Heart patients and those at risk of cardiovascular diseases can take heart that research at NHRIS has been given a boost by a generous gift of S$3 million from the Tanoto Foundation.   Of this, S$2.5 million will go towards setting up the Tanoto Foundation Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine and S$500,000 will fund the Tanoto Foundation Initiative for Genetics and Stem Cell Research at NHRIS.

In October 2014, the Tanoto Foundation Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine was conferred on Professor Stuart Cook, for demonstrating the ability to advance cardiovascular medicine through academic leadership, medical education and innovation.

In addition to heading NHRIS, Prof Cook is Senior Consultant at the Department of Cardiology as well as Distinguished Clinician Scientist of NHCS.   He is also Deputy Program Director of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Signature Research Program at Duke-NUS and a leading cardiovascular research expert with extensive work in human genetics, heart muscle disease and cardiac imaging.