In a landmark occasion signaling two decades of pioneering medical education, Duke-NUS Medical School celebrated the graduation of its largest cohort to date, the Class of 2025, during an illustrious ceremony held at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium in Academia. The event was graced by the presence of Mr Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Health, who underscored the critical role of evolving medical education in meeting contemporary healthcare challenges. This milestone represents not only the growth of Duke-NUS as a leading medical institution but also its commitment to shaping the future healthcare workforce through multidisciplinary training and cutting-edge research.
The graduating class is composed of 72 Doctor of Medicine (MD) recipients, including a select group of five MD-PhD scholars, in addition to 27 PhD candidates specializing in Integrated Biology and Medicine, Quantitative Biology and Medicine, and Clinical and Translational Sciences. This diversity in academic pathways highlights Duke-NUS’s strategic dedication to bridging clinical practice with biomedical innovation. Notably, the cohort features the inaugural graduates from conditional admission pathways established with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), designed explicitly to attract students from engineering, IT, and related disciplines who pivot their careers towards medicine.
Dean Professor Thomas Coffman emphasized the significance of these pathways during his address, noting, “Our collaboration with seven prestigious partner universities, including Duke University and NUS, facilitates a seamless integration for students to earn degrees across diverse academic fields before transitioning into medical training. This innovative approach nurtures clinicians who are not only adept in patient care but also bring a rich repertoire of multidisciplinary skills essential for advancing healthcare systems globally.” This integration aligns with a broader vision of medical education in the 21st century, where expertise in computational biology, data science, and systems engineering enriches traditional clinical practice.
The Class of 2025 also includes the first graduates from Duke-NUS’s Master’s in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality (MPSHQ) program, the pioneering course in Southeast Asia dedicated to establishing robust healthcare systems that prioritize consistent quality and safety. The curriculum intertwines principles of systems engineering, human factors, and clinical epidemiology to equip healthcare professionals with a scientific framework for reducing medical errors and enhancing patient outcomes. This initiative reflects the global shift towards institutional accountability and the systemic redesign of healthcare delivery to mitigate preventable harm.
Diversity and career transitions form a notable characteristic of this cohort. Approximately 41 percent of the MD and MD-PhD graduates have transitioned mid-career from fields such as law, public relations, accounting, and mental health peer support into medicine, reflecting Duke-NUS’s inclusive approach to cultivating healthcare leaders with heterogeneous expertise. Women constitute 58 percent of the graduating class, signaling progressive strides in gender representation within the medical sciences. Such diversity enriches the learning environment by fostering broad perspectives crucial for addressing complex healthcare disparities.
Among the graduates, Dr Faith Wong Pih Yng’s journey exemplifies the transformative power of this interdisciplinary approach. Formerly a modelmaking student and a senior peer support specialist at the Institute of Mental Health, Dr Wong reflected on her clinical experiences, emphasizing the profound emotional impact of childbirth observations alongside the vital peer-teaching culture during her hospital rotations. Her narrative highlights the importance of empathy and collaborative learning in clinical education, essential to cultivating compassionate physicians who can navigate both technological and humanistic dimensions of care.
The degrees conferred during the ceremony carry the unique distinction of being jointly awarded by Duke University and the National University of Singapore, reflecting the transnational partnership that propels Duke-NUS’s innovative curriculum. Distinguished attendees included Duke University School of Medicine Dean Professor Mary Klotman, SingHealth Group CEO Professor Ng Wai Hoe, and keynote speaker Dr Amy Abernethy, a member of Duke University’s board of trustees and co-founder of Highlander Health. Their presence underscored the evolving nexus between academic medicine, healthcare delivery, and policy leadership.
The cohort’s engagement extends well beyond academics into impactful community service initiatives. Dr Dana Chow Wai Shin, MD, spearheaded the “Healthy to Thrive” project—the first Duke-NUS organized public health screening event tailored to the migrant worker population in Singapore. This initiative embodies the principles of population health management and addresses systemic disparities affecting vulnerable groups through targeted preventive care and outreach, showcasing the integration of social determinants of health into medical training.
On the scholarly front, the Class of 2025 demonstrated exceptional research productivity, authoring an impressive 253 publications throughout their tenure at Duke-NUS. These contributions span high-impact journals such as Nature Medicine, Immunity, and EMBO Molecular Medicine, indicating the cohort’s deep engagement with translational and clinical research. Among them, MD-PhD graduate Dr Katherine Nay Yaung’s pioneering work leveraging artificial intelligence and high-dimensional technologies to refine diagnostics and therapeutics for autoimmune diseases exemplifies the frontier of precision medicine. Similarly, PhD graduate Dr Aishwarya Prakash advanced cardiovascular research by identifying protective peptides that mitigate cardiac damage, contributing significantly to molecular cardiology.
Dr Pang Wui Ming Jeremy, recipient of the SingHealth Prize in Family Medicine, highlighted the paradigm shift in clinical care emphasizing continuity and patient empowerment. “The dialogues with patients have reinforced my commitment to supporting individuals’ autonomy over their health decisions,” Dr Pang noted, reflecting the evolving doctor-patient relationship in modern medicine. His accolades, including the Singapore Medical Association-Lee Foundation Teamsmanship Award and the Duke-NUS Achievement Prize, recognize his embodiment of collaborative and patient-centered medical practice.
As Duke-NUS Medical School ventures into its third decade, it continues to redefine the landscape of medical education and biomedical research. By fostering visionary healthcare professionals who integrate clinical excellence with scientific innovation and community-mindedness, the institution positions itself at the forefront of responding to global health challenges. The Class of 2025 stands as a testament to this philosophy, exemplifying the future of medicine that harmonizes technology, multidisciplinary expertise, and compassionate care for the betterment of Singapore and the wider world.
Subject of Research: Medical education and multidisciplinary training at Duke-NUS Medical School; integration of biomedical research and clinical practice; patient safety and healthcare quality.
Article Title: Duke-NUS Medical School Celebrates Historic Graduation of Class of 2025: A New Era of Multidisciplinary Medical Training and Research
News Publication Date: Not specified
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Image Credits: Duke-NUS Medical School
Keywords: Health care, Academic publishing, Education, Research programs, Science careers, Scientific publishing, Medical specialties, Human health
