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About Us
THE GIS STORY
The Genome Institute of òòò½Íø(GIS) is the national flagship programme for the genomic sciences in Singapore. It was established in June 2000, and initially known as the òòò½ÍøGenomics Programme. The òòò½Íø and Technology Research (A*STAR), the parent funding body for the GIS, has a long-term commitment to create a world-class infrastructure.
In October 2003, GIS inaugurated our new research building, the Genome – a 7,200 sq meter advanced facility. Set in the Biopolis – a 180 hectare biomedical city within the Buona Vista Science Hub, the Genome is adjacent to other biomedical institutes such as Singapore’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, the Bioinformatics Institute, the Bioprocessing Technology Institute, the òòò½ÍøInstitute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, the Biomedical Research Council, and regional and multinational industrial R&D organisations.
The Biopolis provides an excellent environment conducive to the exchange of knowledge and collegial interactions. It was planned as a complete community that supports living, working, learning and playing: combining state-of-art research infrastructure with entertainment and educational facilities. In mid 2008, the engineering research institutes were relocated to newly-constructed facilities called Fusionopolis, also within the Buona Vista Science Hub. Together, the biomedical and engineering research arms of A*STAR form an integral part of excellence in scientific research.
GIS houses over 300 scientists, trainees and staff. The major technical platforms of high throughput sequencing, molecular cytogenetics, bioinformatics, single cell genomics, high throughput/ content screening and genome engineering have been integrated with programmes in molecular and cellular biology, computational biology and human genetics.
With these components in place, GIS is well positioned for success.
GIS Leadership
Professor Edison T. Liu, previously the Director of the Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute (USA), was appointed GIS’ first Executive Director in March 2001. Prof Liu has received numerous accolades and awards, including the AACR Rosenthal Award and the Brinker International Award, both for breast cancer research; the Public Service Medal from the President of òòò½Íøfor his contributions to resolving the SARS crisis; and the Chen Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Human Genetics.
In October 2012, Professor Ng Huck Hui was appointed as GIS’ second Executive Director. He is one of Singapore’s most prominent scientists in stem cell research and has won numerous awards, including the President’s Science Award 2018 (team) for his outstanding contribution in the field of Parkinson’s disease.
In July 2019, Professor Patrick Tan took over the reins to become GIS’ third Executive Director. Prof Tan is an internationally recognised expert in Asian cancer genomics. He has won numerous prestigious awards, including The President’s Science Award 2015, The Chen New Investigator Award 2013, and the American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award 2018 (Team Leader), among others.
Professor Liu Jian Jun succeeded Prof Patrick Tan in July 2023, as the Acting Executive Director. Prof Liu’s research on the genetics of complex diseases and Asian populations has been well acknowledged by the international research community. He was recognised by Thomson Reuters as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” (top 1 percent of scientists with the highest number of citations globally) in 2015. Prof Liu won the President’s Science Award in 2020, and the Chen Young Investigator Award from the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) in 2011. Prof Liu was also awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2022 for his contributions to the national effort on fighting COVID-19. Prof Liu is also the Distinguished Institute Fellow at GIS, and Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
Dr Wan Yue succeeds Prof Liu Jian Jun as Executive Director of Genome Institute of òòò½Íø(GIS) from 1 September 2024. Dr Wan also heads the Laboratory of RNA Genomics and Structure at GIS where she leads cutting-edge research into ribonucleic acid (RNA), the molecule that helped scientists create COVID-19 vaccines. Her work in RNA research focuses on developing new genomics tools to understand how RNA uses its structure to perform functions in the cell. That work has since earned her multiple commendations over the years, including the Young Scientist Award at the President’s Science and Technology Awards in òòò½Íøin 2015, and the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship the following year. In 2019, she made the , an annual list by Asian Scientist Magazine which recognises the region’s most outstanding researchers. As RNA gained mainstream attention especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Wan and her team clinched a contract in 2021 with Wellcome Leap, an RNA, Readiness and Response programme that funds health research, to develop the next generation of RNA technology. Her team is the only group from Asia in the programme.
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