Duke-NUS PhD specialty in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases - curriculum requirements

About the Programme

The increased prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders (e.g. hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, diabetes, etc.) poses an enormous risk for the inhabitants of Singapore and the world. With an aging and increasingly sedentary population, the unabated rise in these diseases is unlikely to slow in the near future, and their treatment accounts for a disproportionate percentage of health care costs. To combat this burgeoning epidemic, Duke-NUS launched a signature research program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) that will train graduate students in this important discipline.

The CVMD programme houses state-of-the-art research capabilities, including core facilities for profiling mitochondrial function (e.g. oxygen consumption, ATP production, etc.) and metabolic adaptations (e.g. indirect calorimetry, euglycemic clamps, etc.) in human patients and other model organisms. Moreover, its new Metabolomics Facility allows one to obtain both targeted and non-targeted profiles of nutrient metabolites (e.g. fatty acids, amino acids, citric acid cycle intermediates, etc.) using mass spectroscopy. Application of these technologies allows one to gain a strong appreciation of the metabolic dysregulation that serves as an underpinning for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

As part of the training regimen, CVMD students will conduct independent research under the tutelage of one of our world-class research scientists. Moreover, they will take advanced coursework on molecular cardiovascular biology and integrated metabolism. Students trained in this program will be on a path to become independent investigators running independent research programs in industry or academia.