Some $30.5 million was raised for medical research and education initiatives at the inaugural SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre gala dinner last night.

Major donors included the Viva Foundation for Children with Cancer, which pledged $8.2 million towards the Viva-KK Women's and Children's Hospital paediatric brain and solid tumours programme.

Healthcare institutions which are part of the medical group, including the Singapore General Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore and National Heart Centre Singapore, started fund-raising in April last year.

The event at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, was attended by clinicians, researchers, educators and donors.

The dinner also celebrated a decade of partnership between SingHealth and the Duke-NUS (National University of Singapore) Graduate Medical School.

The Academic Medical Centre uses education and research to advance the frontiers of medicine. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam attended the event as guest of honour.

Professor Ivy Ng, group chief executive of SingHealth, said they were "encouraged by the tremendous support" from partners. "This strengthens our resolve to accelerate research discoveries that translate into findings that enable us to better prevent, predict, diagnose, treat and halt disease progression.

"We hope to form more partnerships to achieve new possibilities and transform healthcare in the future," she said.

Duke-NUS dean, Professor Thomas Coffman, said many of the successful activities achieved so far by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre may fall outside the bounds of typical grant support mechanisms. He said funds raised from private philanthropy "will boost this trajectory of accomplishments, and help sustain support that can further strengthen, expand and fast-track these programmes".

Melody Zaccheus