New Biosafety Level 3 lab joins nation’s fight against COVID-19 and future pandemics

To bolster Singapore’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and prepare for the next big biological threat, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) at NTU Singapore today launched a new laboratory designed for research into pandemic viruses and deadly bacterial infections

At this facility, researchers will be able to safely process samples from infected patients to study the impact of the disease on the immune system, test for the pathogen’s transmissibility, and develop vaccines and diagnostic tools – activities that can only be done in a highly contained environment due to the pathogen’s infectious nature.

The facility will allow NTU LKCMedicine researchers to work closely with clinician-scientists at the National Healthcare Group and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases to respond more quickly and effectively in the nation’s fight against deadly pathogens and in the event of an infectious disease outbreak.

It was launched today by Assoc Prof Kenneth Mak, the Director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health.