Agilent Technologies Inc. announced a new strategic partnership with National University of Singapore (NUS), acting through the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), to establish the NUS-Agilent Center of Excellence (CoE) in Cell Metabolism, a scientific collaboration to advance cardiovascular and metabolic disease translational research over the next four years.   

Metabolism is an increasingly important field of study to identify cardio-liver-metabolic biomarkers to prevent cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke. In Singapore, on average, 34 people have heart attacks daily^[1] and 25% are clinically silent^[2]. Research advancements in this area can help discover meaningful clinical interventions for asymptomatic individuals to improve population health.  

As part of the collaboration, Agilent is providing its game-changing xCELLigence, Seahorse XF and BioTek technologies to support targeted and untargeted metabolic profiling for large-scale population-based cohorts across translational research. The CoE is part of Project RESET, a five-year government-funded research initiative focused on developing new early detection methods for cardiovascular diseases and elevating Singapore's global prominence in precision medicine.

"We are at the forefront of a transformative era in healthcare, where rapidly evolving technologies are revolutionising our approach to the age-old challenge of altered metabolism. As the common thread linking all chronic diseases, addressing metabolism would be paramount for advancing not just cardiovascular disease but global health. Agilent's cutting-edge technologies will play a pivotal role in unravelling the complex mechanisms behind metabolic dysfunction, paving the way for new treatment targets and biomarkers. With leading technology companies such as Agilent coming onboard Project RESET at NUS Medicine, we can unlock new discoveries and innovations that will undoubtedly advance cardiovascular metabolic health in Singapore, Asia and beyond," said Professor Roger Foo, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Professor in Medicine, Corresponding Principal Investigator of Project RESET, Vice-Dean (Research) and Director of the Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine.

Chow Woai Sheng, Singapore General Manager and Vice President of Global Instrument Manufacturing at Agilent, commented on this collaboration, "The proven xCELLigence and Seahorse XF technologies are world-leading, high-performing cell analysis solutions designed to advance our knowledge of biology at its most fundamental level to improve the quality of life. Over the last 24 years in Singapore, Agilent has been a trusted partner to NUS, built on a strong track record of delivery performance, best-in-class scientific technology, and service excellence. Agilent is proud to contribute to Singapore's ambitious plan to transform care for a healthier nation."

The integrated use of Agilent's metabolic and cellular phenotyping platforms will provide a world-class multimodal workflow solution to study cells at unrivalled speed and scale. The NUS-Agilent CoE also supports the Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease Translational Research Programme (CVMD-TRP) and Preclinical Platform for Development of Therapeutics for Heart Failure (PREVENT-HF) at NUS Medicine to accelerate the discovery of novel insights into the complex mechanisms of heart disease.