Durham, NC - Duke research faculty in Singapore showed that the university's prowess on the basketball courts isn't limited to Durham when two teams competed in the inaugural National University of Singapore (NUS) Staff Games on May 25. The games were meant to improve staff health and productivity and foster greater interaction with fellow colleagues across the campus.

A multi-disciplinary basketball team from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School comprising research faculty, emerged as champions in a competition with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy The victorious Duke-NUS basketball team included: Benjamin Haaland (Clinical Sciences), Toomas Silla, Ted Chang, Bao Yi (Program in Cancer Stem Cell Biology) and Chen Guang (Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases).

The Captain Ball's team from Duke-NUS came in second place after playing against players from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Office of Safety, Health & Environment, Office of Campus Security & the Mechanobiology Institute, whichrepresented NUS.

In addition, Dr. Toomas Silla and Dr Ben Haaland had earlier taken part in the NUS Basketball Club Mega Annual 5 vs. 5 Tournament in March this year and helped the Duke-NUS team land the top prize.

"It was a ton of fun and a serious sweat-fest. My teammates and I were full of smiles and camaraderie. It is great to get to know my co-workers outside the confines of the office," Haaland said.