SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC Launches SPADE to Accelerate Precision Diagnostics and Treatment

• SPADE combines SingHealth’s clinical and pathology expertise with Duke-NUS’ biomedical, computational and data science capabilities to deepen the understanding of disease and accelerate the development of precision diagnostics and treatments 
• As a first industry collaboration under SPADE, NCCS signed a Research Collaboration Agreement with 10x Genomics to strengthen spatial biology capabilities in the AMC

Singapore, 25 September 2026 – The SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) today launched SPADE (Spatial Profiling and Disease Exploration), a new cross-institutional research platform that brings together clinical, biomedical and computational expertise across the AMC to better understand how diseases develop, why patients respond differently to treatments and how those research insights can be translated into more precise diagnostics and therapies in the future.

Led by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and co-led by Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Duke-NUS Medical School, SPADE is supported by a S$6 million grant from the SingHealth Joint Office of Academic Medicine. The platform will connect researchers, clinicians and shared infrastructure across the AMC, combining SingHealth’s clinical and pathology strengths with Duke-NUS’ expertise in biomedical discovery, computational biology, data science and AI.

In conjunction with the launch, SPADE marked its first industry partnership today with the signing of a Research Collaboration Agreement between NCCS and biotechnology company 10x Genomics.

Shared expertise and infrastructure to unlock the potential of spatial profiling technologies

Spatial profiling technologies are key to developing better diagnostics and treatments as they allow cells, genes and proteins to be studied within the surrounding environment. This provides a comprehensive picture of how diseases develop, progress, and respond to treatment.

While spatial profiling is already transforming biomedical research, translating that research into potential diagnostic and treatment approaches requires close collaboration across multiple disciplines. SPADE creates that environment through NCCS’ disease and analytical expertise, SGH’s pathology capabilities, and Duke-NUS’ strengths in biomedical discovery, computational biology, data science and artificial intelligence. Together, these complementary capabilities create a research environment in which discoveries from human samples can be analysed at scale and insights can inform the development of future diagnostics and treatment approaches.

Through expert collaboration and shared state-of-the-art equipment, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence analytics, SPADE aims to identify high-value targets for the development of lab-developed diagnostic tests. A key aim is to form partnerships between clinical researchers and industry, to translate these discoveries into tangible solutions that benefit patients in Singapore and beyond.

SPADE’s new partnership with 10x Genomics

In conjunction with the launch of SPADE, NCCS signed a Research Collaboration Agreement with 10x Genomics, a global leader in single cell and spatial biology, to provide state-of-the-art spatial profiling technology and technical support. The partnership will strengthen SPADE's technological capabilities and support the development of new workflows and research applications for spatial profiling.

Representatives from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and 10x Genomics marked the signing of a Research Collaboration Agreement on 25 September 2026.

(From left) Asst Prof Jason Chan, Director, Cancer Discovery Hub, NCCS; Prof Teh Bin Tean, Deputy CEO, Enterprise and Venture, NCCS; Serge Saxonov, CEO and Co-Founder, 10x Genomics; Kok Ting Chong, Director of Sales, Asia Pacific, 10x Genomics.

Assistant Professor Jason Chan, Principal Investigator of SPADE, and NCCS’ Director of the Cancer Discovery Hub and Director of Research of the Division of Medical Oncology, said, "Human tissue is extraordinarily complex, and for a long time we lacked the tools to fully make sense of why diseases behave the way they do, or why the same treatment can work for one patient but not another. This research collaboration with 10x Genomics gives SPADE access to cutting-edge spatial profiling technology that will enable us to examine individual cells and their surroundings to uncover how diseases progress and respond to therapy."

Professor Enrico Petretto, one of the co-principal investigators of SPADE and Director of the Centre for Biomedical Data Science at Duke-NUS Medical School, added: "Duke-NUS brings deep capabilities in computational biology, data science and AI that are essential to making sense of the enormous amount of information generated by spatial profiling. SPADE allows us to combine those capabilities with SingHealth’s clinical and pathology expertise, turning complex molecular maps into insights that researchers and clinicians can use to understand disease and identify more effective and precise diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities."

What SPADE could make possible

SPADE builds on a growing body of spatial profiling research already underway across the AMC, demonstrating how the partnership has already made significant advances in areas such as rare disease characterisation and cancer subtyping in recent years (please see Annex for examples of this work).

It is hoped that in time, SPADE will meaningfully change how diseases are diagnosed and treated. The future envisioned is one where multiple diagnostic tests are run on a single tissue sample, reducing the need for patients to undergo repeated biopsies and speeding up the time to diagnosis and timely treatment. Researchers could simultaneously identify multiple drug targets on a single sample, opening new possibilities for effective combination therapies. At the individual patient level, SPADE could potentially uncover why two patients with the same disease respond differently to the same treatment, paving the way for an era of truly personalised medicine.

One of SPADE's broader goals is also to create a spatial tissue atlas, a comprehensive molecular map of human tissues, that can be used to train AI models and enable predictive simulations of disease behaviour.

Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Group Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth, said, "SingHealth is committed to delivering the best possible care to our patients. This means constantly deepening our understanding of disease development to unlock a myriad of questions as to patients’ response to treatments. This process guides us in sharpening the precision in diagnostics and treatments so that more patients can benefit positively. We look forward to trailblazing more discoveries as our team of clinician scientists, researchers, data experts and industry partners work together to translate them into meaningful care benefits to patients in Singapore and beyond."

Professor Patrick Tan, Dean of Duke-NUS Medical School, said, “SPADE shows what the AMC can achieve when SingHealth’s clinical depth and patient insights are combined with Duke-NUS’ capabilities in biomedical science, computational biology and data analytics. By bringing these strengths together around shared technologies and patient questions, we can move more quickly from understanding disease to developing diagnostics and treatments that are meaningful in the clinic.”

Dr. Timothy Tay, Senior Consultant, Department of Anatomical Pathology, SGH, and co-Principal Investigator of SPADE, said, “SGH is proud to be a co-lead of SPADE, bringing our deep pathology expertise and wet lab capabilities to this exciting platform. Good science starts before the analysis, from how tissue samples are collected, prepared, and processed, and our foundational role helps ensure that SPADE's research is built on the most robust and reliable science possible. We look forward to seeing how this work translates into better diagnostics and treatments for patients.”

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About SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre

The SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) draws on the collective strengths of SingHealth and Duke-NUS Medical School to provide our patients and community with the best outcomes and experience.

By leveraging the synergies in clinical care, research and education created through our Academic Clinical Programmes, Disease Centres and Joint Institutes, the SingHealth Duke-NUS AMC fosters the exchange of scientific knowledge and clinical perspectives to accelerate innovation and new discoveries, advance the practice of medicine as well as nurture the next generation of healthcare professionals.

SingHealth delivers comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and integrated care across a network of acute hospitals, national specialty centres, polyclinics and community hospitals. Offering over 40 clinical specialties, SingHealth is Singapore’s largest public healthcare cluster.

Duke-NUS, Singapore’s flagship graduate-entry medical school, nurtures ‘Clinician Plus’ graduates to become leaders in the global healthcare and biomedical ecosystem, while scientists from its five Signature Research Programmes and 10 Centres transform medicine and improve lives in Asia and beyond.

For more information, please visit: www.singhealthdukenus.com.sg, www.singhealth.com.sg, www.duke-nus.edu.sg

About the National Cancer Centre Singapore

The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) is a leading national and regional tertiary cancer centre dedicated to advancing cancer care, research and education. With a comprehensive suite of specialties and services, NCCS treats all cancers and offers personalised and multidisciplinary care to ensure that patients receive holistic, compassionate care and support. Advanced and innovative treatments such as proton therapy at the Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre, immunotherapy, and cell therapy are available at NCCS to give patients the best treatment outcomes.

Ranked among the top cancer centres in Asia, NCCS is globally recognised for its research expertise, with clinicians and scientists collaborating with local and international partners to conduct cutting-edge clinical and translational research that makes a real impact and offers hope of a cancer-free tomorrow. As an academic healthcare institution, NCCS is committed to nurturing future generations by delivering specialised training to local and overseas oncology healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit www.nccs.com.sg.

About Singapore General Hospital Singapore

General Hospital, established in 1821, is the largest tertiary hospital in Singapore and ranked among the world’s best. It provides the most comprehensive patient-centred care with over 50 clinical specialties on its campus. As an Academic Medical Centre, it takes pride in training healthcare professionals and conducting cutting edge research to meet evolving needs of the nation as well as the region. Driven by a strong sense of purpose, SGH is committed to give of its best to heal and bring hope, as it has for over 200 years. For more information, please visit www.sgh.com.sg  

ANNEX

Selected Research Examples

The following are examples showing how spatial profiling technologies have already been used by researchers within the AMC to make discoveries that would not have been possible with conventional methods.

1. Identifying cells behind a rare disease
   In 2025, Assistant Professor Jason Chan's research team at NCCS used spatial profiling to identify unique cells responsible for a rare disease known as idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease with findings published in the journal, Blood. Coupled with single-cell analysis, this work identified candidate disease-driving cell populations, revealing cellular interactions and generating new avenues for improving diagnosis and therapeutic investigation. 
   
   
2. Uncovering new subtypes of gastric cancer
   In 2025, Professor Patrick Tan's research team at Duke-NUS used spatial profiling to identify novel subtypes of gastric cancers with distinct clinical behaviours. They created a detailed “atlas” of stomach tumours, revealing hidden patterns in how cancer cells behave, evolve and interact with their environment. Published in Cancer Discovery, these insights pave the way for more precise treatments tailored to the unique characteristics of each patient’s tumour thereby helping doctors target cancer cells more effectively, improving survival and reducing side effects. 
   
   
3. New tools to understand spatial profiles of diseased tissues
   In 2026, Associate Professor Chen Jinmiao’s research team at Duke-NUS developed a new computational tool called SpaMosaic which brings together different types of molecular data from tissue samples, even when the datasets are incomplete or come from different experiments. Published in Nature Genetics, the tool acts like a jigsaw-puzzle solver for biological data to give scientists a more complete picture of how tissues are organised. Building on various approaches developed by her group in previous years (e.g. GraphST, SpatialGlue, STAMP), these tools can help researchers understand how diseases develop and become resistant to treatment. They can also identify biomarkers to improve diagnosis and help doctors determine which treatments are most suitable for different patients, as well as uncover new targets for drug development. 
   
   
4. Developing AI-powered scoring system to predict liver cancer recurrence
   In 2025, Dr Joe Yeong from SGH Department of Anatomical Pathology and A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and his research team developed TIMES, a spatial immune scoring system that predicts the risk of liver cancer recurrence after surgery. Published in Nature, the tool analyses the spatial distribution of key immune markers within tumour tissue to generate a personalised recurrence risk score. By uncovering how the precise location of immune cells, particularly natural killer cells, within a tumour influences patient outcomes, TIMES outperformed 118 established clinical factors in predicting disease-free survival. The findings open new possibilities for identifying patients who may benefit from adjuvant immunotherapy.