A*STAR, Singapore, on 1 July 2019, announced that the National Research Foundation (NRF) has awarded Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) a Shared Infrastructure Support (SIS) grant in March 2019 for five years. The grant will be used to enhance SIgN’s core capabilities in the areas of Flow Cytometry, Multiple Analysis of Proteins (MAP) and Bioinformatics, as well as develop talent to be well-versed with cutting-edge technologies and contribute to impactful scientific research. With this grant, SIgN will be even better-equipped to develop novel assays to expand its repertoire of cutting-edge technologies for higher throughput, greater quality assurance and increased scientific excellence.

SIgN is a leading research institute in the field of immunology in Singapore and its IM Platform houses state-of-the-art technologies and world-leading experts that support multi-disciplinary research. The SIgN IM Platform actively engages in immune profiling, biomarker discovery, target identification, vaccine assessment, patient treatment stratification, clinical trials monitoring and cohort studies with more than 130 successful academic, clinical and industry partnerships with both local and overseas collaborators, and a track record of 1,164 publications since 2007.  

“Enhancing SIgN’s cutting-edge capabilities such as the Flow Cytometry Platform will provide the scientific, industrial and academic communities with greater access to world-class research infrastructure and help bring about greater scientific breakthroughs in the area of immunology,” commented Dr Anis Larbi, Head of Flow Cytometry at SIgN. 

SIgN will also be conducting seminars and workshops to support outreach efforts and educate researchers on the latest technological developments. These workshops will be open to the Singapore R&D ecosystem.

“This is a new phase in SIgN’s growth, and we are excited to play an even greater part in Singapore’s R&D ecosystem,” said Professor Laurent Renia, Executive Director of SIgN. “With our enhanced platform capabilities, we are confident that our future collaborations will result in greater healthcare and economic outcomes for Singapore.”