Duke-NUS Medical School

Last week, Duke-NUS held its second Alumni Reunion Dinner at Sheraton Towers Singapore — and for one evening, memories of their time in school were very much alive.

Bringing together graduates from 16 cohorts, the dinner celebrated a community of over 1000 alumni whose careers span clinical medicine, research, education and innovation in Singapore and across the region.

More than a milestone event, the reunion was a reminder of what endures beyond graduation: the relationships, the values and the shared commitment to advancing health that define the Duke-NUS experience.

To our alumni — thank you for continuing to carry the Duke-NUS spirit forward. We are proud of every one of you. 💙🧡

Read the full story here: https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/newshub/our-stories/a-community-that-keeps-coming-home

Most adults in Singapore living with anxiety or depression symptoms are open to peer support — even when they haven't sought professional help. That's a key finding from Duke-NUS researchers Prof Eric Finkelstein and Asst Prof Irene Teo, in collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health Singapore.

The study points to peer support as a meaningful complement to existing healthcare infrastructure, a community-based pathway that could help more people take that first step toward getting help, sooner.

🔗 Read more about the study here: https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/newshub/media-releases/peer-support-and-mental-health

📸: iStock

Applications for the Duke-NUS MD and PhD programmes are now open!

Whether you aspire to become a doctor or pursue impactful biomedical research, Duke-NUS prepares future healthcare leaders through innovation, discovery and interdisciplinary collaboration.

📅 Deadlines:
• 15 January 2027 for PhD programmes, with interviews commencing in February 2027
• 1 September 2026 early application deadline for the MD programme (interviews begin in September)
• 31 January 2027 final application deadline for the MD programme

Ready to take the next step towards your future in healthcare and biomedical science? 🔗Apply now at https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/admissions/

We were delighted to welcome students and faculty from the Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM), Kolkata, Duke-NUS last Friday.

The visit was hosted by Associate Professor Bibhas Chakraborty, who gave delegates an in-depth look at our Quantitative Biology and Medicine PhD programme.

Adding to the experience, several of our QBM PhD students presented their own research projects, giving visitors a first-hand glimpse into the kind of work our programme nurtures.

It was a wonderful exchange of ideas, and we hope it sparked some curiosity about the PhD journey in Duke-NUS.

Your muscles do more than move you — they may also help protect you from cancer. 💪

Asst Prof Tang Hong-Wen and his team have found that ageing muscle tissue may contribute to cancer growth, not through direct cellular changes, but through a decline in the release of extracellular vesicles — tiny particles that cells use to communicate with one another.

Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that as we age, both the quantity and composition of these vesicles shift, weakening the protective signals that help suppress tumour development.

Read the full story: https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/newshub/media-releases/exercise-cancer-protection

The 9th Asia Dengue Summit opened yesterday with Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Mr Janil Puthucheary delivering the opening remarks. The Summit convened nearly 600 participants from across the dengue ecosystem — researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and community advocates — united by a shared goal: closing the gap between scientific progress and on-the-ground action.

With an estimated 100–400 million dengue infections occurring annually and half the world's population at risk, the urgency has never been greater.

Over the coming days, the Summit will facilitate critical dialogue spanning research, clinical care, prevention, policy and community engagement — accelerating how evidence, innovation and experience translate into meaningful public health impact across Asia.

Learn more about the summit at https://www.asiadenguesummit.org/

World Health Organization (WHO)

What's your hobby? How many pets do you have?

For most, these are small talk. For infectious diseases specialist Asst Prof Shirin Kalimuddin, they're diagnostic clues.

Her method isn't the stuff of TV drama — it's quieter, and more rigorous. Ask carefully. Listen deeply. Follow the thread from the ward to the research lab.

Read her story in the latest issue of Medicus 👇
https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/medicus/2026-issue-2/shirin-kalimuddin

📸: Asst Prof Shirin Kalimuddin

Duke-NUS Medical School has been awarded funding from the European Commission's EU4Health programme to advance wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) as an early warning system for infectious disease threats across Asia.

Building on momentum from the COVID-19 pandemic, WES offers a cost-effective, non-intrusive approach to monitoring community health and strengthening regional preparedness.

Led by the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, this collaborative effort will work with regional and international partners — including the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) and the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) — to support low- and middle-income countries in developing sustainable, genomics-based WES systems for public health impact.

Following the successful project kick-off meeting on 8 June in Kuala Lumpur, we look forward to driving innovation in early detection and response, and to enhancing public health readiness throughout the region.

Read the full press release here: https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/newshub/media-releases/adwance-asia