About IDRI

The Formation of IDRI

The collaboration between SingHealth [Department of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Laboratory at SGH, Department of Paediatrics KKH, SingHealth Polyclinics and SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit (IMU)] and Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Signature Research Programme (SRP) has matured over the last decade.

The long-standing partnership especially between the Department of Infectious Diseases in SGH and the EID Programme has already resulted in several investigator-initiated, bench-to-bedside, early phase safety or proof-of-concept clinical trials on vaccines and therapeutic compounds. Our partnership to date is one of the most experienced in Singapore in the full spectrum of translational clinical research particularly in the field of antivirals and viral vaccines.

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Infectious Diseases Research Institute (IDRI) is a joint institute between SingHealth and Duke-NUS Medical School under the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) matrix. The establishment of IDRI is in tune with the principles of the SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC matrix concept and it will serve to align the values and strategic research direction in the AMC.

The establishment of IDRI is also in line with the national ID research ecosystem. The strategic areas of research focus will address national challenges in ID while the tactical focus will be to maximize the collaborative potential in the AMC for translational research.

The three disease focus areas MOH has identified for the next 5 years are:

1. Pandemic threats
2. Dengue
3. Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)/ Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI)

In addition, MOH is also actively encouraging talent development in ID research. MOH strategic planning also includes the possibility of commissioned funding to answer critical questions and core funding's to support research capabilities. The establishment of IDRI thus is well poised to maximize research competitiveness at the national level through multi-disciplinary research collaboration in the SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC.

Vision and Mission

SingHealth and Duke-NUS will be each other's committed partners for Infectious Diseases (ID) research in the AMC.

Vision

To emerge as a global leader in assimilating novelties and advances in Infectious Diseases.

 
Mission

To lead infectious disease research in SingHealth and Duke-NUS to facilitate basic bench and translational clinical research.

Our Team​

The IDRI Core team comprises of the three Co-Directors, the IDRI Management Committee and the Administrative Manager.

	​Professor Gavin James Smith Prof. Gavin Smith is the Programme Director in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore. His primary training was in ecology and evolution at The University of Melbourne. He obtained his PhD from The University of Hong Kong, where he also undertook his post-doctoral training in the Department of Microbiology before joining Duke-NUS in 2010. Prof. Smith’s research programme investigates the ecology and evolution of zoonotic viruses and the molecular epidemiology of human respiratory pathogens. Specifically, his work seeks to better understand viral disease ecosystems in Asia, particularly at the animal-human interface, to inform and enhance disease control and prevent pandemic emergence. Prof. Smith has been engaged in research on genetic changes in SARS-COV-2 and their potential implications for the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of his current projects include investigating the intra-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 to identify mutations that may be indicative of host adaptation, emerging drug resistance or vaccine escape.
	Dr. Jenny Low Dr. Jenny Low is a board-certified Senior Consultant in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Singapore General Hospital and a Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School's Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases. She also serves as Deputy Medical and Scientific Director of the SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit and Vice-Chair for Research in the Medicine Academic Clinical Programme. Her research focuses on repurposing licensed drugs as host-directed therapies and leveraging monoclonal antibody technologies for rapid epidemic response, accelerating the translation of vaccines and therapeutics from bench to bedside. As Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre (ViREMiCS), she works to translate novel vaccines and therapeutics into licensed products through ISO-accredited assays. Her approach integrates innovative trial designs and advanced molecular investigations to inform early-phase clinical trials. This methodology has been applied to flaviviral diseases like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever, and more recently to SARS-CoV-2.  Dr. Low has received the NMRC Clinician-Scientist Award (2016, 2019) and multiple accolades from SingHealth/Duke-NUS, including the GCEO Award (2017) and Distinguished SingHealth Excellence Researcher Award (2024). A highly published scientist with over 140 peer-reviewed articles and 13,000 citations, she has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for three consecutive years.
	​Dr. Karrie Ko Dr. Karrie Ko is a Consultant Pathologist specializing in Microbiology and Molecular Pathology at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), and Director of Genomics for the SingHealth Pathology Academic Clinical Programme. A graduate of the inaugural Duke-NUS Medical School cohort, she completed her specialist training at SGH and holds a PhD, supported by the NMRC Research Training Fellowship. Dr. Ko leads efforts in microbial genomics and metagenomics, focusing on advancing diagnostic and surveillance strategies to improve patient care and public health. Dr. Karrie also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School bridging cutting-edge genomics with translational medicine. She is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Pathologists (UK) and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. She is an active member of international societies including the American Society for Microbiology and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Karrie has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals such as Nature Microbiology, Nature Medicine, and Lancet Microbe and has over 1,300 citations. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Commendation Medal (COVID-19) by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2022 and the Distinguished Singapore Health Quality Service Award in 2021.

Ms Simi Issac

Simi oversees the overall operations and administration of IDRI. She established the foundational framework for the institute's outreach platform, enabling engagement with the infectious diseases research community and the formation of research interest groups for collaborative initiatives. In her role, she leads IDRI’s strategic operations, grant administration, and partnership development to advance research in infectious diseases. Additionally, she manages the planning and execution of retreats, seminars, and other key events that support the institute’s mission.

Simi is a Biotech professional with more than 16 years of diverse and extensive experience in Research and Development both within academia and industry. She completed her Master`s in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology and Industrial Biotechnology from University of Hertfordshire, UK. She has a Bachelor's major in Biochemistry and Voc. Biotechnology, from St. Xavier`s College, Gujarat University, India.

She is skilled in operations planning and management, lab set up, process control and documentation, process development for GMP scale up of bioprocesses (microbial/viral/mammalian), downstream protein purification and recombinant DNA work.

Some of her core interests are within the fields of Infectious disease pathogenicity and epidemiology, Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), protein biochemistry, signalling pathways, industrial microbiology and GMP operations and process.

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