Scelse

What Scelse does

SCELSE (Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering) is an interdisciplinary biofilm and microbiome research centre and a University Research Institute jointly hosted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS). It studies microbial communities and biofilms to address public health, environmental sustainability, industry, food resilience, water systems, and societal resilience challenges. Operationally, SCELSE delivers research through four clusters — Environmental Engineering, Biofilm Biology, Meta-'omics & Microbiomes, and Biofilms & Health — supported by an Integrative Analysis Unit, and maintains shared infrastructure including a Sequencing Facility (~5,000 samples/year on Illumina HiSeq/MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore platforms), the Advanced Biofilm Imaging Facility (super-resolution and confocal microscopy), 30+ bioreactors (2L-100L), and a 12,288-core HPC cluster with 1.9 PB of DDN storage.

SCELSE also runs a four-year joint NTU-NUS PhD programme with full tuition and stipends, an annual Summer Course, and the npj Biofilms and Microbiomes journal in partnership with Nature Publishing Group. Customer/partner mix is dominated by Singapore government agencies — PUB (urban water), NEA (notably a 46-site wastewater surveillance network for SARS-CoV-2), and A*STAR — supplemented by international collaborations with MIT (via SMART), University of Geneva, and Singapore-based RCEs (EOS, MBI, SJINML, NERI, SPC, NOBIC, SingaScope).

SCELSE does not sell commercial products or services; it is funded primarily through Singapore government research grants (Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation) and collaborative industry and academic partnerships. Pricing is not applicable, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The centre measures output via peer-reviewed publications (Prof Filloux alone has 190+ papers), translational case studies (quorum sensing inhibitors, antimicrobial peptides, biofilm diagnostics), talent awards (RSC Fellowship, President's Chair, NTU Safety Award), and infrastructure utilization rather than commercial revenue.

Name

Scelse

Legal name

Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering

Website

https://scelse.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SCELSE is a Singapore-based, jointly hosted NTU-NUS University Research Institute that conducts interdisciplinary biofilm and microbiome research, operating shared sequencing, bioimaging, bioreactor, and high-performance computing infrastructure to serve government agencies, academia, and industry partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Government Funding: SCELSE operates as a University Research Institute of Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore, funded primarily through government research grants including Singapore's Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation, and other national agencies.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SCELSE is an interdisciplinary biofilm and microbiome research centre that provides shared research infrastructure and services (high-throughput sequencing, advanced bioimaging, bioreactors, and bioinformatics/HPC) alongside a joint NTU-NUS PhD programme and a Summer Course. It conducts research across four clusters (Environmental Engineering, Biofilm Biology, Meta-'omics & Microbiomes, Biofilms & Health) plus an Integrative Analysis Unit, while developing sustainable solutions for public health, environmental sustainability, industry, food resilience, and water systems.

Product overview

SCELSE (Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering) is an interdisciplinary research institute and University Research Institute of Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore. It is not a commercial product company but rather a research centre offering scientific facilities, services, and educational programmes. The centre provides shared research infrastructure including: a Sequencing Facility (with Illumina HiSeq 2500, MiSeq, and Oxford Nanopore platforms), the Advanced Biofilm Imaging Facility (ABIF with advanced microscopy), Bioreactor Facilities (30+ reactors from 2L-100L), and the Integrative Analysis Unit (bioinformatics with high-performance computing). SCELSE operates five research clusters (Environmental Engineering, Biofilm Biology, Meta-'omics & Microbiomes, Biofilms & Health) plus an Integrative Analysis Unit. The centre also offers educational programmes including a joint NTU-NUS PhD Programme and a Summer Course. Research focuses on biofilm and microbiome applications across public health, environmental sustainability, and industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sequencing Services
• Advanced Biofilm Imaging Facility (ABIF)
• Bioreactor Facilities
• Integrative Analysis Unit (IAU)
• SCELSE PhD Programme
• SCELSE Summer Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Confirmed Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) activities in Singapore's wastewater treatment plants operating under tropical conditions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Nanyang Technological University (NTU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015SCELSE is a University Research Institute of NTU and NUS. NTU provides institutional infrastructure, research administration, graduate programme management, and faculty appointments. The partnership enables interdisciplinary research spanning multiple schools and departments within NTU.
• National University of Singapore (NUS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015SCELSE is a University Research Institute of both NTU and NUS. NUS provides institutional infrastructure, research facilities, faculty appointments, and access to NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI).
• PUB (Singapore's National Water Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic government partnership for research on urban water cycle, wastewater treatment, and environmental biotechnology. SCELSE conducts research on Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) and other water treatment processes.
• National Environment Agency (NEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for environmental monitoring, surveillance research, and waste management studies. SCELSE supported NEA in establishing nationwide wastewater surveillance programmes including a 46-site network.
• A*STAR InstitutesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaborations with multiple A*STAR research institutes across Singapore for interdisciplinary research projects.
• Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch Centre of Excellence (RCE) collaboration for earth science and environmental research.
• Mechanobiology Institute (MBI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch Centre of Excellence (RCE) collaboration for mechanobiology research applications.
• Temasek Lifesciences LaboratorymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for life sciences research and development activities.
• Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic research partnership for eye-related biomedical research and diagnostics.
• Nature Publishing GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for publishing npj Biofilms and Microbiomes journal - part of Nature Partner Journals series. SCELSE, led by Prof Alain Filloux, is the scientific partner for this open access, interdisciplinary journal.
• Nature Portfolio Microbiology CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity platform for sharing and discussing ideas and opinions about microbiology, associated with npj Biofilms and Microbiomes journal.
• NTU Optical Bio-Imaging Centre (NOBIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint centre between LKC Medicine and SCELSE. ABIF is part of the NOBIC network providing access to Singapore's premier microscopy infrastructure.
• SingaScope NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicroscopy platform network uniting microscopy platforms across five leading institutes in Singapore. ABIF is part of this network.
• NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigh-throughput metabolomics collaboration establishing capabilities to detect, analyse and identify thousands of small molecules. NERI provides analytical facilities and expertise.
• Singapore Phenome Centre (SPC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnit of NTU's NIMBELS cluster co-funded by NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, and SCELSE. Associated with National Phenome Centre at Imperial College London and Waters Corporation. Provides UPLC-MS and NMR spectroscopy technologies.
• St John's Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Research Infrastructure established by NRF to support multidisciplinary marine science research. Provides climate-controlled aquaria, biosafety-level-2 facilities, and 10m seawater current flume for marine biofilm research.
• Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research with MIT on infectious disease research including breakthrough studies on Enterococcus faecalis and wound infections. Partially funded by National Research Foundation Singapore under CREATE programme.
• University of Geneva (UNIGE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on infectious endocarditis and bacterial communication. Joint studies with Prof Kimberly Kline on quorum sensing and biofilm formation in cardiac infections.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration through SMART for infectious disease research, microbiome studies, and AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) research.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Joint MIT-Harvard genomics and biomedical research centre operating large-scale sequencing, single-cell biology, and computational platforms. Comparable in metagenomics/microbiome capability and translational research ambition.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organization in molecular life sciences with multi-site operations, advanced imaging and sequencing facilities, and structural biology expertise. Comparable in interdisciplinary life sciences infrastructure and multinational governance model.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: UK-based genomics and microbiome research centre operating large-scale sequencing infrastructure and computational biology. Comparable in sequencing capacity, multi-omics approach, and translational microbiome science, though broader in scope than SCELSE's biofilm focus.
• Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI): German research centre focused on infection biology, microbial pathogenesis, and novel antimicrobials. Directly comparable in biofilm biology, AMR research, and translational antibacterial programmes.
• Institute Pasteur: French nonprofit research centre with global network focused on infectious diseases, microbiology, and public health. Comparable in biofilm/AMR research, government-funded operational model, and strong publication output in microbiology.

Direct peers

• DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI): US Department of Energy user facility providing high-throughput sequencing, metagenomics, and bioinformatics for environmental and energy-related microbial research. Directly comparable sequencing service model (~5,000 samples/year scale) and metagenomics focus.
• NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI): Singapore-based NUS-affiliated environmental research institute with metabolomics and agri-environmental systems biology focus. Directly comparable as Singapore co-host entity providing collaborative infrastructure to SCELSE.
• Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology: Bremen-based research institute focused on microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and biofilm/microbiome research in marine and environmental systems. Directly comparable to SCELSE's Environmental Engineering and marine biofilm research themes, with similar wet-lab infrastructure and metagenomics focus.
• Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART): Joint MIT-Singapore research enterprise with interdisciplinary research groups including infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance work. Directly comparable as Singapore-based, government-funded research entity, and existing SCELSE collaboration partner.

Emerging players

• Quadram Institute Bioscience: UK research institute linking food science, gut microbiome, and health research with clinical translation focus. Comparable in interdisciplinary microbiome approach and translational pipeline targeting health applications.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCG3t9v_YXio_PMUNy1uNd_g/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/SCELSE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scelse
• Instagraminstagram.com/scelse_sg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scelse