Academic research, training and education form a vital part of national preparedness and defence against the threat of emerging infections. Aligned with the NCID mission, IDRTO is a core unit within NCID to fulfil its unique role as a national asset with domain expertise in public health, academic research and clinical excellence, as well as outbreak preparedness for both healthcare workers and the general public.  IDRTO comprises 3 key components: 

(i) the National Infectious Disease Research Coordinating Office
(ii) the NCID Research Office
(iii) the Training and Education Office

National Infectious Disease Research Coordinating Office

The National ID Research Coordinating Office encourages collaborative infectious disease research between healthcare institutions in Singapore and beyond.  It assumes the responsibilities formerly under the purview of the Singapore Infectious Disease Initiative (SIDI) to develop human capital for ID research including seed funding and travel fellowship to nurture budding ID researchers.  It reviews the strategy and general direction for future ID research in Singapore and coordinate pandemic preparedness and research nationally. Under this office is the Singapore Infectious Disease Research Network (SCRN) which supports multicentre collaborative ID clinical research as well as outbreak research.  

NCID Research Office

The NCID Research Office oversees research at NCID and the maintenance of NCID research facilities, namely the ID Research Laboratory, the NCID Research Clinic and the P.H. Feng Research Ward. 

Training and Education Office

The Training and Education Office caters to the ID training and professional development of healthcare workers in Singapore, including ID outbreak response training needs. These include developing the capabilities of individual healthcare workers and building the professional capabilities at regional health systems and intermediate and long-term care providers.  The office will work towards public education via community partnership and engagement to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and build community preparedness for outbreaks.