Brief Overview of Bioinformatics Activities in Singapore

The frontier of biological and medical sciences is full of opportunity today. It is widely appreciated that present-day biomedical researchers are confronted by vast amounts of data from genome sequencing; microscopy; high-throughput analytical techniques for DNA, RNA, and proteins; and a host of other new experimental technologies. Coupled with advances in computing power, this flow of information enables scientists to computationally model and analyze biological systems in novel ways. Therefore, bioinformatics is seen as an important ingredient in Singapore’s ambition to be an international center for the biomedical sciences and their related industries. Five organizations are involved in bioinformatics in Singapore in a major way. Two of these are universities in Singapore, namely the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). NUS has a longer history in bioinformatics and life science training and research, while NTU did not have a life science school until the early 2000s. The other three are institutes under the Agency for Science Technology & Research (A*STAR), namely the BioInformatics Institute (BII), the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and the Institute for Infocomm Research (IR). IR has the longest history in this field in Singapore, and it accounted for a lion’s share of Singapore’s output in bioinformatics research from 1994 to 2005. BII and GIS are entities set up in the early 2000s; they have now matured into major forces in bioinformatics research in Singapore. An earlier report describes the development and personalities of Singapore bioinformatics from 1992 to 2002 [1]. The bioinformatics scene in Singapore has undergone some important changes since 2005, with new leadership in three of the five major centers of activities in Singapore— BII, IR, and NUS. Here, we provide an updated overview of bioinformatics research and training activities at these organizations, as well as at GIS and NTU.