- The two institutions awarded more than S$1 million to accelerate five promising areas of research collaboration
- Dedicated Research Collaboration Pilot Project grant combines expertise from Singapore and the US for bigger impact
- First time in the grant’s 15-year history that it focuses exclusively on the effects of climate change on human health
Singapore, 14 February 2025 — Duke University and Duke-NUS Medical School are proud to announce the recipients of their latest Research Collaboration Pilot Project grants, totalling more than S$1 million. These grants underscore the synergy between the institutions and their shared commitment to addressing the urgent challenges posed by global warming and climate change on human health.
For the first time in its 18-year history, this year’s grant initiative is dedicated entirely to climate-related health research, emphasising the partnership’s focus on making meaningful contributions to this critical global issue. Each of the five innovative projects brings together top researchers from Duke and Duke-NUS, reflecting a strategic alignment that leverages unique strengths from both institutions, with the objective of developing international research teams that will advance basic, translational and clinical research.
For each project, the Duke Principal Investigator (PI) will receive US$100,000 and the Duke-NUS PI will receive S$100,000 for a period of two years.
Climate is an area of synergy between the institutions as both Duke and Duke-NUS have made tackling this global threat a priority. Faced with increasing temperatures, urbanisation and environmental pollution, affecting industrialised nations such as Singapore, the USA and low- and middle-income countries, Duke and Duke-NUS are bringing together experts from different specialties to investigate and address the impact of climate change on human health.
Patrick Tan, Senior Vice-Dean for Research at Duke-NUS, said:
“Our decision to focus this year's grants on climate change stems from our recognition of the escalating health impacts due to increasingly extreme weather conditions. By combining Duke's robust research capabilities with Duke-NUS's strategic location and expertise, we are uniquely positioned to lead efforts that anticipate and mitigate health crises arising from climate change.”
This partnership not only aims to produce world-class research but also to develop practical solutions that can be implemented in regions most affected by climate change, including both the US and Singapore, as well as other parts of the world.
“These new Duke and Duke-NUS investigator teams are the first of many steps required to foster global connections and research needed to address the critical public health challenge of climate change and its health impacts,” said Robert M Tighe, MD, an associate professor of medicine and leader of Duke University School of Medicine’s climate research strategy.
“This effort continues the ever-strengthening relationship between Duke and Duke-NUS with a new focus on climate and health research. I look forward to seeing how these projects develop.”
After a competitive review process involving 40 initial proposals, five exceptional projects listed below were selected under the Research Collaboration Pilot Projects funding. This year’s theme is dedicated to tackling health issues arising from climate change, reflecting both institutions' commitment to innovative and impactful research.
- Climate change and health: Exploring how heat exposure contributes to urinary stone disease, with implications for preventive healthcare practices.
- Community resilience: Investigating the perceptions and experiences of health effects related to climate change among vulnerable older adults in Durham, North Carolina, USA, and Singapore to enhance health communication strategies.
- Environmental impact: Assessing the acute cardiopulmonary outcomes related to wildfire smoke and heat exposure in Southeast Asia, aiming to inform public health responses and policy.
- Vulnerable populations: Conducting an interdisciplinary analysis of heat stress and kidney health among communities on the climate frontlines in Sri Lanka, using a planetary health approach to better understand and mitigate these impacts.
- Infectious diseases: Studying how environmental factors and market dynamics influence the regional spread of infections in Madagascar, to improve disease prevention and control strategies.
For detailed descriptions of each project and their expected impacts, please refer to Annex A.
Proposals were rigorously evaluated based on scientific merit and the potential for successful collaboration between Duke and Duke-NUS co-principal investigators (Co-PIs). This process ensures that only the most promising and collaborative projects receive funding.
Since 2009, the Duke-Duke-NUS partnership has funded 64 projects with a total of S$7.29 million, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to fostering innovative research that addresses some of the most urgent health challenges facing the world today. This year’s focus on climate health is a continuation of this mission, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through international research collaboration.
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About Duke-NUS Medical School
Duke-NUS is Singapore’s flagship graduate-entry medical school, established in 2005 with a strategic, government-led partnership between two world-class institutions: Duke University School of Medicine and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Through an innovative curriculum, students at Duke-NUS are nurtured to become multi-faceted ‘Clinicians Plus’ poised to steer the healthcare and biomedical ecosystem in Singapore and beyond. A leader in ground-breaking research and translational innovation, Duke-NUS has gained international renown through its five Signature Research Programmes and ten Centres. The enduring impact of its discoveries is amplified by its successful Academic Medicine partnership with Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), Singapore’s largest healthcare group. This strategic alliance has led to the creation of 15 Academic Clinical Programmes, which harness multi-disciplinary research and education to transform medicine and improve lives.
About Duke University
Entering its second century, Duke University is consistently ranked among the top US research universities and is home to leading graduate and professional schools in business, divinity, engineering, the environment, law, medicine, nursing and public policy. Located in Durham, NC, Duke’s global reach extends through the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, Duke Kunshan University in China and various international research and education programmes.
For more information, please visit www.duke-nus.edu.sg
For media enquiries, please contact:
Helmy Sa’at
Communications & Strategic Relations
Duke-NUS Medical School
helmy@duke-nus.edu.sg
+65 9720 3951
Annex A
TITLE: Climate change, heat exposure and urinary stone disease PIs: Charles Scales (Duke PI), Chong Tsung Wen (Duke-NUS PI) SUMMARY: The research will focus on understanding the relationship of increasing temperatures from climate change, the incidence and health care utilisation for kidney stone disease and assessing disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable populations. The investigations will link temperature data with medical records on a geospatial basis over time, to understand relationships between temperature, local infrastructure and health care utilisation for stone disease. The results will provide key data to support the development of interventions to increase heat resilience among individuals at risk for stone disease. In addition, understanding risk factors disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations offers the opportunity to increase climate-related health equity in both Singapore and North Carolina. |
TITLE: Perception and lived experience of health effects of climate change among vulnerable older adults residing in Durham and Singapore – informing health communication interventions PIs: Hanzhang Xu (Duke PI), Rahul Malhotra (Duke-NUS PI) SUMMARY: Climate change, manifested through extreme weather events, temperature fluctuations and rising sea levels, poses significant health risks for older adults, aged 60 years and older. Additionally, vulnerable older adults – those with low socio-economic status, those living alone and those with multiple chronic conditions – face increased climate change-related health risks given their limited access to information and resources, existing physiological decline and potential disruptions to their healthcare and social support. Study findings will inform targeted health communication interventions aimed at enhancing climate change resilience among vulnerable older adults, and influence healthcare policies on ageing and climate change in Durham and Singapore. |
TITLE: Impact of wildfire smoke and heat on acute cardiopulmonary outcomes in Southeast Asia PIs: Vijay Krishnamoorthy (Duke PI), Marcus Ong Eng Hock (Duke-NUS PI) SUMMARY: Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme heat events and amplifying wildfire intensity. Communities, healthcare professionals, and policymakers urgently need high-quality data to guide decision-making. Vulnerable populations are most affected by climate change, making it crucial to produce evidence on the extent of this impact. High-resolution data on the health benefits of climate action can form the backbone of international climate mitigation policies and applied to climate change models of future warming scenarios. |
TITLE: Heat stress, kidney health and lived experience of communities in the climate frontlines in Sri Lanka: an interdisciplinary population health analysis through a planetary health lens PIs: Nishad Jayasundara (Duke PI), Renzo Guinto (Duke-NUS PI) SUMMARY: This interdisciplinary mixed-method study aims to unpack the connections between heat stress, kidney health and lived experience of communities affected by these interlocking challenges in the climate frontlines in Sri Lanka. It will be investigated through epidemiological approaches that build on an existing cohort as well as through key informant interviews of farmers and health system and community health needs assessment. |
TITLE: Linking environments and markets to understand regional spread of infections along networks in Madagascar PIs: Charles Nunn (Duke PI), Gavin Smith (Duke-NUS PI) SUMMARY: Climate change is having both direct and indirect impacts on Madagascar’s rural populations, who are primarily small-holder farmers engaged in subsistence agriculture. One of the primary ways this population is addressing climate-induced food insecurity is by selling livestock, which requires travel from their rural villages to more central markets via the taxi brousse (bush taxi) system. This process entails placing livestock into crowded spaces, either on a taxi brousse (for travel) or in markets (for sale), leading to potential viral mixing and the emerging of panzootic and/or pandemic diseases. The results of this project will allow for competitive external proposals at the intersection of climate change, adaptation, global health security and emerging infectious disease. |
