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Tuesday, 08 Apr, 2025
No more Obesity and Diabetes? The Estate of Khoo Teck Puat’s support at the Heart of Cardiovascular Research
Can we turn back the clock on metabolic diseases such as obesity and type-2-diabetes? According to Professor Wang Yibin, Director of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Research Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, that day might come sooner than we thought possible.
"The reason I say we're at a critical stage is because the new findings from our research are starting to show that we can reverse the progression of these diseases, " said Prof Wang in a recent interview with Lianhe Zaobao
In Singapore, 1 in 4 people, particularly the elderly, are affected by metabolic diseases, which could lead to devastating conditions such as heart failure and cancer. Prof Wang has made it his mission to tackle this issue.

In 2023, Prof Wang was awarded the Basic Research Prize from the American Heart Association for his research into the fundamental molecular and genetic mechanisms of cardiovascular physiology and cardiometabolic diseases, including heart failure. Prof Wang is also the Tanoto Foundation Professor in Diabetes Research.
However, extensive medical research such as Prof Wang’s requires generous funding support to bear fruit. This is why the recent S$3.5 million gift from the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat is a transformative one.
“My late father believed passionately that advances in education, healthcare and medical research will make a substantial difference to the lives of people in Singapore and around the world. We are very proud of Duke-NUS’ achievements over the years, and are confident that the School will continue to break new grounds in the treatment of diseases, thus benefiting current and future generations.” said Ms Mavis Khoo, daughter of the late Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat and Trustee of his estate.
The Estate of Khoo Teck Puat is Duke-NUS’ most significant benefactor with a history of contributing S$80 million to the School in 2007. This latest gift will see the establishment of the Khoo Teck Puat Translational Research Fund which supports projects with the potential to be translated into clinical applications. Prof Wang’s research is the first of many to benefit from this gift.
Collaborating with scientists from Duke University, National Cancer Center of Singapore, NUS, and physicians from all healthcare clusters, Prof Wang’s team aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis methods as well as to develop new drugs and therapies. This gift would also allow for the development of a state-of-the-art metabolism research centre in the school.

Prof Wang Yibin and his lab members
“Cutting-edge research on metabolic diseases requires specialized instrumentation as well as well-trained scientists and physicians as an integrated team, explained Prof Wang. “This generous gift from the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat is truly timely as it will bring urgently needed state-of-art instrumentations and critical upgrades to our current metabolomics infrastructure. It will also support our ongoing talent recruitment, as well as AI-based metabolic research and discovery. All these will put Duke-NUS at the leading edge internationally.”
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and shared vision of our esteemed benefactors, Duke-NUS is empowered to undertake groundbreaking research of the highest calibre. This invaluable support propels us towards pioneering medical advancements that not only transform patient care in Singapore but also have a far-reaching impact on global health.
With this, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat once again for their gracious contribution.