The National Medical Research Council (NMRC) awards are presented to clinician scientists and researchers to carry out translational and clinical research in Singapore – to transform patient care with their research.

Research teams from NNI and NCCS secured $35 million under the Open Fund – Large Collaborative Grant, a national competitive research fund that supports teams from public institutions who dedicate their efforts to advance research for improving human health and wellness.

Singapore PARKinson’s disease Translational Clinical Programme (SPARK)
The NNI team, headed by Professor Tan Eng King, Deputy Medical Director of Academic Affairs, Director of Research and Senior Consultant at the Department of Neurology, NNI received a $25 million grant for the Singapore PARKinson’s disease Translational Clinical Programme (SPARK). The study aims to discover new therapies to slow down or treat Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects 3 in 1000 Singaporeans above 50 years of age and the programme’s objectives include identifying new drugs to improve health outcomes in Parkinson’s disease. The team is also focusing on factors that influence disease progression and healthcare cost, so as to reduce the burden of the disease for patients, caregivers and wider society.

Singapore lYMPHoma translational study (SYMPHONY)
The NCCS team, headed by Professor Lim Soon Thye, Deputy Medical Director (Clinical), NCCS received a $10 million grant for the Singapore lYMPHoma translational study (SYMPHONY).

In spite of considerable efforts by many groups over multiple years, there remains significant challenges in the clinical management of patients with lymphoid malignancies. The study’s proposed research aims to provide fundamental understanding of the disease mechanisms in order to translate them into novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve survival in patients with lymphoma.

With these grants, SingHealth’s healthcare professionals are able to translate their work into tangible benefits for patients and continue to create an academic ecosystem where new ideas and research can thrive.

NMRC Award Winners
17 clinician scientists and researchers won talent development awards such as the Singapore Translational Research Investigator Awards, Clinician Scientist Awards and Transition Awards, which are presented to outstanding researchers who do internationally-competitive translational and clinical research. Nine budding clinician scientists were also recognised under the NMRC Research Training Fellowship and MOH Healthcare Research Scholarship programmes.

Below is the full list of winners.

Our heartiest congratulations to all the award recipients from the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre!