1,000sqm biochemical R&D hub opens in Singapore

It was built by NUS, Agilent Technologies, and National University Hospital.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), Agilent Technologies, and National University Hospital (NUH), have established Singapore’s first integrated translational R&D hub that leverages on biochemical innovation and research data analytics to develop new methods of translating clinical research into clinical diagnostics, an announcement revealed.

The research hub, which comprises laboratories located in NUS and NUH, provides 1,000sqm of research space to facilitate multidisciplinary collaborations among scientists, clinicians and industry partners to translate biochemical research into clinical applications.

Through research in areas such as lipidomics and synthetic biology, and supported by data analytics, NUS and Agilent look to develop innovative ways that enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnostics based on data obtained from patients’ blood samples. The initial research focus areas are cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which account for 30% of all deaths in Singapore in 2017, and affected 440,000 Singaporean adults in 2014 respectively.

The “hub and satellite model” allows research to be conducted centrally, Singapore-based, but shared broadly, both locally, regionally as well as globally through key partnerships and alliances supported by NUS and Agilent.