The Oral Care, Health Innovations and Designs Singapore (ORCHIDS) is a new autonomous research centre established at the NUS Faculty of Dentistry to support our mission to improve oral and overall health through innovative platforms. As people live longer, there is an increasing need to prevent diseases related to the mouth and face. To address this, we require new technologies that can revolutionise oral healthcare worldwide.
We focus on developing practical platforms combining engineering strategies, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools to enhance diagnosis and treatment. Our interdisciplinary approach includes engaging experts in various fields, such as healthcare economics and behavioural sciences. Such collaborations with global research leaders allow us to develop unique concepts that can translate into healthcare solutions in real-world clinical settings. By combining these newly developed concepts with our proven track record in research innovation, ORCHIDS aims to become a global leader in oral health and engineering. Our objectives seek to address critical clinical needs, from regenerative medicine to AI-optimised therapy, by:
- Providing essential resources to support various research groups and increase their competitiveness aligned with national research priorities;
- Investing in prime areas of research that are deemed to be relevant in impacting healthcare in the future;
- Hiring global research talents and fostering a culture of innovation to expand our collective knowledge base;
- Engaging and hosting world-class researchers to create unique opportunities for international collaborations.
Through the above objectives, ORCHIDS focuses on creating a conducive environment and generating numerous possibilities and collaborations between basic and clinician scientists to pursue ambitious research programmes aligned with national priorities that will impact oral health globally.
Associate Professor Vinicius Rosa