Office of the Dean

About Duke-NUS
Leadership
Office of the Dean

"At Duke-NUS, we work together with SingHealth, Duke University, and National University of Singapore to translate biomedical and clinical discoveries into better health and care for Singapore and the world.

Building on the bedrock of academic medicine and united by a shared purpose to transform medicine and improve lives, we welcome students, faculty, clinicians, partners, and the wider community to join us in shaping the future of medicine."

Prof Patrick Tan

Duke-NUS Dean

Bio LinkedIn

2026 - present

An internationally recognised cancer geneticist and clinician-scientist, Prof Tan served as Senior Vice-Dean for Research at Duke-NUS prior to his appointment as Dean. He has been involved in advancing the School's research strategy since joining the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Programme in 2006 and has led transformative research initiatives in genomics, precision medicine and biomedical innovation. He is also Executive Director of Precision Health Research Singapore (PRECISE) and Senior Scientific Advisor at SingHealth.

Prof Patrick Tan

Duke-NUS Dean

Dean's Speeches

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05 Dec 2025

Commentary: What obesity and palliative care reveal about the economies of health and healthcare

30 Oct 2025

Commentary: Age Well Neighbourhoods to plug gap in senior services, but what’s next?

14 Oct 2025

Commentary: AI in healthcare a game changer for Singapore, if we get the rules right first

Thomas Coffman

2015 - 2025

Prof Thomas Coffman has dedicated his career to advancing the understanding and treatment of kidney disease and hypertension, earning distinguished accolades including the 2014 Excellence Award for Hypertension Research and the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2025.

He is the lead PI of the Schoolʼs first S$25 million Open-Fund Large-Collaborative Grant for the “Diabetes study in nephropathy and other microvascular complications”, or DYNAMO. He is also Founding Professor of the Duke-NUS Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Signature Research Programme and the James R. Clapp Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Centre.

Ranga Krishnan

2008 - 2015

Prof Ranga Krishnan is an internationally-recognised leader in academic medicine and healthcare. He formerly served as Chair of the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) and Chief Executive Officer of the Rush University System for Health, in addition to other prior appointments as Chair of the Singapore Clinical Research Institute and board member of the Health Sciences Authority. For his contributions to Singapore’s health system and biotechnology sector, Prof Ranga received the Honorary Citizen Award in 2022.

Robert "Sandy" Williams

2005 - 2008

Prof Sandy Williams is a professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine. He was the founding Dean of Duke-NUS, and also Dean of the Duke School of Medicine from 2001-2007 as well as the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at Duke from 2001-2010. He currently serves in advisory roles on issues including Duke Science and Technology and research translation and commercialisation.

Dean's Speeches

Previous Deans

Thomas Coffman

Ranga Krishnan

Robert "Sandy" Williams

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