Like many nations around the world, Singapore has felt the direct impact of COVID-19. The pandemic continues to put a strain on our health system, on the economy, and on the livelihoods of all Singaporeans.
In these unprecedented times, universities have a responsibility to lend expert opinion that guides public policy, and at the same time, dedicate their research capabilities towards finding solutions that will enable society to overcome this global crisis. Researchers from NUS, Duke-NUS and NUHS have enthusiastically stepped forward to face these challenges.
The urgent and multifaceted nature of COVID-19 warrants interdisciplinary research and the rapid development of innovative solutions. To facilitate such research, NUS is investing its research efforts in methods to detect and test for COVID-19, behavioural studies and intelligent data modelling, and the development of improved PPE.
The NMRC has also funded research led by Associate Professor Alex Cook, who will undertake modelling and analytics for the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore; Prof Wang De Yun from YLLSOM, who will investigate the transmission and pathogenesis of (SARS-CoV-2) in the airways; and Associate Professor Raymond Seet from YLLSOM, who will undertake a seroepidemiology study among healthcare workers in Singapore.NUS is engaged in the following COVID-19 related research projects and initiatives:
Asst Prof Shao Huilin, Faculty of EngineeringA point-of-care rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 is being developed in research led by Asst Prof Shao Huilin from NUS iHealthtech. Based on the enVision (enzyme-assisted nanocomplexes for visual identification of nucleic acids) diagnostic device, this test will enable direct recognition of SARS-COV-2 RNA, with a visual signal enhancement that can be analysed via a smartphone app. Importantly, this test takes only 30 minutes to complete, and can be carried out at room temperature.
This work is being carried out in collaboration with Asst Prof Catherine Ong from NUS iHealthtech, Prof Liu Bin from Faculty of Engineering and Assoc Prof Tan Yee Joo from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,
E: huilin.shao@nus.edu.sgW: https://www.huilinshao.com/ and iHeathtech
Prof Lim Chwee Teck, NUS iHealthtech and Faculty of Engineering
Working together with Biolidics, Prof Lim Chwee Teck has developed a rapid diagnostic test kit that can detect SARS-COV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies from human serum, plasma and blood within 10 minutes. This test kit has been approved for use in Singapore by the Health Sciences Authority. It has also been approved for use in the Philippines, USA and the EU.
E: ctlim@nus.edu.sgW: http://ctlimlab.org/ and iHeaththech
Prof Linfa Wang and Asst Prof Danielle Anderson, Duke-NUS
In a world first, Prof Linfa Wang and Asst Prof Danielle Anderson from the Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, used serological testing to link different clusters of COVID-19 in Singapore. Their research aided in the identification of an important link between two major COVID-19 clusters in Singapore. This work was covered by Channel News Asia.The team is currently working in partnership with Arcturus Therapeutics, a US-based biotech company, to develop a COVID-19 vaccine for Singapore.
E: linfa.wang@duke-nus.edu.sgW: Duke-NUS
Prof Robert Morris, Dr James Yip, Dr Lew Yii Jen, Dr Franco Wong, Asst Prof Mark Chen, Dr Glorijoy Tan, Prof John Wong, Asst Prof Alex Mitchell, Asst Prof Jiang Shaohai and Asst Prof Hong Soo Jung
This interdisciplinary team, which consists of researchers and clinicians from the MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUHS, National University Polyclinics, NCID as well as NUS Department of Communications and New Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, developed a website to help the public decide when and where to seek care, should they display any symptoms of COVID-19. This website can be found here: https://www.sgcovidcheck.gov.sg
Prof Jerry Fuh, Dr David Allen, Assoc Prof Yen Ching-Chiuan and Prof Freddy Boey
Researchers from the NUS Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS), together with Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) have designed nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs for use in COVID-19 testing. Using 3D printing facilities at NUS, the team aim to produce 40,000 NP swabs per day for national and regional use, given global shortages. The design and production of the swabs is carried out through injection moulding.
E: mpefuhyh@nus.edu.sg (Prof Jerry Fuh)W: NUS Centre for Additive Manufacturing
Assoc Prof Paul MacAry, Life Sciences Institute and Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineThrough the recently awarded NMRC COVID-19 Research Fund, Assoc Prof Paul MacAry is working on the development of serological and salivary tests for COVID-19 antibodies. These tests will provide critical insights into the effectiveness of experimental vaccines. His team is also profiling the immune response in patients in Singapore who have recovered from COVID-19. This research identifies key cells and molecules that enabled patients to fight off infection, and identify potential therapeutic human antibodies, and their targets, for clinical development.
E: micpam@nus.edu.sg,W: https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/researchers/macary-paul-a/
Prof Dean Ho, Faculty of Engineering and N.1 Institute for HealthProf Ho is aiming to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) for drug development against COVID-19. Through this work Prof Ho aims to generate a ranked list of actionable drug combinations. This will provide a clinician-guided selection of top-ranked drug combinations based on patient sensitivity/toxicity to certain drugs as well as global drug shortages.
E: biedh@nus.edu.sgW: N.1 Institute of Health
Assoc Prof Alex Cook and Asst Prof Hannah Clapham, Saw Swee Hock School of Public HealthWith an interdisciplinary team of experts in mathematics, computing, statistics, geography and epidemiology, and in collaboration with MOH, NCID and NUHS, Assoc Prof Cook and Asst Prof Clapham conduct epidemiological modelling into COVID-19. Their research has produced numerous policy recommendations, including into ICU capacity, PPE usage scenarios, realtime forecasting, social distancing and school closure evaluation, and importation risk.
The research conducted by the team has been published in several prestigious scientific journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases and the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
E: ephcar@nus.edu.sg (Assoc Prof Cook) | hannah.clapham@nus.edu.sg (Asst Prof Clapham) W: SSHSPH COVID-19 Science Reports, Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology & Research
Assoc Prof Jeremy Lim and Asst Prof Huso Yi, Saw Swee Hock School of Public HealthThe team is using mixed methods research to investigate the social activities of foreign workers in Singapore. This will provide an understanding of the movement patterns and social interactions of migrant workers from major communities in Singapore. With a target sample size of 1000, and by conducting phone interviews, the team aim to cover 34 out of the 43 purpose-built dormitories.
E: jeremyfylim@gmail.comW: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
About the Project
An important aspect in defeating COVID-19 is society’s response to the pandemic. In particular, the adoption of recommended policies on telecommuting and social distancing. Such measures can only succeed if people trust and rely on the information that reaches them. To this end, the Centre for Trusted Internet and Community (CITC), have launched a number of projects, and published several commentaries, aimed at identifying and addressing false information within the media related to COVID-19. Their work also focuses on identifying the prevailing concerns of society from social media activity.Learn More
Researchers from Saw Swee Hock School of Public Policy, School of Design and Environment and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine are collaborating to establish minimum standards to minimise and enhance control of COVID-19 infections in Singapore's dormitories.
Together with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and the National Medical Ethics Committee, researchers from the NUS Centre for Biomedical Ethics are initiating discussion on the creation of a national ethics framework to address health resource allocation during COVID-19