Round-up of our latest news and views

Round-up of our latest news and views

Kicking off the year on a high note, our students blazed into 2024 at full throttle to the theme of race cars and space exploration at the 10^th Anniversary of the Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumours Awareness Day, while the annual tradition of Deans’ Pancake Breakfast returned with a splash to support our students’ other community service projects.

Our researchers’ dedication to their work was recognised with top international awards, and we also saw the budding innovators from the Duke-NUS Health Innovator Programme receive $50,000 to transform their idea into reality.

The community came together to celebrate Duke-NUS and our people as we kickstarted the celebrations for the School’s 20^th anniversary, inducted our fourth cohort of Master Academic Clinicians and conferred honorary Duke-NUS Medical Alumni association membership to Ivy Ng. For the fourth consecutive year, Duke-NUS ranked among Singapore’s best employers. And continuing to fuel the impact the School has is the growing number of partnerships that help us extend our reach in the region.

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Duke-NUS Carnival: Kickstarting celebrations for the School’s 20th anniversary

This picture shows Duke-NUS medical students enjoying traditional carnival games with a crowd in the background

The Duke-NUS campus is transformed with a carnival to celebrate the School's 20th year // Credit: Macpherson Studio for Duke-NUS

It was a different Duke-NUS that greeted the stream of staff, students as well as colleagues from across the Academic Medical Centre when they stepped into the School on 26 April.

The 500-strong crowd thronged the atrium, which was lined with game booths, while cheers rang out in a basketball court now decked out in full festive finery with a huge tent sheltering a wide range of food stalls as loud pop music blared from speakers.

It was the first-ever Duke-NUS Carnival, organised to kickstart the year-long celebrations that lead up to the School’s 20th anniversary on 14 April 2025.

Patrick Tan elected to the prestigious Association of American Physicians

Professor Patrick Tan (centre) celebrates his election to the Association with fellow member and Duke-NUS Dean Professor Thomas Coffman (left) and Association Treasurer and Duke University Professor Howard Rockman (right) at the induction ceremony // Credit: Courtesy of Patrick Tan

Professor Patrick Tan, Duke-NUS’ Senior Vice-Dean for Research, was inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP) at a ceremony held during the joint meeting of the Association, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Physician Scientists Association in Chicago on 6 April.

Tan, who is also with Duke-NUS’ Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Programme, was recognised for his research on deciphering the molecular mechanisms and genetics of gastric cancer, which remains a leading cause of death worldwide.

Election to the Association is an honour extended to physicians with outstanding credentials in basic or translational biomedical research and is limited to 70 persons per year.

“It is a tremendous honour to be inducted into the AAP. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my lab, especially my lab manager Ms Angie Tan, my fellow Duke-NUS Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Programme colleagues, as well as the tremendous support from both the Duke-NUS and SingHealth leadership.” ~ Prof Patrick Tan

Duke-NUS rises to 80th spot in Singapore’s latest Best Employer rankings

Duke-NUS has been ranked among the top 80 employers in the 2024 “Singapore’s Best Employers” ranking. This achievement is particularly meaningful as it coincides with the School’s 20th-anniversary celebrations.

The ranking, by The Straits Times and Statista, is based on 220,000 employee recommendations and considers factors such as working environment, career development opportunities, culture and benefits. Only the top 250 companies made the final ranking.

“At Duke-NUS, we believe that when people are truly valued and supported, they can achieve remarkable things. That’s why we are dedicated to fostering an ecosystem where our staff have access to cutting-edge resources, funding from grants and philanthropy and abundant opportunities for collaboration. By prioritising the wellbeing of our team and providing them with the right tools and support, we empower them to push the boundaries of knowledge and make groundbreaking discoveries that have a profound impact on healthcare and beyond.”
Prof Thomas Coffman

Project on AI tool to match cancer patients with relevant clinical trials awarded $50,000 at Duke-NUS’ annual innovation challenge

Team OncoPATH receives the top award for their AI tool that matches cancer patients with relevant clinical trial // Credit: Graphiss Media for Duke-NUS

A team of healthcare professionals who were part of the Duke-NUS Health Innovator Programme has received a $50,000 award to transform their idea for an Artificial Intelligence-powered tool that matches cancer patients with relevant clinical trials, into reality.

The winning team, comprising clinical research coordinators Ms Viviana Oo Shiyun Fequira and Ms Chua Shi Ling from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, received their award on Dazzle Day after presenting their innovation during an intense pitching session to a panel of judges.

Named OncoPATH, the tool uses a Large Language Model to match prospective patients based on information entered by them in a short questionnaire.

“Our automated trial-matching platform has the potential to improve recruitment, reducing trial duration and overall costs. We hope this will provide a comprehensive and efficient approach to enhance recruitment processes towards impactful cancer research.”
Ms Chua Shi Ling

Ivy Ng conferred honorary membership by the Duke-NUS Medical Alumni association

Prof Ng (centre) and Dean Coffman (left) with Dr Pandey (right) on stage as she is presented with the DNMA honorary membership

Professor Ivy Ng (centre) accepts the honorary membership from the Duke-NUS Medical Alumni association from the association’s president Dr Anu Pandey (right) and Duke-NUS Dean Professor Thomas Coffman // Credit: Pixel.i Photography for Duke-NUS

Professor Ivy Ng, Duke-NUS’ Governing Board member and former SingHealth Group CEO, was conferred honorary membership by the Duke-NUS Medical Alumni association for her pivotal role in forging the academic medicine partnership between Duke-NUS and SingHealth.

She received her honorary membership at an appreciation reception held on 22 March, where distinguished guests and senior leaders from across the School and the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre as well as members from the Duke-NUS community gathered to celebrate her inspiring leadership.

Upon her conferment, Ng joins founding Chairman of the Duke-NUS Governing Board Mr Tony Chew and Duke-NUS former Dean Ranga Krishnan as the association’s third honorary member.

Ten outstanding doctors inducted into Duke-NUS’ Hall of Master Academic Clinicians

Duke-NUS celebrates outstanding clinicians, newly-appointed and promoted faculty

The newly inducted Master Academic Clinicians on stage with SingHealth Group CEO Professor Ng Wai Hoe (left), SingHealth Chairman Mr Cheng Wai Keung (second from left), Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin (front right), Duke-NUS Governing Board Member Professor Ivy Ng (right) // Credit: Pixel.i Photography for Duke-NUS

Ten outstanding doctors from the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre became the latest cohort to be inducted into the Duke-NUS Hall of Master Academic Clinicians. They received their awards from Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium at Academia on 28 February.

At the same event, 20 senior faculty members also marked new milestones in their careers as they were appointed or promoted to the ranks of associate and full professor for their stellar accomplishments in education and research.

The Master Academic Clinicians are a select group who have distinguished themselves through their clinical mastery, exemplary standards of professionalism and excellence in their scholarly activities; which range from education, leadership, research and innovation to patient safety and quality improvement.

Breaking the sound barrier: Celebrating ten years of caring for kids with brain tumours

“Even though our paediatric patients might suffer from solid tumours, that doesn’t discount the many possibilities life might have to offer them,” shared Ms Coco Cao, a second-year MD student and co-lead of the Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumours Awareness Day organising committee from Duke-NUS Medical School.

The annual event, which fosters hope and community for young patients and their families, took place on Sunday, 25 February, at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Right to left: Ms Coco Cao and Ms Nur Sarah Binte Ibrahim, both second-year medical students and on the PBSTA Day organising committee, play with Nawfal, son of Ms Nura Fiqah and Mr Muhammad Nasri, and their children at the carnival. Nawfal was diagnosed with a brain tumour two years ago // Credit: Pixel.i Photography for Duke-NUS

Deans’ Pancake breakfast returns for another amazing run

To raise funds in support of students’ community service projects, Duke-NUS held its annual Deans’ Pancake Breakfast on 16 February.

Joining Professor Thomas Coffman, Dean of Duke-NUS, at the event flipping pancakes for a good cause were senior leaders and management from the School and SingHealth, including Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Group CEO of SingHealth.

This highly anticipated event drew huge crowds from around the School and across the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre to the bustling pancake stations located on the School’s second floor atrium.

Ms Karen Chang, Senior Vice-Dean and Group Director of Corporate Services, and the IT team

Deans from all of Duke-NUS’ Offices flip pancakes to help raise funds for student community projects // Credit: Pixel.i Photography for Duke-NUS

The Centre of Regulatory Excellence and Indonesian Food and Drug Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate training and collaborations with Indonesia’s pharmaceutical sector

Announced during the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in Bogor, Indonesia, on 29 April 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will facilitate training and collaborations between Duke-NUS’ Centre of Regulatory Excellence (CoRE), Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and the pharmaceutical sector in Indonesia.

“We are delighted to further strengthen CoRE’s partnership with the Indonesian FDA through this MoU that builds on the longstanding professional partnership of trust and goodwill between our institutions. We look forward to working together on projects that strengthen the regulatory system and providing ongoing support for Indonesia’s health products regulatory capacity and professional development. This is aligned with CoRE’s commitment to expand our regional collaborative network and play an effective coordinating role by contributing as an active partner in regional capacity building and systems strengthening initiatives.”
Prof John Lim, CoRE Executive Director

Prof John Lim,
CoRE Executive Director

Compiled and edited by Chua Li Min and Nicole Lim