Collaboration | SingHealth Duke-NUS

In the Spotlight

Jenny Low Professor, Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School	Dr Jenny Low is a senior consultant with the Dept. of Infectious Diseases in Singapore General Hospital and Professor at the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School. Dr Low has a long track record in conducting proof-of-concept and early phase clinical trials in acute viral diseases. She has tested several first-in-human therapeutics and biologics in humans including a therapeutic anti-yellow fever virus antibody that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, among her contributions, she led a clinical study that was among the first to detail the host response to severe COVID-19 which was published in Cell Host & Microbe. She also led the first COVID-19 self-amplifying mRNA vaccine trial that was co-developed by Duke-NUS and Arcturus therapeutics among others. Her current research focus is on early phase adaptive clinical trials of viral therapeutics and vaccine development as well as understanding the role of the early host responses in modulating the outcome of viral infections or vaccination.
Li Jiahui Paediatric Infectious Disease Senior Consultant, KK Women's and Children's Hospital	Dr Li Jiahui is a paediatric infectious disease senior consultant in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, with a strong focus on vaccine-related research and the prevention of childhood infections.Her clinical and research interests include optimizing immunization strategies, understanding vaccine effectiveness, and managing complex infectious diseases in children. She is committed to advancing evidence-based practices that improve child health outcomes and reduce the burden of infectious diseases globally.
Gavin Smith Professor, Programme Director in Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School	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. Together with collaborators, Prof. Smith discovered SARS-CoV-2 strains with a major deletion in the genome that is associated with a milder infection and may have implications for the development of treatments and vaccines. Ongoing work includes 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.
Shee-Mei Lok Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School	The laboratory of virus structure and function in the Emerging Infectious Disease programme in Duke-NUS led by Prof Shee-Mei Lok studies the structures of arboviruses such as dengue, zika, chikungunya and Sindbis viruses. Her lab aims to understand the essential structural changes of the virus during its infection cycle within a cell, and also how anti-virals such as drugs and antibodies can inhibit virus infection. Her laboratory uses a combination of structural methods (such as x-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy) and also immunological and biochemical techniques to tackle these questions.

Some of our collaborators include:

For collaborations and any other inquiries, please contact:

Simi Issac
IDRI Manager
Phone: (+65) 6576 7353
Email: simi.issac@singhealth.com.sg

Mailing Address:
IDRI (Infectious Diseases Research Institute)
20 College Road, Academia Building,
Ngee Ann Kongsi Discovery Tower, Level 13, Singapore 169856

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