Genome Institute of Singapore Research institute. Operating under the direction of the Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR), this institute was originally called the Singapore Genomics Programme when it started in 2000 in Biopolis— a 180- ha biomedical centre within one- north. It was renamed the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) in 2001 to reflect its role as a research institute.

In that year, Professor Edison T. Liu, former director of the Clinical Sciences Division of the National Cancer Institute (USA), became its first executive director. GIS recruits biomedical scientists, clinical investigators and computer scientists from around the world.

In 2002, GIS, A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council and the Ministry of Health started the Singapore Tissue Network, a repository for human tissue and DNA. In 2003, GIS scientists worked with Roche Diagnostics to develop a sensitive and accurate Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) detection kit. Two years later, GIS researchers created an avian influenza test kit, which detects bird flu in poultry in under four hours. In 2005, researchers at the institute discovered a ‘genetic fingerprint’ from a set of 32 human genes that can predict the survival prospects of cancer patients.

Photo credit: Genome Institute of Singapore