AsianScientist (Mar. 11, 2014) – The National Neuroscience Research Institute Singapore (NNRIS) – a joint venture by the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School – has been launched to improve the treatment and diagnosis of brain and nervous system disorders such as stroke, Parkinson disease and dementia.
The NNRIS brings together more than 200 neurologists, neuroscientists and research professionals from NNI and Duke-NUS to work in collaboration. The Institute will consolidate expertise from the two organizations’ neuroscience research programs, integrate research resources for common use, as well as develop a new research facility for neurobehavioural experiments.
“NNRIS, which comprises the single largest entity of neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and neuroscientists, represents Singapore’s first concerted step to tackle neurological problems and to look for practical solutions for our patients in the face of our ageing population and the rising incidence of neurological diseases,” said Professor Lee Wei Ling, Director of NNI.
About 28,000 Singaporeans aged 60 and above suffer from dementia and this number is projected to increase to 80,000 by 2030. Stroke prevalence was also found to be close to four per cent among Singaporeans aged 50 years and above. The work of the NNRIS aims to address the management and treatment of these age-associated diseases, and others including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson disease.
“The NNRIS helped connect the dots for this research by bringing together like-minded, multidisciplinary expertise,” said Dr Nagaendran Kandiah, co-principal investigator of the study and Consultant, Department of Neurology, NNI. “If left to the forces of ‘nature’ to take place, such a good collaborative fit may not have happened till a decade later.”
While the NNRIS is focused on fostering research collaborations and developing core facilities and resources to meet local neuroscience research needs, it will also drive collaborations with global scientists and industry players.
“The critical mass of talent and resources at the NNRIS makes it fertile ground for scientific discoveries and medical breakthroughs,” said Professor Ranga Krishnan, Dean of Duke-NUS. “Doctors and researchers across the neuroscience field can now collaborate easily to turn pertinent clinical observations into research that leads to practical solutions for patients.”
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Source: Singhealth; Photo: Arenamontanus/Flickr/CC.
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