Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) is one of two public healthcare clusters in Singapore, comprising 8 high-quality tertiary and secondary care medical institutions and 8 dedicated primary care polyclinics. The 1300 doctors and 11,000 support staff in our institutions cover a very comprehensive range of clinical specialties, including ophthalmology, pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology, cancer, dental diseases, heart diseases, neurosciences, endocrinology, immunology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology. SingHealth manages 60% of Singapore's public acute healthcare needs, as illustrated by our substantive annual patient throughput of 3.3 million outpatient attendances and 154,500 surgical procedures (day surgery and inpatient surgery).  Accordingly, one of SingHealth's strengths lies in the ready availability of abundant patient data and attendant biosamples ideal for pursuing leading-edge medical research and development. Our emphasis is on multidisciplinary "vertically and horizontally integrated" research programs that encourage "molecules-to-communities" studies. We have 20,000 m2 of laboratory area dedicated to research, where 60 full-time researchers (MDs and PhDs) supported by 600 technical and 60 administrative staff work in close collaboration with our clinicians. In the past three years (2001-2003), we secured 35% of the nationally available peer-reviewed funds, filed 17 patents, formed 2 spin-off companies and published 1580 scientific papers.   Researchers in SingHealth are attempting to address some of the most challenging and pressing health issues in the fields of oncology, ophthalmology, neurosciences, immunology, rheumatology, cardiovascular diseases, endocrinology, and many others. Platform technologies like proteomics, micro-array, genomics and bio-imaging provide the researchers with state-of-the-art facilities to enable them to pursue globally competitive research. An animal research center that houses large animals, particularly primates, and small animals caters to national and international research groups while providing the essential support for in-house researchers. Managed by a core of highly trained and dedicated staff, this facility has undertaken several preclinical trials, some of which will be moving to clinical trials in the near future. The newly established SingHealth Clinical Trials Initiative complements the individual clinical trials units already operating in our member institutions. The primary objective of this initiative is to develop a core of medical opinion leaders by providing training and support to principal investigators and clinical trials support staff. It also serves as liaison between industry (biopharmaceutical companies) and our institutions. Collaboration is the key to holistic research and we are constantly seeking meaningful alliances with academic and industry partners. Those who have common interests can contact us at: SingHealth Research Secretariat 7 Hospital Drive, #02-01 SingHealth Research Facilities, Singapore 169611 Tel: (65) 6321 3821/6321 3567 Fax: (65) 63213606 E-mail: srrweb@singhealth.com.sg SingHealth Website:  http://www.singhealth.com.sg Research Website:  http://www.singhealth.com.sg/singhealth_research/