In times of darkness, corporate philanthropy shines bright in the public-spirited Sun Life Singapore
Ms Belinda Au presenting Sun Life Singapore's gift to Prof Dean Ho
As an insurer, Sun Life Singapore understands the need to stay prepared for unpredictable circumstances. To further this cause, it is donating S$25,500 to fund IDentif.AI — a project led by scientists at The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1) at NUS.
“Sun Life today helps millions around the world achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. We are committed to playing our part in the fight against COVID-19,” shared Ms Belinda Au, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Life Singapore.
“The N.1 Institute for Health has been at the forefront of health innovation. By making a gift to the Institute, we hope to help power the COVID-19 study the IDentif.AI team has embarked on,” she elaborated.
Grateful for Sun Life Singapore’s generous gesture, N.1’s director Professor Dean Ho said: “In times like this, it has become more important than ever for the broader community to work with researchers to find solutions.”
IDentif.AI stands for Identifying Infectious Disease Combination Therapy with Artificial Intelligence. In other words, it’s an ultra-efficient platform which zeroes in on the best treatment for COVID-19.
Driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), IDentif.AI can rapidly pinpoint the best drugs and doses from an “extraordinarily large number of possible drug combinations”.
IDentif.AI’s capabilities extend beyond the Coronavirus. It can investigate other infectious diseases, such as dengue fever - another ongoing outbreak Singapore is grappling with.
Professor Ho reveals that IDentif.AI has successfully addressed over 40 diseases, with multiple human clinical studies that led to life-saving outcomes.
“As we are confronted with emerging pathogens in the future, we will be able to immediately implement IDentif.AI.IDentif.AI will provide our patients, healthcare workers, and community with an early line of defense and quickly point us towards an effective intervention,” he elaborated.
As large-scale global epidemics are said to become more common, IDentif.AI could possibly be the panacea that the world needs.
