Masters of Science in Precision Health and Medicine 2024 welcome event
On 12 January 2024, the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine’s (NUSMed) Department of Biochemistry welcomed the inaugural batch of students who are starting on the new Master of Science in Precision Health and Medicine (MScPHM) programme. There are a total of 81 students in this cohort.
Prof Patrick Tan, Executive Director of Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE) was invited as the guest of honour and keynote speaker for the welcome event. He introduced the three phases of Singapore’s National Precision Medicine programme, and how PRECISE coordinates this monumental effort to transform healthcare through new insights into the Asian genome and data-driven healthcare solutions.
He also shared how PRECISE works with different industry sectors such as public-private partnerships with sequencing companies, pharmaceutical companies, and powering local companies through joint programmes with national agencies and translational platforms, with the aim to create a vibrant, home-grown, locally embedded precision medicine innovation ecosystem.
Programme directors A/Prof Caroline Lee and Dr Kenneth Ban warmly welcomed the students to express their anticipation and mark the beginning of an exciting academic curriculum.
A/Prof Kevin Tan, Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, NUSMed also discussed how precision medicine is poised to transform healthcare in the coming decades, and how the coursework will equip students with the core skills and advanced knowledge to excel in this field.
A/Prof Yew Wen Shan, Head of the Department of Biochemistry, also congratulated students on joining the healthcare family, while Prof Kevin White, Director of Precision Medicine Translational Research Programme, NUSMed, shared examples on large-scale data, biological models and genomic analysis, as well as useful advice on how to navigate their academic journey towards meaningful careers.
PRECISE is proud to have partnered with NUSMed to launch this MScPHM. As precision medicine moves towards clinical care, there is a need to build manpower capability in precision medicine areas, such as genomics, bioinformatics, data analysis and research.
The MScPHM is an inter-disciplinary graduate programme with courses which are co-led by academics, clinical practitioners, subject matter experts and industry leaders. The unique curriculum comprises courses co-led by not only by the Department of Biochemistry but also other NUSMed departments including Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine, Pathology/Laboratory Medicine, Biomedical Ethics and Pharmacology, as well as other NUS faculties including Science (Statistics), Business, Engineering (Biomedical) and Duke-NUS.
The insightful morning concluded with a lively Q&A session where students participated actively, showing their eagerness to develop a deeper understanding on their precision medicine journey.
Find out more about MScPHM, here.