In a rapidly ageing population like Singapore’s, the importance of healthy ageing cannot be overstated. Healthy ageing is increasingly recognised as essential in ensuring that individuals maintain their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing as they age. This concept goes beyond merely managing chronic conditions; it involves fostering resilience, sustaining cognitive function, and enabling older adults to lead fulfilling and independent lives.
The Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre (MSC) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has been at the forefront of this effort, spearheading translational research and developing community-based active ageing programmes that enhance emotional resilience and optimise cognitive performance. These initiatives are particularly significant because they take a holistic, non-drug approach to preventive mental health, addressing both well and at-risk populations.
The Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre: Pioneering Mental Health and Healthy Ageing Initiatives
The Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre is a research institute committed to advancing academic research in mental health and delivering evidence-based community interventions. Founded in 2016 by a group of passionate philanthropists and medical experts, the Centre operates with a clear mission: to develop preventive strategies that tackle mental health risk factors and enable early detection of mental health issues.
The Centre’s work is made possible by the generosity of public and private philanthropic support, which covers the costs of capacity building, conducting ongoing translational research, and rolling out intervention programmes across Singapore. The Centre’s distinctive focus on the Asian context sets it apart, as it combines the best of Western scientific methodologies with Eastern philosophical insights. This blend of approaches not only enriches the research but also makes the interventions more culturally relevant and effective.
The Centre’s long-term vision is to improve mental resilience within the community, ensuring people can prosper and thrive even in a fast-changing environment. By addressing various areas of mental health, including conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia, the Centre plays a crucial role in enhancing healthy ageing.
Furthermore, by innovating mind health through the integration of neurobiological and social sciences, the Centre is also helping to shape a deeper understanding of the human brain’s complex functions. This, in turn, provides policymakers with new insights and creates fresh opportunities to support individuals, families and organisations in building and sustaining mental capacity and wellbeing.
Key Philanthropic Contributions Driving Research
The impactful work of the Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre is made possible through the generosity of individual donors and organisations. Contributions towards the Centre are vital for sustaining the Centre’s research and community outreach efforts. Philanthropic support enables the Centre to continue its pioneering work in mental health research, ensuring that these initiatives can reach those who need them most.
Moreover, the Centre benefits from two Named Professorships that further bolster its research capabilities. The Tan Geok Yin Professorship in Psychiatry and Neuroscience, for instance, focuses on studying cognitive impairment in the elderly, exploring the impact of factors such as nutrition, cardiometabolic factors, gene interactions and anti-inflammatory biomarkers on cognition.
The Lin Jo Yan and Yeo Boon Khim Professorship in Mental Health is another significant contribution that enables the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine to appoint an expert in psychiatric and psychological medicine. This role is crucial in advancing the Department of Psychological Medicine’s efforts to develop mental health initiatives for young Singaporeans. It also energises collaboration with other specialities, such as paediatrics and adult psychiatry, and encompasses translational research and education support.
Advancing Healthy Ageing with NUS Giving
By making a gift towards research funding opportunities and initiatives at NUS that support healthy ageing such as the Yeo Boon Khim Mind Science Centre, you can directly contribute to these transformative efforts, helping to advance critical research and ensure that every person in Singapore has the opportunity to age healthily and with dignity. You will also be supporting tech for social good and contributing to a future where healthy ageing is a reality for all.
