OUR SUPPORT

The Cancer Discovery Hub is supported at institutional and national levels, as well as by several ongoing collaborations with individual investigators and industry partners. Collaboration enquiries are welcome.

National Cancer Centre Singapore

The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) has through the years evolved to become one of the leading regional centres for the research and treatment of cancer. Undoubtedly, it is home to the largest number of researchers, surgeons and oncologists attending to the growing number of cancer patients - treating almost 70 percent of the public sector oncology (cancer) cases. Since it became a national cancer centre in 1999, it has pioneered the one-stop holistic and multidisciplinary approach to managing, where today the doctors also sub-specialise to have an edge in developing a deeper understanding of the various cancer types. Through the sub-specialisation of oncology, patients can receive the best in treatment and care. NCCS is engaged in cutting-edge clinical and translational research, which has received several international acclaims. The national centre is also accredited by the Joint Commission International in 2010 for quality patient care and safety. With the NCCS attracting the best talents in the research and medical community, it has been able to provide the best in cancer care. NCCS, which is set to be a global leading institution, also offers specialist training programmes to other medical institutions here and overseas.

The CDH is advised by a Strategic Oversight Committee composed of key members of the core research leadership at the NCCS. This committee serves to

Guide the development and growth of new cutting edge technologies for cancer research
Foster deeper collaboration within and beyond the NCCS
Provide advice on strengthening core capabilties to support multi-institutional national level initiatives

Support: Articles & Resources

Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium

STCC aims to strengthen the overall impact of cancer research and translation in Singapore by bringing together key basic, clinical and translational teams on joint platforms to actively establish and implement collaborative cancer programmes. STCC strives to establish Singapore as a global leader for oncology in research translation and its applications to health and economic value creation. STCC is a business unit under the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS; www.cris.sg), a subsidiary of Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) Pte Ltd, and is anchored by the cancer research programmes and commercialisation platforms of STCC’s research partners (NCCS, NCIS, National University of Singapore [NUS] Cancer Science Institute [CSI] and Agency for Science, Technology and Research [A*STAR]). STCC is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under its RIE2020 White Space Kickstarter and Open Fund Large Collaborative Grant administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC).

TETRAD - Targeted Therapy for Blood Cancer

TETRAD (Targeted Therapy for Blood Cancer) brings together haemato-oncology clinician researchers and scientists from Singapore General Hospital (SGH), National Cancer Centre, Singapore (NCCS), National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS), and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). With a shared vision “to be united against blood cancer”, TETRAD has since made significant strides towards achieving its common mission of “establishing a national collaborative platform of international renown to advance translational research and clinical care in blood cancer”.

SYMPHONY - Singapore Lymphoma Translational Study

SYMPHONY is a multi-institutional collaboration between NCCS, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore General Hospital, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore Health System, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, and A*STAR. SYMPHONY will also bring together clinicians and scientists across Singapore to work in collaboration with local biotech companies, international pharmaceutical companies as well as international academic centres to address the global unmet clinical needs in the management of lymphoma.

STARLIGHT Initiative - Steering Translational Rare Cancer Research into the Light

The STARLIGHT Initiative is a translational research program aiming to comprehensively investigate the molecular and immune pathobiology of rare cancers, with particular interest in profiling their clinically-actionable target landscape for precision therapy. By “Steering Translational Rare Cancer Research into the Light”, the initiative hopes to increase the molecular understanding of rare cancers and eventually improve clinical outcomes of this group of diseases with unmet clinical need.

KKH CBCC - KK Women's and Children's Hospital Children's Blood and Cancer Centre

The KKH Children’s Blood and Cancer Centre (CBCC) is one of the largest paediatric blood and cancer centres in South-east Asia with the mission to advance research, education and clinical care for patients locally and in the region. Under this integrated and comprehensive academic medicine unit, the multi-disciplinary team provides holistic care for children and adolescents with cancers or complex blood disorders. One of the major and established programs includes the VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour (PBST) Programme which encompasses both collaborative clinical and research partnership, established to advance the care of childhood brain and solid tumours in Singapore and the region, through the tri-partite collaboration of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer (VIVA), and world-renown St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA (St. Jude). Childhood cancers are the second leading cause of death in children in Singapore and developed countries worldwide and brain and solid tumours constitute half of all the childhood cancers. KKH currently manages the vast majority of all the childhood brain and solid tumours in Singapore.

The VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour Programme focus on the following 3 areas:

Improving clinical care for childhood brain & solid cancers
Bench to bedside translational clinical research for childhood brain & solid cancers
Prevention, control and population-based science

More information on VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour (PBST) Programme can be found here: VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour Programme

BD-MED - SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Biodiversity Medicine (BD Med)

1. Herbal Biodiversity and Medicine Programme

This programme aims to discover and understand local and regional herbal plants beneficial to human health and well-being. By leveraging on the advancements in molecular biology, BD-MED hopes to identify molecular pathways and novel phytochemicals to accelerate drug discovery and provide alternative treatment options and nutritional supplements. It also seeks strategic partnerships with healthcare practitioners, institutions and regulatory bodies to initiate appropriate clinical studies to ensure their safe and effective clinical use.

2. Food Biodiversity and Nutrition Programme

Factors such as rapid urbanisation and improved quality of life is set to double the world population by the year 2039, leading to increased pressure on sustainable food sources. Meeting the needs for food sufficiency and security through food biodiversity is of paramount importance. This programme aims to enhance nutritional values in plant-based food by exploring and manipulating their biology (e.g., plant metabolic pathways), that can contribute to health and function. The understanding of the importance of these biological properties will guide novel cultivation techniques to select for the desired traits.

3. Urban Biodiversity and Wellness Programme

This programme aims to study how natural plants and their biodiversity can enhance our living environment and promote wellness. By reintroducing them into our urban environments, one can investigate the sustainable symbiotic relationship between flora and mental health. This programme also aligns with Singapore’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) launched by NParks in 2009 to integrate living and breathing green spaces into our urbanized settings to safeguard our biodiversity.