The National Initiative for RNA Biology and its Applications (NIRBA) officially opened its new Hub at the National University of Singapore (NUS) today, marking a significant milestone in Singapore’s efforts to strengthen its capabilities in RNA science and accelerate the translation of research into healthcare, economic and societal impact.
The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF), and attended by leaders from academia, research institutions, industry and government agencies.
Launched in 2025 as a national initiative supported by the NRF, NIRBA was established to advance Singapore’s capabilities in RNA biology and its applications. Bringing together researchers and expertise from NUS, Nanyang Technological University, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and other partners, NIRBA aims to position Singapore at the forefront of one of the most rapidly evolving areas of modern science.
The opening of the NIRBA Hub represents the next phase of this journey. Serving as the focal point of NIRBA’s hub-and-spoke model, the Hub will unite researchers, clinicians, technology platforms and industry partners to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate innovation in RNA science.
This new development is closely aligned with the ambitions of Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan, which seeks to strengthen the nation’s scientific base, deepen innovation capabilities, develop talent and translate research into economic and societal outcomes.
RNA Innovation: Advancing Singapore’s bioeconomy, healthcare, and biomedical frontiers
RNA biology has emerged as a transformative field with the potential to reshape healthcare, biotechnology and the broader bioeconomy. Through initiatives such as NIRBA, Singapore is building capabilities that will enable the advancement of scientific discovery, and also the translation of research into solutions that create value for society and the economy.
RNA-based technologies have already demonstrated their game-changing potential through advances in vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. Looking ahead, they are expected to play an increasingly important role in precision medicine, disease prevention and treatment, synthetic biology, and future bio-based industries. By strengthening Singapore’s capabilities across the research and innovation value chain, NIRBA is expected to contribute to the nation’s ambitions of becoming a leading global hub for biomedical innovation, medtech development and advanced biomanufacturing.
Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, Executive Director of NIRBA, said, “NIRBA was founded on the belief that breakthroughs in RNA science will increasingly shape the future of medicine, biotechnology and human health. The Hub provides a collaborative environment where researchers from diverse disciplines can work together to tackle fundamental questions in RNA biology and translate discoveries into meaningful applications. We are grateful for the strong support from our partners and look forward to advancing Singapore’s ambitions in this important field.”
Catalysing scientific breakthroughs
Located at Block S9 on NUS’ Kent Ridge campus and spanning 2,000 sqm, the NIRBA Hub serves as the central node of NIRBA’s national hub-and-spoke network. It will support research across areas such as RNA therapeutics, cancer RNA biology, infectious diseases, RNA-based diagnostics, and AI-enabled RNA design, while providing a collaborative environment for talent development, technology innovation and industry engagement.
In addition to advancing research, the Hub will serve as a platform for talent development and international collaboration. It will support the training of the next generation of scientists, foster partnerships with industry, and strengthen Singapore’s connections with leading research organisations around the world.
The opening of the NIRBA Hub underscores Singapore’s commitment to investing in frontier science and building capabilities that will create long-term value for the nation. Through sustained collaboration across institutions and sectors, NIRBA aims to drive scientific excellence, innovation and impact for Singapore and beyond.
Pioneering cutting-edge research
NIRBA brings together multidisciplinary teams to advance the next frontier of RNA science through an integrated research programme spanning RNA modification detection, disease biology, and therapeutic engineering. It will build four peaks of excellence that are of strategic importance to Singapore:
Researchers will collaborate as a highly interconnected ecosystem, where each discovery propels the next. Clusters 1 and 2 focus on designing and testing improved RNA molecules, while Clusters 3 and 4 develop delivery strategies and track their effects in disease models — all working together to create precision RNA medicines for Singapore’s most urgent health challenges, including cancer, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.