What Duke-NUS Medical School does

Duke-NUS Medical School is a private graduate-entry medical school established in 2005 as a strategic partnership between Duke University (United States) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), headquartered at 8 College Road, Singapore. It sits inside the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, integrating medical education with the country's largest public hospital cluster. The institution trains clinician-scientists through four-year research-intensive MD, MD-PhD, PhD (Integrated Biology and Medicine; Clinical and Translational Sciences; Quantitative Biology and Medicine), and Master's programmes including the Master of International Translational Medicine (MITM) and continuing-education offerings via the Centre for Lifelong Learning. Faculty is jointly drawn from Duke and NUS, and admissions explicitly target candidates with non-medical backgrounds in engineering, business, and humanities.

The school operates five signature research programmes (Cancer & Stem Cell Biology, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disorders, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Health Services & Population Health, Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders) and nine interdisciplinary research centres, supported by twelve core facilities spanning behavioural phenotyping, genome biology, metabolomics, flow cytometry, histopathology, and in vivo molecular imaging. Education is delivered through distinctive pedagogical assets: the TeamLEAD team-based learning method (since adopted by Duke University in the US), a Clinical Performance Centre with manikins and standardized patients, and an Immersive Learning Space using the Anatomage Table and Meta Quest 2 / Primal VR. AI capabilities are embedded in research pipelines (transfer learning improving cardiac arrest outcome prediction from 46% to ~80% accuracy; AI-powered brain organoids for Parkinson's modelling with the University of Sydney) and in education via the AI & Learning Analytics programme.

Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed. The institution is funded through a mix of tuition fees, sponsored research grants (including a disclosed ~US$2.3M European Union grant in June 2026), and Singapore government and NUS budgetary support routed through the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre. Strategic activity in 2025-2026 has emphasized international expansion (Tanzania/MUHAS, Sydney, King's College, Duke Kunshan pathways) and the launch of two new Global Health Centres for allied health and pharmacy practice across Asia, signalling a deliberate broadening of both geographic and programme footprint.

Name

Duke-NUS Medical School

Legal name

Duke-NUS Medical School

Website

https://duke-nus.edu.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Duke-NUS Medical School is a Singapore-based graduate medical school, established in 2005 as a partnership between Duke University and the National University of Singapore, training clinician-scientists through MD, MD-PhD, PhD, and Master's programmes and conducting biomedical research across five signature disease programmes within the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Education and Biomedical Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting) (EDAHAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI), Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC), Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC)

Keywords

• Medical education
• Biomedical research
• Medical training
• Clinical simulation
• Graduate medical programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Duke-NUS Medical School delivers graduate medical education through its four-year research-intensive MD programme, the integrated MD-PhD track, PhD programmes in basic and translational science, and the Master of International Translational Medicine, supported by the TeamLEAD team-based learning pedagogy. Beyond teaching, the school runs five Signature Research Programmes (cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, emerging infectious diseases, health services and population health, and neuroscience) and operates specialized research core facilities as part of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre. Continuing education for healthcare professionals is offered through the Centre for Lifelong Learning.

Product overview

Duke-NUS Medical School offers a comprehensive medical education portfolio consisting of undergraduate and postgraduate medical programmes (MD, MD-PhD, PhD, and Master's degrees), supported by state-of-the-art educational facilities including simulation labs, immersive learning spaces with VR/3D cadaver technology, and video annotated presentation tools. The institution operates five signature research programmes focused on major disease areas and operates multiple specialized research centres. The school provides continuing education through its Centre for Lifelong Learning and supports healthcare innovation through the Health Innovator Programme. Team-based learning (TeamLEAD) methodology is central to the MD programme pedagogy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MD Programme A four-year research-intensive medical degree equipping students to become clinicians ready to care for patients and transform the practice of medicine through research, innovation and leadership; delivered to individual prospective medical students.
• MD-PhD Programme An integrated MD-PhD track enabling students to extend their research skills while retaining a clinical focus, preparing clinician-scientists for academic medicine; offered to prospective students seeking combined clinical and research training.
• Graduate Studies PhD Programmes PhD programmes in basic and translational science that empower students to bring discoveries from the lab to the bedside, with tracks in Integrated Biology and Medicine, Clinical and Translational Sciences, and Quantitative Biology and Medicine; offered to prospective PhD students.
• Master of International Translational Medicine (MITM) Master's programme focused on translating scientific discoveries into clinical applications, offered in collaboration with Eureka for innovation and commercialization; targeted at prospective graduate students.
• Centre for Lifelong Learning Short courses, graduate certificates, and Master's programmes designed to empower healthcare professionals to advance their skills, drive innovation and assume leadership roles to improve healthcare outcomes; offered to practising doctors, allied health professionals, and other healthcare workers.
• Duke-NUS Health Innovator Programme (DHIP) A programme supporting aspiring innovators and learners to develop healthcare innovations and entrepreneurial ventures; targeted at prospective innovators and learners within the Duke-NUS community and broader healthcare ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students produced 71 published papers across top-tier journals including Cell and Nature Communications (Class of 2026)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2026Partnership signed to strengthen Tanzania's healthcare through joint medical education, research, clinical training, and innovation. Focus areas include sickle cell disease, infectious diseases, digital health, and health systems strengthening, with exploration of gene therapy and early intervention models for sub-Saharan Africa conditions.
• University of SydneymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026Sydney-Singapore partnership combining AI and stem cell science to advance brain disease modelling and personalised medicine for Parkinson's disease. Has produced detailed molecular maps of the human midbrain using machine learning and patient-derived brain organoids, with findings published in Science Advances.
• Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM), KolkataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudy abroad programme and SENSE-SG 2026 Conference hosting included visit to Duke-NUS Medical School. Draft MoU proposed for formal collaboration in joint research, academic exchange, and healthcare analytics initiatives.
• University of Engineering & Management (UEM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with IEM on Study Abroad Programme including visit to Duke-NUS Medical School.
• SMART Society USAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized SENSE-SG 2026 Conference with IEM and UEM including visit to Duke-NUS Medical School.
• SingHealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished two new global health centres focused on advancing allied health and pharmacy practices across Asia, building on over 120 past global health projects. Part of SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.
• National University of Singapore (NUS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke-NUS Medical School is affiliated with and part of the National University of Singapore system.
• Duke UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamed partnership combining Duke University's medical education approach with Singapore's research infrastructure. TeamLEAD pedagogy originally developed at Duke-NUS has been adopted by Duke University in the US.
• Duke Kunshan UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuke Kunshan-Duke-NUS Medicine Pathway for students to transfer between institutions.
• AMII, SDGHI, SingHealth International Collaboration OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting second annual Asia-Pacific Global Health Innovation Hackathon on maternal and child nutrition to be held September 18-19, 2026 in Singapore.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS): Singapore's flagship medical school under NUS, offering a comparable MD programme alongside graduate research degrees. Direct domestic peer sharing the same parent university and competing for the same applicant pool and faculty.
• Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (NTU): Singapore's other medical school, a partnership between NTU and Imperial College London. Direct competitor in MD admissions, medical research funding, and clinical placements in Singapore.
• Duke University School of Medicine: US partner institution of Duke-NUS, sharing the TeamLEAD pedagogy and curriculum lineage. Most directly comparable peer in mission, research portfolio and educational philosophy.
• Imperial College School of Medicine: Research-intensive UK medical school with a strong Singapore footprint via the Lee Kong Chian partnership. Comparable in combining a translational medicine focus with global health partnerships.
• Karolinska Institutet: Sweden's premier medical university with a strong biomedical research emphasis and global health orientation. Comparable in research-intensive medical education model and clinical-academic integration.
• Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (NUS): Singapore's principal school of public health under NUS, with overlapping interest in health services research and population health. Direct peer in the same NUS ecosystem, particularly in the Health Services & Population Health signature programme.

Broad incumbents

• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Top-tier US medical school with much broader scale and an integrated hospital system. Comparable in translational research and academic medical centre model, but operates at significantly larger scale.
• Stanford University School of Medicine: Elite US medical school with deep biomedical engineering and AI-for-health capabilities. Comparable in AI-driven clinical research and clinician-scientist training, but at vastly greater scale.
• Harvard Medical School: One of the largest and most prestigious medical schools globally, with extensive affiliated hospitals and research funding. Overlaps with Duke-NUS in clinician-scientist training and translational research, but operates at a fundamentally different scale.

Regional players

• A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research): Singapore's flagship public-sector research agency operating biomedical research institutes. Comparable in Singapore-based biomedical research footprint and competition for talent/grants, but focused on research rather than medical education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dukenus
• Facebookfacebook.com/DukeNUSMedicalSchool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Duke-NUS Medical School