Singapore announces its first brain bank

02 December 2019 | News

The brain bank aims to be a research repository for brain and spinal cord tissues from donors who have passed away

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore’s (NTU Singapore) Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), in partnership with National Healthcare Group (NHG) and National Neuroscience Institute (NNI), is launching Singapore’s first brain bank.

Hosted at LKCMedicine, the brain bank aims to be a research repository for brain and spinal cord tissues from donors who have passed away.

Setting up a national brain bank resource for Singapore is a vision shared by researchers and clinicians in the neuroscience community. Conceptualised by a joint team from LKCMedicine, NHG, and NNI, the brain bank will open up new research possibilities that will generate new knowledge of brain diseases.

Named Brain Bank Singapore, the joint research centre is co-funded by the three partners.

Tissue donations from both healthy donors and from those with neurodegenerative conditions and neurological disorders will be stored and used for ethically approved research.

This research, which falls under one of LKCMedicine’s key research pillars – Neuroscience and Mental Health – will facilitate greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms and symptoms of brain-related illnesses so that more effective treatments and cures can be developed.

Brain Bank Singapore has recently begun brain donor recruitment after receiving approval from the SingHealth and NTU Institutional Review Boards. Over the next four years, the brain bank aims to recruit about 1,000 brain donors.