On October 13, a delegation led by Dr. Steven Thng, Deputy Director of the National Skin Centre, Singapore (NSC), visited the Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center (the Center) and was received by Dr. Chouwen Zhu, President of the Center.

Dr. Zhu welcomed the delegation and introduced the Center’s development, covering clinical research at the intersection of dermatology and rheumatology, cohort and biobank resources, and its vision of a smart research hospital and a cell and gene therapy innovation platform to support future collaboration in clinical research and translational medicine.

Dr. Thng presented NSC’s overview and disciplinary strengths. As Singapore’s national center for dermatology, NSC has more than 20 subspecialties and deep expertise in skin imaging, tissue sample collection for autoimmune skin diseases, and objective skin assessment such as dermoscopy.

Jian Yao Ng, Technology Business Development Manager of the Skin Research Laboratory at A*STAR, introduced the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), whose research focuses on Asian skin biology and translational research in skin imaging and the skin microbiome.

During the meeting, the two sides reached initial consensus on three areas: connecting SRIS’s tissue biobank with the Center’s elderly cohort to design projects on "aging and the skin" and lay a foundation for joint research applications; advancing skin-immunology collaboration, drawing on NSC’s expertise in dermoscopy and other skin imaging technologies to develop objective quantitative assessment of rheumatic skin involvement, currently assessed mainly by visual inspection and palpation; and strengthening mutual visits, with the delegation inviting the Center to visit NSC and SRIS and the Center welcoming a return visit to advance cooperation through mutual exchange. The two sides exchanged commemorative souvenirs.