration. Co-PI of the CMS ESRD Core Performance Measures and the CDC CKD registry.

2004 to 2005

Vice President, ResearchURREA

Research leadership in kidney disease outcomes.

1999 to 2004

Chief, Center for Prevention and ResearchNational Kidney Foundation, Singapore

Led the national kidney screening and prevention program; chaired the First International Summit on Kidney Disease Prevention (2002).

1998 to 2004

PediatricsNational University Hospital and National University of Singapore

Clinical and academic pediatrics and pediatric nephrology.

1994 to 1997

Clinical and Research Fellow, NephrologyChildren's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston

Research fellowship in pediatric nephrology.

Publications and speaking

More than 45 publications and book chapters across aesthetic medicine, nephrology, outcomes research and public health. A selection is below; the full list is available on request.

Aesthetic medicine

  1. 2025

    Integrating VYC-12L with energy-based devices for skin-quality improvement: global expert considerations for safe and effective outcomes

    Humphrey S, Ramirez S, Arreola Jáuregui IE, et al.

    Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 24(7): e70352

  2. 2025

    Aesthetic impacts of elective hyaluronidase dissolution: a case report highlighting the restorative benefits of dermal fillers

    Ramirez SPB, Scherz G

    Medical Research Archives, 13(6)

  3. 2025

    It's how, not how much: case report on anatomy-guided high-volume filler use without overfilling

    Ramirez S, et al.

    Journal of Dermatology Research, 6(2)

  4. 2025

    Redefining medical ethics in esthetic practice: balancing patient empowerment and professional responsibility

    Ramirez S, Scherz G

    Book chapter in Global Bioethics: Current Challenges, New Developments, and Future Directions, IntechOpen

  5. 2024

    Pilot study: single-depth superficial ultrasound with subdermal injections of diluted calcium hydroxylapatite for improving lower face skin quality

    Ramirez S, Scherz G, Leprince R

    Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 12(10): e6210

  6. 2024

    The primacy of ethics in aesthetic medicine: a review

    Ramirez S, Cullen C, Ahdoot R, Scherz G

    Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 12(6): e5935

  7. 2022

    Perceived stress and interest in non-invasive aesthetic procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Ramirez SPB, Scherz G, Smith H

    Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 15: 1247 to 1257

  8. 2021

    Effectiveness of combined microfocused ultrasound with visualization and subdermal calcium hydroxylapatite injections for the management of brachial skin laxity

    Ramirez S, Puah IBK

    Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 20(12): 3871 to 3879

  9. 2021

    Characteristics of patients seeking and proceeding with non-surgical facial aesthetic procedures

    Ramirez SPB, Scherz G, Smith H

    Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 14: 197 to 207

Nephrology, outcomes research and epidemiology (selected)

  1. 2014

    Sex-specific differences in hemodialysis prevalence and practices and the male-to-female mortality rate: the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS)

    Hecking M, Bieber BA, Ethier J, et al., Ramirez SP, et al.

    PLoS Medicine, 11(10): e1001750

  2. 2014

    Two-times weekly hemodialysis in China: frequency, associated patient and treatment characteristics and quality of life in the China Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study

    Bieber B, Qian J, Anand S, et al., Ramirez SP (senior author)

    Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 29(9): 1770 to 1777

  3. 2013

    Association between oral nutritional supplementation and clinical outcomes among patients with ESRD

    Cheu C, Pearson J, Dahlerus C, et al., Ramirez SP (senior author)

    Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 8(1): 100 to 107

  4. 2012

    Hemoglobin A1c levels and mortality in the diabetic hemodialysis population: findings from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS)

    Ramirez SP, McCullough KP, Thumma JR, et al.

    Diabetes Care, 35(12): 2527 to 2532

  5. 2012

    Dialysis dose scaled to body surface area and size-adjusted, sex-specific patient mortality

    Ramirez SP, Kapke A, Port FK, et al.

    Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

  6. 2009

    Rosiglitazone is associated with mortality in chronic hemodialysis patients

    Ramirez SP, Albert JM, Blayney MJ, et al.

    Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 20(5): 1094 to 1101

  7. 2008

    Chronic kidney disease prevention in Singapore

    Ramirez SPB

    Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 3(2): 610 to 615

  8. 2003

    First International Summit on Kidney Disease Prevention: consensus document

    Ramirez SP (guest editor) and Summit participants

    Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 14(7 Suppl 2): S205 to S207

  9. 2002

    Risk factors for proteinuria in a large multiracial Southeast Asian population

    Ramirez SPB, McClellan W, Port FK, Hsu SI-H

    Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 13: 1907 to 1917

Speaking and faculty

  1. Nov 2026

    Multimodal approach to the upper face and periorbital area

    Allergan Aesthetics Thailand lunch symposium, AMWC Southeast Asia, Bangkok

  2. Sep 2026

    OnabotulinumtoxinA: science and clinical practice for new trainers

    Allergan Aesthetics trainer program

  3. 2026

    REFINE 2026 advisory meeting

    Chair

Education and credentials

MDUniversity of the Philippines Manila1989
MPH, Quantitative MethodsHarvard School of Public Health1998
Executive MBAUniversity of Chicago Graduate School of Business2005
MSc, Non-Surgical Facial AestheticsAnglia Ruskin University2018, with Distinction
Diploma in Practical DermatologyCardiff University2011
Residency and Chief ResidencyMontefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of MedicineBronx, New York, 1990 to 1994

Certification, registration and appointments

Working together

Clients
Aesthetics pharmaceutical and device companies, medical affairs teams and research partners
Engagements
Study PI, advisory boards, consensus panels, faculty training, symposium content and manuscripts
Location
Based in Singapore; available across Asia-Pacific and at international congresses
Contracting
Through Abilitas Consulting, at fair market value, under written agreements
Compliance
Engagements follow each sponsor's compliance and disclosure requirements
Study operations
Site budgets, contracts and research governance managed within the firm

This practice provides research and advisory services to organizations. It does not offer medical consultations, diagnosis or treatment to the public.

Tell me about the study or the board.

A short email with the product area, the question you need answered and your timing is enough to start.

sylvia@abilitasconsulting.com
Abilitas Consulting Interim leadership with Gunther Scherz, MBA