Dr Derek Heng completed his undergraduate medical training at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2004 and attained his specialisation in emergency medicine in 2013. He has worked at the National University Hospital (NUH) and became a part of Woodlands Health in 2020. As part of his continuous learning journey, he obtained a Master's in Public Health from Imperial College London in 2022.

Dr Heng practices Emergency Medicine with specific clinical interests in medical education, emergency cardiology, and public health. Besides his clinical duties, he enjoys teaching ECG interpretation and promoting the practice of evidence-based medicine. He firmly believes that medicine and education are inseparable entities, reinforcing one another in a continuous cycle of growth and learning.

Dr Heng co-led the Emergency Medicine Undergraduate Program at NUS and oversaw the undergraduate program at NUH as the Undergraduate Director. Under his leadership, the department achieved the Department Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 and 2019. On an individual level, Dr Heng's passion for education has been recognised with the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019 and the YLLSoM Special Recognition Award in 2017, 2020, and 2021. He is the content creator of the online NUH EMD ECG Modules and authored two chapters in the "Guide to the Essentials in Emergency Medicine, 3rd Ed."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Heng served as the Deputy Medical Lead for the COVID-19 Community Treatment Facility in Tampines in 2021 and was recognised with the Commendation Medal (COVID-19), the Healthcare Humanity Award (2023) and the NHG Team Recognition Award (2022) for his contributions.