A Message from our Director, Professor David Silver
Dear Prospective Students,
Asia is quickly emerging as a centre for biomedical research. To keep pace with the increasing advances in biomedical sciences, PhD programmes with innovative training in translational science and advanced technologies are becoming increasingly valuable. The PhD programme at Duke-NUS embraces this essential need. Duke-NUS has become a centre of excellence for training PhD scientists of the future – scientists that are multidisciplinary and are skilled in developing new technologies with the goal to translate basic scientific discoveries into useful therapies for patients. The PhD at Duke-NUS is unique in that it offers a degree in “Integrated Biology and Medicine” rather than in the traditional disciplines, such as biochemistry or cell biology. The advantage of the Duke-NUS PhD programme over traditional PhD programmes is that our core curriculum focuses on the primary literature and teaches the latest technologies required for students to develop into translational scientists. Such technologies include proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, molecular imaging, and bioinformatics. Students will complete their coursework within their first year, allowing for the student to spend more time in the pursuit of research.
This unique programme is possible because we do not have traditional science departments, but rather students will have the choice of conducting their thesis research from five Signature Research Programmes (SRP) that specialize in five broad areas of human disease or health outcomes, namely:
Each of these Signature Research Programmes are driven by world-renowned scientists that aim to understand and treat human diseases through basic, translational and clinical research.
Duke-NUS offers students the tools and knowledge required to make vital discoveries for, as our mission states, “Transforming medicine, improving lives.” I hope you will explore our webpages to learn more about our PhD programme and research opportunities, and consider applying for the Duke-NUS PhD programme.
Best wishes,
A/Prof. David L. Silver, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies