Philanthropic group launches new medical research fund in Singapore

The funding will back research into a range of prevalent illnesses in the city-state.

Tanoto Foundation said it launched a new medical research fund which will provide $5m per year in funding to support research that will treat diseases prevalent in Singapore.

Diseases include areas of cardiology, maternal and child health, diabetes, oncology and infectious diseases but it will prioritise research projects in the cardiology and maternal and child health areas in its first year of operation. 

Projects will be chosen based on a number of specific criteria and will be reviewed and assessed by an external advisory panel comprised of clinical experts and medical professionals.

Belinda Tanoto, a member of the Board of Trustees at Tanoto Foundation, said the fund will focus on these five clinical areas, which affect the lives of thousands of people in Singapore and Asia.

"In addition, we also aim to attract additional funding into medical research initiatives here in Singapore and in neighbouring countries," said Tanoto.

The criteria which will be used to evaluate proposals submitted to the Fund include the following:

Potential for impact: potential to improve health outcomes, clinical practices and technical capabilities leading to clinical translation and innovation.
Robustness of approach: relevance and robustness of strategy, methodology and analyses to accomplish project aims and impact outcomes.
Track record of study team: the excellence and accomplishments of the study team and potential/plan for talent development.
Strength of collaboration: the collaborative effort of multi-disciplinary teams, ideally involving cross-collaboration across Singapore healthcare clusters.