Monday, September 11, 2007

Duke-NUS Medical School ready to double in size after first year
by Kelly Winget, DCRI Communications

A unique medical school partnership with Duke University and the National University of Singapore has already proven to be successful, and there are plans to double enrollment in the program next year.

Duke-NUS Medical School enrolled 26 students this year, its first year of operation. The students will follow the research-intensive curriculum that has made Duke one of the premier medical schools in the United States . This curriculum includes a year dedicated to independent study and clinical research.

Ranga Krishnan , MB , CH.B, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke Medical Center , is the executive vice-dean of Duke-NUS. Krishnan is also affiliated with the DCRI and DTMI.

Krishnan says Duke and NUS set ambitious goals for the new academic program but everything is on track with those goals. Next year, Duke-NUS plans to double student enrollment, and in 2009, the school will relocate to a new campus at Singapore General Hospital . The new campus will feature a nine-story laboratory with five floors dedicated to research activities.

The research aspect of the Duke-NUS program focuses on Infectious Diseases; Cancer and Stem Cell Biology; Neurobehavioral Disorders, and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders. Health Services Research – studying how to apply medical knowledge and how to improve healthcare systems to improve outcomes – will also be a focus of the program. This correlates to the DTMI's goals of helping to bring new research from “bench to bedside.”

The Duke-NUS medical school will help develop Singapore 's biomedical industry by training new physician-scientists, who will then be able to help the country become a leader in medical education, clinical research and delivering healthcare.