Research Categories

Faculty This site

Biomedical Sciences and Life Sciences

This category covers:

Bioinformatics
Cancer Biology
Cell Adhesion
Cell Motility & Cytoskeleton
Computational Biology
Developmental Biology
Genomics and Epigenetics
Host-pathogen interactions
Innate and Adaptive Immunity
Ion Channels
Ion Channels and Transport

Malaria Research
Molecular Bacteriology
Neuroscience
Peptide Based Pharmaceuticals
Physiology
Protein Chemistry
Protein-Protein Interaction
Proteomics
Signal Transduction
Stem Cell Research
Structural Biology
Virology

As one of the priority research, NTU has recruited many principal investigators with proven track record to lead the scientific research and teaching, provide training for post-doctoral, post-graduate and undergraduate students. It has four research divisions: Molecular and Cell Biology, Structural and Computational Biology, Chemical Biology and Biotechnology and Genomics and Genetics.

Research Divisions:

Chemical Biology and Biotechnology
In this interdisciplinary field chemical methods are used to study problems in biology and molecular medicine, leading to a detailed analysis of the interactions between different molecules with an emphasis on the proteins. Research carried out at this Division helps develop a broad appreciation of the interplay between chemistry and biology. Rapid advances in technology in recent years have allowed us to work on entire biological systems, thereby providing a more complete picture of how they function. For example, it is now possible to understand context-dependent changes in protein expression, or even describe the complex pattern of protein interactions in a cell. Techniques like large-scale 2D-electrophoretic analysis provide a snapshot of the nature of the thousands of proteins expressed in a cell. This integrated field of proteomics will gather the different methodologies and facilities necessary for the study of genomes both at the computational and experimental level, and these tools may be used to develop protein chips and specific drugs that have useful industrial and biomedical applications.

Structural and Computational Biology
Structural Biology, the study of the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules, is combined with Computational Biology, which fuses elements of computer science with biology for dealing with the vast amount of biological data. Studying the structure of biological macromolecules such as proteins, and their interaction with other cell structures such as nucleic acids, lipids or complex carbohydrates, is critical to understanding their functions and purposes. This research is of particular importance in drug design. To this end, a number of imaging techniques like X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, are utilized. In addition, computer-modelling methods are used to complement and obtain additional structural information not accessible by experimental methods. Bioinformatics, required for mining and processing the surge of data resulting from genome sequences and functional genomics, is another area being explored, and problems related to the storage, retrieval and analysis of information about biological structures, sequences and functions are addressed.

Molecular and Cell Biology
Molecular and cell biology is a basic research on cells, the fundamental functional units of life, and the increasing complexity from the molecular level to cellular, tissue and organism levels. Many of the diseases affecting humans such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and dementia are due to defects at the cellular level, which cause some cells to behave abnormally. Research in this division works towards a better understanding of cellular biology, including cell development, cell cycle regulation, cytokinesis, cytoskeletal regulation, intracellular signalling and vesicular transport, which is of paramount importance in the fight against diseases originating from cell abnormality. Different model organisms and mammalian cell lines are adopted to understand these cellular processes, and diverse techniques such as live cell imaging, confocal microscopy and Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorting are employed in combination.

Genomics and Genetics
Genomics and Genetics cover one of the most important aspects of modern biology. Discoveries in basic science, especially those based on molecular genetics and the sequencing of the human and other important genomes has revolutionized our understanding of Life. Translating this new knowledge into new approaches for prevention, diagnosis and the treatment of genetic and infectious diseases is essential for improving health. Combining global approaches like DNA microarray analysis with powerful techniques like transgenic animals and genetic manipulation of other model organisms, it is now possible to investigate in detail how cellular processes are regulated. This will eventually lead to new methodologies for treatment and diagnosis. Research at this Division represents a combined effort at basic research, addressing fundamental questions at the molecular and genetic level and applied research, on medical conditions with clinical importance. These include development of genetic tools for human embryonic cell lines, investigation on the genetic basis of chromosomal rearrangements in the Smith-Magenis Syndrome (a form of mental retardation characterized by unusual physical and behavioral defects), gene expression of malaria and its mechanism of host evasion, and communication circuitry within multi-species bacterial biofilms.

Related Links :
Research at School of Biological Sciences
Bioinformatics Research Centre
Biomedical Engineering Research Centre
Biosciences Research Centre
Drug Discovery Centre

Name	Research Interests
Asst Prof Ajai Vyas	The Ethoneuro Laboratory is a multidisciplinary research laboratory that works at the interface of neurobiology (approach and avoidance behaviours) and parasitology (behavioural manipulation of host by parasites). Majority of the work will relate to behavioural manipulation of rodents by Toxoplasma. We are a research group within School of Biological Sciences at NTU. We are situated in the warm and welcoming environs of Singapore. Our Research Fear and attraction are evolutionary ancient parts of our psyche. Using animal models, we study how brain brings about these; and what happens when they get mixed up! Our research program is inspired the fact that a parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, can invade rat brain and removes deep-seated fears from a rat’s psyche. Why? So that parasite can hitch-hike a ride to cat intestines (when fearless rat is eaten by the cat) and reproduce there. This paradigm allows access to a really specific perturbation system for fear. In our lab, we try to learn how this parasite manages to make rats fearless. Recently, we have observed that female rats prefer males infected with Toxoplasma over run-of-the-mill uninfected animals. This is interesting because females usually detect and detest parasitized males. A male teeming with parasites is infected because he likely has a poor immune defense, and thus a questionable genetic legacy. The fact that Toxoplasma can get around such evolutionary hard-wired behavior is exciting. We are now trying to learn the mechanisms of this effect.
Asst Prof Ali Gilles Tchenguise Miserez	Structural properties of biological materials from the macro-scale to the nano-scale Abrasion and wear mechanisms of non-mineralized biocomposites and of biominerals Elastomeric and structural properties of oviparous egg capsules materials Protein chemistry of sclerotized hard-tissues from marine organisms, such as Cephalopod Single-molecular force spectroscopy of structural and elastic proteins Underwater adhesion mechanisms of adhesive proteins Bio-fouling Advanced Metal/Ceramic composites Experimental Fracture Mechanics
Asst Prof Arindam Basu	Low-power Reconfigurable Mixed-signal design, Neural recording systems, Computational neuroscience, Nonlinear dynamics, Smart sensors for hearing-aids/ultrasound etc, Neuromorphic VLSI
Prof Atul N. Parikh	Membrane biophysics biologically inspired materials biosensors synthetic chemical biology
Asst Prof Ayumu Tashiro	Our lab studies the function of hippocampus circuitry through an interdisciplinary approach combining virus-mediated genetic manipulation, optogenetics and unit recording techniques in behaving rodents. The hippocampus is well known for its functions in memory formation. We are interested in how neuronal circuits in the hippocampus mediate these functions. We particularly focus on two distinct phenomena occurring in the adult hippocampus. The first is adult neurogenesis (generation of new neurons), which occurs exclusively in a hippocampal subregion called the dentate gyrus and a few other area outside the hippocampus. We are interested in 1) how neural processing/activity in the dentate gyrus determines birth of new neurons and their subsequent functional integration into existing circuits and 2) how those new neurons integrated into circuits contribute to the hippocampal functions. The second focus is the cellular mechanism of place-cell activity. Place cells are electrophysiologically-defined cell types found in multiple subregions of the hippocampus. When animals explore environments, place cells fire at specific locations in the environments, which suggests that place-cell activity mediates spatial memory processing in the hippocampus. We investigate cellular mechanism underlying properties of place-cell activity using virus-mediated local genetic manipulations. Our goal is to understand physiological mechanisms in the hippocampus and to provide basic information which is critical to treat and cure brain disorders including dementia, neurodegenerative disease and depression.
Prof Bertil Andersson	Photosynthesis research, biological membranes, protein and membrane purification, light stress in plants. In addition, author of a number of articles devoted to popular sciences and science policy.
Prof Bo Gunnar Liedberg	The research interests of Prof. Bo Liedberg can be divided into three main areas Surface Chemistry and Self Assembled Monolayers This part of the research concerns fundamental studies of adsorbates and ultrathin molecular architectures, like Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs), on solid supports. The group was very early in studying self-assembly of substituted alkylthiols on gold substrates. A key activity has been to study temperature driven phenomena occurring in such assemblies as well as in adsorbed layers on top such SAMs. Oligo(ethylene glycol) and oligosaccharide SAMs have attracted considerable attention, both experimentally and theoretically, because of their structural characteristics and advantageous properties in contact with biofluids. Another area concerns interfacial water and ice. Temperature programmed studies have been undertaken to improve the understanding of the nucleation and microscopic wetting behavior of water/ice. The complexity of the SAMs has increased over the years and we are today focusing on architectures based on SAMs bearing multivalent chelator heads, helix-loop-helix polypeptides and receptor functions. Bioinspired and Biomimetic Nanoscience This research concerns the development of nanoscale architectures fabricated using either top-down or bottom-up protocols (or a combination of both). We are, for example, developing plasmonic arrays based on 100 nm gold nano dots on silicon and glass surface for amplification of optical fluorescence signals, so-called metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF). We are also developing composite materials based on a combination of de novo designed peptide scaffolds, planar surfaces and nanoparticles of controlled size and shape. A novel concept based on peptide folding has been used for controlled assembly of gold nanoparticles. The group is also involved in the development of Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) for patterning of surfaces on the 30-100 nm length scale. This work is performed jointly with a previous student of the group who nowadays is setting up a nanolaboratory at the Institute of Physics, Vilnius. We are also involved in several EC projects where different types of micro- and nanoscale patterning tools are employed for production of coatings for biofouling, sensing and biomedical applications. Optical Biosensors, micro- and nanoarrays The group has a long experience in developing optical transducers for biosensing application. We were the first to demonstrate the use of surface plasmon resonance for studies of bioaffinity interactions at surfaces, a technology that today form the backbone in SPR/Biacore instruments developed for biospecific interaction analysis (BIA). We are today using it in combination with ellipsometric interrogation and imaging optics for microarraying, and in combination with nanoparticle for studies optical enhancement phenomena. This includes, for example, microarray chips for protein multiplexing. The group is also working on the development of generic biochips for studies of ligand-receptor binding. Besides working on microarray fabrication for protein detection and analysis we are also developing biochips for the safety and security area. Selected publications 1. Tinazli, A., Tang, J., Valiokas, R., Picuric, S., Lata, S., Piehler, J., Liedberg, B., Tampe, R., Chem. Eur. J. 11, 5249-5259 (2005). 2. Aili, D., Enander, K., Tai, F-I., Baltzer, L., Liedberg, B., Angew. Chem., 120, 5636-5638 (2008). 3. Aili, D., Enander, K., Baltzer, L., Liedberg, B., Nano Letters, 8, 2473-2478 (2008). 4. Andersson, O., Ulrich, C., Björefors, F., Liedberg, B., Sensors&Actuators B: Chemical, 134, 545-550 (2008). 5. Klenkar, G., Liedberg, B., Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 391, 1679-1688 (2008). 6. Aili, D., Selegård. R., Baltzer, L., Enander, K., Liedberg, Small, 5, 2445-2452 (2009). 7. Lee, H.-H., Ruzele, Z., Malysheva, L., Onipko, A., Gutes, A., Björefors, F., Valiokas, R., Liedberg, B., Langmuir, 25(24), 13959–71 (2009).
Asst Prof Boon Chirn Chye	Please See link below for more publications and awards. http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/Eccboon/ (1) Awards: PI: Ultra-low Power Fully Integrated CMOS 24GHz Receiver, $0.323mil, March 2008 to February 2011, AcRF Tier 1 MOE. PI: Batteryless Flexible Transceiver for Biomedical Applications, $1,186,270 including scholarships), May 2009 to April 2012, AcRF Tier 2 MOE. Co-PI: An Ultra Low-Power RFIC Chip For Wireless and Communication Applications S$1.2 mil, March 2006 to February 2009, funded by Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Co-PI: System-on-chip: Realization of Software Radio, S$0.3 mil, 3 December 2008 to 2 December 2009, University of Electronic Science and Technology (UEST) of China-NTU Joint R&D, jointly funded by UEST and NTU. Co-PI: An Ultra Low-Power RF Transceiver Chip towards a New Paradigm of Life Quality, S$0.25 mil, 3 December 2008 to 2 December 2009, NRF. PI: High Thermal Resolution Ultra-Low Power Integrated Imager: Fund. Issues in CMOS, $840,000, July 2013 to June 2016, AcRF Tier 2 MOE. Various JIP programs.
Assoc Prof Chai Gin Boay	Composite Materials & Structures, Buckling and Failure of Structures, Practical Application of Finite Element softwares (ANSYS, ABAQUS, MARC/MENTAT).
Assoc Prof Chan Chi Chiu	His research areas are optical fiber sensing system, fiber Bragg grating device, fiber optics chemical sensors, photonics crystal fiber biosensor, digital signal processing, such as artificial neural network, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, wavelet, etc., on smart structures, fiber optics chemical and biomedical sensing areas.
Asst Prof Chang Wook, Matthew	Prof. Chang's areas of expertise are systems biology, metabolic engineering, and engineering biology. His current research works focus on elucidating genetic regulatory networks and relevant cellular mechanisms in bacteria.
Assoc Prof Chang, Joseph Sylvester	Joseph Chang is multi-disciplinary engineer with research encompassing core CAS-related fields including analog, digital and aerospace circuits/systems; biomedical/life-sciences related-fields; and the emerging printed-electronics. He received the B.Eng (ECE) from Monash University, and Ph.D. from the Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne, and has two-years IC-related industrial-experience. He is currently with the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (and Adjunct at Texas A&M). He has contributed to senior university administration and to ECE undergraduate/graduate education. He was the inaugural Associate-Dean of Research-and-Graduate-Studies at the 660 faculty-strong College-of-Engineering. For undergraduate education, he emphasized on promoting and instilling undergraduates’ interest in ECE, including being the chair of the Undergraduate-Research-Experience-on-Campus and Undergraduate-Research-Opportunities-Program programs, chaired Orientation-Programs and national-level undergraduate-conferences, and has given several talks in high-schools. In the IEEE, he contributed to both core and multi-disciplinary fields, including as Guest-Editor of the Proceedings-of-the-IEEE on ‘Computational System-Biology’, Guest-Editor of the CAS-Magazine on ‘Special-Issue on Life-Sciences’, Editor of the CAS-Magazine’s Open-Column, Chairperson of the IEEE-NIH Life-Sciences-Systems-and-Applications (LiSSA) Workshop, Chairperson of two IEEE-NIH CAS-Medical-and-Environmental (CASME) Workshops, Chairperson of the LiSSA Technical-Committee, Associate-Editor of IEEE TCAS-I (3-terms) and -II, Associate-Editor of the IEEE CAS-Magazine, Distinguished-Lecturer, etc. Of specific interest, he organized the successful merging of the BioCAS and LiSSA technical-committees, largely for CAS’s concerted/united life-sciences efforts. He was instrumental in several non-IEEE establishments’ engagement in CAS’s activities, including other IEEE societies, National-Institutes-of-Health, Telemedicine-and-Advanced-Technology-Research-Center, American-Institute-of-Medical-and-Bioengineering, etc. Impact thereto includes NIH’s request for each of their 27 institutes a copy of the aforesaid CAS-magazine’s special-issue, representation by different IEEE societies at the IEEE-NIH workshops and NIH financial support for CASME. He has published over 200 referee-reviewed publications (primarily in IEEE) and has over 20 patents (awarded/pending). In the field of ‘Class-D amplifier’, he has the most number of publications in the IEEE; and the top-ranked paper (excluding patents) and four of the top six papers in ‘Digital Class-D Amplifier’ in Google Scholar. He has received numerous grants from local and international funding-agencies (including DARPA and the EU) and from industry, amounting to >US$10M. He has founded two startups, and has designed numerous ECE-related products for industry. His research interests are largely emerging technologies, including bioengineering, microfluidics, audiology, psychoacoustics, and analog and digital circuit designs. He leads a group of 25 researchers - externally funded - including from DARPA (USA) and from the European Union. Some description of his work may be found in the following editorials of the Proceedings of the IEEE and the IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine (where he served as a Guest Editor): J. Chang, S. Wong, R. Newcomb and P. Häfliger, ‘Third Revolution in Medicine – the Convergence of Life Sciences with Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering’, IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine, Special Issue on Life Sciences, Aug 2012 S. Wong, M. Ogorzalek and J. Chang, ‘Editorial on the Special Issue on Computational Systems Biology’, The Proceedings of the IEEE, Aug 2008
Asst Prof Chen Albert I-Ming	Albert Chen's research aims to identify and characterize factors that direct the assembly and maintenance of neural circuits, and to understand how the organization of these circuits controls specific behaviors. These general issues are examined through the analysis of circuits in the cerebellum important for coordination, movement and motor learning. His lab is exploring mechanisms underlying the development and function of cerebellar circuits using genetics, imaging, and behavioral approaches.
Asst Prof Chen Gang	The overall goal of my research group is to employ cutting-edge biophysical techniques to better understand the structures and the physical-chemical properties of RNAs and RNA-ligand complexes to provide deeper insight into and to facilitate precise control of the diverse biological functions involving RNA. We aim to use the fundamental knowledge to fight neurodegenerative diseases, cancers, bacterial and viral infections by designing and discovering novel therapeutic ligands targeting RNA. To approach the challenging goals, we have assembled a multidisciplinary team with expertise ranging from molecular biophysics, structure biology, computation, chemical synthesis, cell biology, to medical healthcare. The research projects of current interests are: (1) characterizing the molecular recognition interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding and aromatic base stacking) accounting for structure, stability, and dynamics of RNA structural building blocks such as internal loops, hairpins, triplexes, and pseudoknots, (2) probing the complex energy landscapes of RNA folding and assembly with protein, (3) designing and discovering therapeutic ligands (small molecules, oligonucleotides, peptides, peptide nucleic acid, etc.) targeting RNA, (4) developing nucleic acid based biosensors to rapidly detect toxic/pathogenic agents in food products and human body, and (5) discovering and characterizing novel nucleic acid based catalysts for important organic and inorganic reactions at mild conditions. We employ various conventional and cutting-edge biophysical and biochemical techniques including laser optical tweezers, NMR, UV-Vis, fluorescence, SPR, gel electrophoresis, PCR, chemical synthesis of modified oligonucleotides and peptides, in vitro transcription, protein expression, and cell culture assay. The research experience in the laboratory will help the students to grasp fundamental knowledge and experimental skills, to develop learning skills such as rigorous reasoning and innovative thinking, and to be able to ask and answer important questions within and beyond chemical and molecular sciences. Selected Representative Publications: Zhou, Y., Kierzek, E., Loo, Z.P., Antonio, M., Yau, Y.H., Chuah, Y.W., Geifman-Shochat, S., Kierzek, R., and Chen, G. (2013) Recognition of RNA duplexes by chemically modified triplex-forming oligonucleotides. Nucleic Acids Res, doi: 10.1093/nar/gkt352 Tinoco, I., Jr., Chen, G., and Qu, X. (2010) RNA reactions one molecule at a time, in RNA Worlds, (Gesteland, R.F., Cech, T.R., and Atkins, J.F., Eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Chen, G., Chang, K.-Y., Chou, M.-Y., Bustamante, C., and Tinoco, I., Jr. (2009) Triplex structures in an RNA pseudoknot enhance mechanical stability and increase efficiency of –1 ribosomal frameshifting. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106, 12706-11. (Cover Highlight and In This Issue Highlight) Chen, G., Wen, J.-D., and Tinoco, I., Jr. (2007) Single-molecule mechanical unfolding and folding of a pseudoknot in human telomerase RNA. RNA 13, 2175-88. Chen, G., Kennedy, S.D., and Turner, D.H. (2009) A CA+ pair adjacent to a sheared GA or AA pair stabilizes size-symmetric RNA internal loops. Biochemistry 48, 5738-52. Chen, G., Znosko, B.M., Kennedy, S.D., Krugh, T.R., and Turner, D.H. (2005) Solution structure of an RNA internal loop with three consecutive sheared GA pairs. Biochemistry 44, 2845-56. (Listed as one of five "Hot Articles" in Feb. 2005 in Biochemistry)
Assoc Prof Chen Peng	(Bio)nanotechnology, biosensors, membrane physiology, biophysics
Assoc Prof Chen Shen-Hsing Annabel	Assoc Prof Chen's main research interests are in clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. She uses neuroimaging techniques, such as, fMRI, diffusion MRI and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to investigate neural substrates possibly involved with higher cognition in the cerebellum. The goal of her research is to apply these paradigms to study the cerebro-cerebellar circuitry in clinical groups, such as mild head injury, dyslexia, autism, and alcoholism. Her other line of research investigates the neural correlates of healthy aging. She is also developing research in normative studies and tasks standardization in clinical fMRI, and has interests with ethical and clinical issues involved with neuroimaging for clinical applications and research.
Prof Chen Wei Ning, William	1. Biomolecular Engineering for Environment-Host Interactions; 2. Proteomics Platform for Clinical Biomarkers; 3. Metabolic and Microbial Engineering for Valuable Chemicals; 4. Environmental Engineering for Resource Recovery; 5. Sustainable Production of Food Ingredients
Asst Prof Chen Xin	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Microbial Genomics, Data Compression, Algorithm Design and Analysis
Asst Prof Cheong Siew Ann	Asst Prof CHEONG Siew Ann's areas of expertise are in computational physics, complex system dynamics, and bioinformatics. He is currently working on the development of self-consistent stochastic boundary conditions for ab initio and molecular dynamics simulations, methods to accelerate Monte Carlo simulations and high-dimensional optimization. He is also interested in developing automatic coarse-graining algorithms to perform data-driven identification of effective degrees of freedom in financial markets, very-large-scale computer simulations. He is also working on applying ideas from the Renormalization Group in statistical physics to the mining of very-large-scale databases.
Dr Cheung Ching For Peter	My research concerns the identification and mapping of signaling pathways involved in inflammation. Currently, we are investigating the mechanism of activation of TAK1, a mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK). TAK1 is activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumour necrosis factor-? (TNF-?), and also by bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Engagement of these three stimuli with their receptors leads to the activation of the inflammatory response via the JNK, p38? and NF?B pathways which all lie downstream of TAK1. However, dysregulation of these pathways can lead to chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and asthma. As TAK1 is a key component in transducing inflammatory signals, inhibition of TAK1 by therapeutic means may be attractive as treatment for these diseases. In vivo, TAK1 exists as two distinct heterotrimeric forms. One consists of TAK1-TAB1-TAB2 and the other TAK1-TAB1-TAB3. It is known that TAB1 is required for TAK1 activity, and that TAB2 or TAB3 may act as a link with upstream regulators. My recent work has shown that p38? is involved in the down-regulation of TAK1 activity and the identification of TAB3 as a new binding partner of TAK1.
Assoc Prof Chew Sing Yian	Biofunctional micro-/ nano-structured scaffolds for tissue engineering applications Electrospinning Cellular responses to micro- /nano-structured scaffolds Neural tissue engineering
Asst Prof Chi Yonggui Robin	-Catalysis & Organic Synthesis -Peptides, Proteins, Polymers -Nanoscale Structures & Functional Materials see http://chigroupweb.org
Assoc Prof Chian Kerm Sin	Prof Sandy Chian's areas of expertise are polymer chemistry, medical implants, and tissue engineering. His current research works focus on synthesis of degradable polymers, tissue engineering and scaffold fabrication technology.
Assoc Prof Cho Nam-Joon	Our research is focused on engineering approaches to solve challenging medical problems with strong emphasis on: 1) biosensing, 2) hydrogel tissue engineering, 3) biopharmaceuticals, and 4) drug delivery. To support these translational projects, we have several ongoing academic and industrial collaborations including those with Harvard University, Stanford University, and Roche Ltd. Despite advances in therapeutic drugs and tools, much work remains towards the early identification and eradication of infectious diseases. We are developing model membrane sensing platforms to interrogate the mechanisms of virus life cycles, especially that of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). We are also leveraging these engineering strategies to combat a wide range of viruses including dengue and influenza. In a related project, we are characterizing the molecular interactions of phospholipases involved in inflammatory response and the pathogeneses of many cancers. To more effectively translate new medicines into clinical therapies, we also have an active regenerative medicine team focused on liver tissue engineering. The liver is an important organ that is the site of HCV infection. Moreover, liver toxicity is a major challenge which accounts for the costly failure of many drugs late in the pipeline. Therefore, our primary aim in this area is to develop an artificial liver tissue platform to study HCV infection and drug toxicity. Taken together, our overall research initiative seeks to engineer artificial membrane and tissue platforms to probe biological systems, and to translate these findings into enhanced therapeutic and drug delivery options that more effectively target infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer.
Asst Prof Choong Swee Neo Cleo	Dr Choong is interested in the artificial microenvironment made up of the interaction of cells and materials and how this microenvironment can be manipulated for cell-based therapy applications. In particular, she is interested in the development of biomaterials that support lineage specific differentiation and in vivo function of cells for the intended application. Another area of research focus within Dr Choong’s group is on the application of engineering techniques and principles to study the structure and properties of biological tissues and cells. By learning more about the properties of the native microenvironment, it will facilitate the appropriate choice of materials (natural and synthetic), surface modification techniques and source of cells to use in order to come up with a functional biological substitute that can be used for clinical applications, as well as to develop in vitro platforms for drug testing/screening. For more information about the research activities within Dr Choong's group, please go to: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/cleochoong.
Prof Chua Chee Kai	Geometric Modelling, Rapid Prototyping, Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing, Reverse Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Design, Tissue Engineering
Assoc Prof Chua Leok Poh	My research interest is in Bio-fluid engineering espcially on the numerical simulations and measurements (Laser Doppler Anemometer and Particle Image Velocimetry) of the Coronary Bypass Grafting and the Artificial Heart Pumps (both Centrifugal and Axial blood pumps). Furthermore, the design of sleeve connector for the prolong patency of the Coronary Bypass Graft at the distal anastomosis. In addition, I am also interested in turbulent flow measurements using both hot-wire and cold-wire probes in various jet configulations, confined jet and low speed flow measurements.
Assoc Prof Claus-Dieter Ohl	My general research interest is Experimental Fluid Dynamics which is focused on cavitation phenomena and gas bubble dynamics. In particular I?m interested and have been studying: * air entrainment and rising bubbles, * laser generated bubbles, * bubble shock-wave interaction, * cavitation nucleation on surfaces and particles, * bubble cell interaction including drug delivery, * bubble dynamics in confined geometries and in microfluidics, * digital holography, and * magnetic-nanoparticle coated bubbles. More information can be found on my homepage: http://www1.spms.ntu.edu.sg/~cdohl/home.html
Asst Prof Curtis Alexander Davey	DNA in eukaryotic cells is packaged by histone proteins into chromatin, a dynamic hierarchical organization underlying genomic function. The basic chromatin building block is the nucleosome core particle, in which ~147 base pairs of DNA are wrapped in 1 & 2/3 superhelical turns around a histone protein octamer. Our high resolution crystallographic analysis of the nucleosome core particle yielded a wealth of insight into histone-DNA association. In fact, the conformation of DNA in the nucleosome core is remarkably different than its naked form or that associated with other nuclear proteins and is dependent on both DNA sequence and positioning on the histone octamer. We found that even divalent metal hydrates can recognize this unique feature of the nucleosome, binding in a DNA sequence- and orientation-selective manner. Our present goal is to find new drug targets and develop novel therapeutics by studying DNA structure and chemistry within a physiological framework. Approximately 83% of genomic DNA is associated with histone octamers, rendering the nucleosome core an important therapeutic target. However, relatively little is known about the influence of histone packaging on DNA-drug interaction. Since nucleosomal DNA displays sequence- and context-dependent structural features that can be recognized by even simple small molecules, the main premise of our present investigations is to explore the possibilities for nucleosome-selective recognition by medicinal agents and nuclear protein factors. The discovery of nucleosome-specific compounds would hold promise for the acquisition of improved therapeutic agents by allowing for a level of site discrimination beyond the primary structure of DNA.
Prof Daniel Hamlet Huson	Algorithms in bioinformatics. Main areas of interest are metagenomics and phylogenetic networks.
Prof Daniela Rhodes	Daniela Rhodes is internationally recognized for her contributions to the area of chromosome biology. She has provided fundamental insights into the packaging of DNA in chromosomes, the structure of telomeres and how specific proteins such as transcription factors recognize DNA sequences to regulate transcription. She has been responsible for the determination of a number of important structures of proteins and protein-DNA complexes involved in transcriptional regulation such as zinc-fingers, nuclear hormone receptors and in telomere function. She has also made key contributions to the understanding of the structure, function and regulation of chromatin compaction and remodelling including the role of histone modification (epigenetics). Her work is epitomised by the combination of innovative biochemical analyses with direct structural determination using structural methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. Presently, the research of the Rhodes' group continues to focuses on the structure and function of chromatin and telomeres. In the area of chromatin, research will focus on the determination of the 3D structure of the “30nm” chromatin fibre using cryo-EM methods and how structural proteins such as the linker histone regulate its compaction, and histone marks. This work should provide essential insights into all biological processes whose substrate s DNA. In the area of telomere biology the 3D structure of human telomerase will analysed using a combination of cryo-EM methods and X-ray crystallography as well as investigating telomerase recruitment to telomeres. Such knowledge is needed to progress in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer propagation and human ageing. Selected Publications: A method for genetically encoding site-specific acetylation in histones: The effect of H3K56 acetylation on the nucleoome core structure. Neuman, H., Hancok, S., Bening, R., Routh, A., Chapman L., Somers, J., Owen-Hughes, T., van Noort, J., Rhodes, D. and Chin, J. W (2009) Mol., Cell, 36:153-63. 30 nm chromatin fibre decompaction requires both H4-K16 acetylation and linker histone eviction Robinson, P.J., An, W., Routh, A., Martino, F., Chapman, L., Roeder, R.G. and Rhodes, D. (2008) J. Mol. Biol. 381: 816-25. Nucleosome repeat length and linker histone stoichiometry determine chromatin fiber structure Routh, A., Sandin , S. and Rhodes, D. (2008) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 105: 8872-7. Telomerase recruitment by the telomere end binding protein-beta facilitates G- quadruplex DNA unfolding in ciliates Paeschke, K., Juranek, S., Simonsson, T., Hempel, A., Rhodes, D. and Lipps, H.J. (joint corresponding author) (2008) Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 15: 598-604.
Vg Asst Prof Diane McDougald	Our research interests revolve around the interactions of prokaryotes and eukaryotes in the marine environment. We investigate the evolutionary drivers and consequences of bacterial adaptation to stresses, including interactions with higher organisms.
Dr Dinesh Kumar Srinivasan	Augmented Reality for Anatomical Education, 3D Patient model, Congenital Heart Disease, Preeclampsia, Ageing, Cancer, Tissue Engineering and Device Innovations.
Asst Prof Domenico Campolo	His research interests include mechatronic technologies with application to the new emerging fields of Phenomics and Neuro-Developmental Engineering, in both animal and human models; biomimetic microrobotics, including: design, fabrication, development and control of biologically inspired smart actuators and sensors.
Assoc Prof Douglas B Matthews	Neurobiology of Alcohol Use and Abuse. Effect of Hippocampal System on Learning and Memory.
Prof Duch Wlodzislaw Igor	Computational intelligence (CI), especially methods that facilitate understanding of data. Creation of general CI theory based on similarity evaluation and composition of transformations, Meta-learning schemes that automatically discover the best model for a given data. Data mining. Artificial Intelligence. Cognitive sciences and neurosciences. Neurocognitive informatics, or algorithms inspired by models of brain functions at different levels. Geometrical theories for modeling of mental events and relating such models to neurodynamics. Models of attention deficit disorders integrating genetic, molecular, neural and behavioral levels. Infant learning and toys that facilitate mental development. Philosophy of mind. Foundations of physics.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Eric Sun Tak On	1. Histone Deacetylases (HDACs): Discovery and development of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors for the treatment of hematological and solid tumors. 2. Protein Kinases: Discovery and development of kinase inhibitors which halt cancer cell growth.
Assoc Prof Feng Zhiwei	My research interests started to clarify the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis, especially the transcription factor in regulation of mammary gland involution and neuronal cells. I have demonstrated that transcription factor AP-1 participate the progress of mammary epithelial cell apoptosis during involution, and effect of other factors on apoptosis, such as cell cycle related ones and milk accumulation, etc. Later on, I studied the regulation of neuronal apoptosis induced by certain pathological factors and protection of apoptosis by growth factor. I found that NF-kB and JNK were involved in the activation of AP-1 which regulated neuronal apoptosis induced by nitric oxide, MPP+ and differentiation of neuroblastoma cells. Recently, my group expands the research into the growth and differentiation of adult precursor cells and their application in the treatment of neuronal disorders. We studied the neuronal differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells, in which FGFR-1 and AP-1 were found required for bFGF induced neuronal differentiation. We also demonstrated that NCAM facilitates the recovery of mouse spinal cord injury via reducing neuronal apoptosis and promoting axon regeneration. Currently, we continuously look into the effect of NCAM on the progression of mouse melanoma and migration of bone marrow stromal cells. We found that NCAM facilitates the growth and metastasis of melanoma, via the activation of cAMP, PI3K and association with -catenin pathways. We also successfully established and characterized rat glial precursor cells, NG2+ cells. We found that inhibition of EGF pathway could reprogramme gilal precursor cells into neurons and participate neuronal regeneration during spinal cord injury.
Asst Prof Fong Wen Mei, Eileen	Her research interests are in synthetic biology, protein engineering and cell biology for both biological and engineering applications.  Design and synthesis of artificial protein biomaterials  Developing assays for studying collective migration in 2D and 3D environments  Engineering proteins with novel functions  Improving microbial systems for efficient synthesis of protein materials
Asst Prof Francesc Xavier Roca Castella	My research focuses on the study of the mechanisms of pre-messenger RNA splicing in human cells. Splicing is the process by which introns are excised and exons are joined together, and is essential for the correct expression of genes. The relevance of splicing in the big picture is further illustrated by these two facts: (1) a large fraction (~50%) of point mutations causing human hereditary disease and cancer affect splicing, and other syndromes are caused by alterations of splicing factors; (2) alternative splicing affects >90% of genes in the human genome, is critical to explain the complexity of the human transcriptome and proteome, and contributes to many processes at a cellular and organismal level. The molecular and phenotypic consequences of many disease-causing mutations at splicing elements are not predictable at present, and the mechanisms of alternative splicing and their impact on other biological processes are still largely unknown. These limitations stress the need to further understand the basic mechanisms of splicing. In my lab I address such type of questions by using a combination of computational, molecular and cell biology methods. The two long-term goals of my research are to improve the molecular diagnosis of splicing mutations causing human genetic disease and to elucidate the role of alternative splicing events in their biological contexts. In the future I also hope to identify new therapeutic targets, and/or to develop RNA-based therapies for human diseases.
Assoc Prof Gao Yonggui	I am interested in the field of DNA/RNA-protein interactions, particularly in the structural and functional research of translation initiation control and protein synthesis by ribosome. For the first time, I recently discovered a new crystal form from ribosome lacking the subunit L9, that allows crystallization of the ribosome in the presence of GTPase factors. Based on this, the crystal structures of the 70S ribosome with elongation factor G (EF-G) trapped by fusidic acid in the post-translocational state, and with elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and aminoacyl-tRNA were solved, respectively. Both structures reveal many significant aspects of ribosome functions at atomic level with regard to elongation, the heart of translation. Meanwhile, I solved crystal structures of E. coli RelE (a toxin related to riboendonucleases) bound to 70S ribosomes in the precleavage and postcleavage states, which provides a clear basis for understanding the mechanism of ribosome-dependent endonucleases (mRNA shutdown). I want to pursue further research on the structure and function of translational factors with ribosome in Singapore. I will focus on further understanding EF-G function in translation as well as in the post-termination complex with ribosome recycling factor (RRF). Meanwhile, the structural and functional protein complex associated with disease and industrial application will be targed. Positions for Postdoc, Ph.D. Scholarship, Research Assistant or Technician are available, interested candidates are invited to email me.
Asst Prof Georgios Christopoulos	Update: Please go to https://sites.google.com/site/labdeon/home for my lab webpage -------- Broadly, I am interested in exploring the mechanisms that describe and/or affect behavioral and neuronal responses while humans make decisions, especially in social settings. This is of course a very general question that encompasses very diverse topics such as: - Individual decision making (deciding on the absence of social information. Risk is one of my main interests) - Social decision making and strategic interactions (deciding while other agents are socially visible and present: allocation of resources; competition and cooperation, learning) - Organizational Neuroscience (organizations are the ecology of the modern human; I am interested in how the structure of organizations influences biology and vice versa) Coming to Singapore and NBS I found an environment with outstanding expertise in Cultural Psychology; my aim is to integrate this expertise with my interests. Methods Special emphasis should be given to the methods. I try to integrate different approaches aiming in exploring mechanisms while moving away from simple descriptive approaches, which while interesting are not anymore adequate to help us understand and predict behavior. To that aim I use: - Behavioral experiments and game-theoretic inspired approaches modeling social interactions and decision making. - Psychophysics - Computational Modeling - Biological and genetic measures (eye-tracking, skin conductance etc) - Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to encode brain responses 1. Christopoulos G, Kokkinaki F, Harvey N., Sevdalis N, (Accepted) Paying for no reason? (Mis-)perceptions of product attributes in separate versus joint product evaluation. Journal of Economic Psychology 2. Christopoulos GI, Tobler pn. Bossaerts, P, Dolan RK, Schultz W (2009) Neural correlates of value, risk and risk aversion contributing to decision making under risk. Journal of Neuroscience, Oct 7, 2009, 29(40):12574-12583. 3. Tobler PN, Christopoulos GI, O'Doherty JP, Dolan RJ, Schultz W.(2009) Risk-dependent reward value signal in human prefrontal cortex. PNAS U S A. Apr 28;106(17):7185-90. 4. Tobler PN, Christopoulos GI, O'Doherty JP, Dolan RJ, Schultz W. (2008) Neuronal distortions of reward probability without choice. Journal of Neuroscience. Nov 5;28(45):11703-11.
Prof Gerhard Gruber	Research Activities The research group on Structure and function of molecular motors of A/Prof. G. Gruber in the Division of Structural and Computational Biology, SBS, NTU, is recognized for their expertise in determining the relationships between the structure and function of the so-called A1AO ATP synthases, V1VO ATPases, F1FO ATP synthases and AAA-ATPases. These enzymes are proposed to be the smallest biological motor proteins (nano-motor proteins). In order to get inside into the structure of these multi-subunit membrane complexes techniques like single particle analysis of electron micrographs, solution X-ray scattering, X-ray crystallography and NMR-spectroscopy are used. The functional and dynamical processes inside these enzymes are studied by fluorescence spectroscopy (e.g. FRET, FCS, intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy) and biochemical approaches.
Assoc Prof Gong Haiqing, Thomas	Prof. Gong ?s areas of expertise are BioMEMS, genetic testing instrument, microfluidics and microfabrication processes. His current research works focus on bioMEMS for genetic testing of waterborne and airborne pathogens, bioMEMS for gene expression of cancers, new methods for DNA melting curve analysis and genetic testing instrument.
Assoc Prof Gwee Bah Hwee	Low Power Asynchronous Microprocessor and Digital Signal Processor Design, Digital Class-D Amplifier Design, Bio-informatics Soft computing and Acoustical Noise Reduction
Asst Prof Hajime Hirao	- Computational chemistry - Bioinorganic chemistry - Medicinal chemistry
Asst Prof Hallam Stevens	My research focuses on the intersection between information technology and biotechnology. His forthcoming book -- Life out of Sequence: bioinformatics and the introduction of computers into biology (http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo16744390.html) -- is an historical and ethnographic account of the changes wrought to biological practice and biological knowledge by the introduction of the computer. Especially in highly computerized fields such as genomics, the computer has changed how biologists work, how biologists collaborate, and how biologists make knowledge. I am currently working on two other book projects. First, I am writing a general audience book about biotechnology under the title "Biotechnology and society." This book will examines the social, cultural, political, and economic effects of biotechnologies from a range of disciplinary perspectives (including history, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy). Second, I am co-editing a book with Sarah Richardson (Department of History of Science and Department of Women and Gender Studies, Harvard University) that reflects on recent developments in the biosciences from a social science perspective. The tentative title of that work is "Postgenomics." I am also working on several new projects that examine the production of knowledge in the biosciences in Singapore and Asia. These projects examine, amongst other things, the use of laboratory spaces and the use of 'big data' in scientific work.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Hannes Hentze	I do not have an active academic research program at NTU, but we are open for internships at MSD.
Prof Hans-Curt Flemming	Biofilms Water Pathogens in biofilms Art meets Science
Assoc Prof (Adj) Hee Hwan Tak	Selected publications Tan BHM, Hee HT. Treatment of osteoporotic compression fractures with vertebroplasty. In: BE Mattingly, AC Pillare eds. Osteoporosis: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc 2009. Lim CT, Hee HT. Stem cell therapy in Orthopaedic Surgery. Advances in Orthopaedics 2010; 2(3): 81-8. Hee HT, Ismail, Lim CT, Goh J, Wong HK. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation and intervertebral disc distraction reverse intervertebral disc degeneration in a rabbit model. J Bone Joint Surg Br 2010 May; 92(5): 726-36. Hee HT, Zhang JT, Wong HK. Effects of cyclic dynamic tensile stress on pre-compressed annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus cells of human intervertebral disc- an in vitro study. J Orthop Res April 2010: 503-9. Hee HT, Zhang JT, Wong HK. Effects of dynamic cyclic compression on human annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus cells -an in vitro stud. The Spine J Sep 2010; 10(9): 795-801. Hee HT, Chuah YJ, Tan BHM, Setiobudi T, Wong HK. Vascularization and morphological changes of the endplate after axial compression and distraction of the intervertebral disc. Spine April 2011; 36(7): 505-11. Wang LS, Hee HT, Wong HK. Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A brief review of its pathophysiology, presentation, assessment, natural history and management. Orthopaedics and Trauma 2011; 25(3): 181-9. Mishra A, Deng R, Loo Y, Chua YJ, Hee HT, Ying J, Hauser CAE. Ultrasmall natural peptides self-assemble to strong temperature-resistant helical fibers in scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering. Nano Today 2011; 6: 232-9. Hey HW, Hee HT. A Review of Thoracolumbar Spine Fracture Classifications. Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma 2011; 1: 1-5. Oh JY, Louange D, Rahmat R, Hee HT, Kumar VP. Paradoxical movement of L5S1 lumbar segment in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Eur Spine J 2012; 21(2): 262-7. Hey HW, Lau PH, Hong CC, Hee HT. Post-laminectomy spondylolisthesis – a review of the posterior elements and their contribution to the stability of the lumbar spine. The Open Spine Journal 2012; 4: 5-9. Hee HI, Tan YS, Hee HT. Postoperative analgesia after lumbar laminectomy: Is there a role for single shot epidural fentanyl? The Spine J 2012 Aug; 12(8): 652-5 Hey HWD, Hong CC, Long AS, Hee HT. Is hybrid surgery of the cervical spine a good balance between fusion and arthroplasty? Pilot results from a single surgeon series. Eur Spine J (in press).
Asst Prof Hirotaka Sato	MICRO SYSTEM micro air vehicle, MAV insect flight control insect physiology biofuel cell NANO FABRICATION electrochemical etching, deposition electroless deposition
Assoc Prof Ho Moon-Ho Ringo	Assoc Prof Ho Moon-ho's research interests are concerned with the development and application of quantitative methods, in particular, multilevel modeling, resampling methods, structural equation modeling, and time-series analysis in the neural and behavioral sciences. His current research work focuses on neuroinformatics research, in particular, the theoretical development and applications of multivariate time series analysis method for extracting meaningful information from complex brain imaging data.
Prof (Adj) Hong Hai	Prof Hong has a wide range of research interests, including East Asian culture and management and Chinese medical theories.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Hong Yan	His current research interest are: Jatropha curcas as a biofuel feedstock plant; Biotechnology of tropical forestry species; Plant metabolic engineering; Plant tissue culture and genetic modification; DNA marker and other technology development.
Asst Prof (Adj) Hoon Siang Shawn	My current research involves the application of genomics techniques towards a variety of different application areas. Current projects include the application of next-generation sequencing for DNA aptamer discovery, identification and characterization of genes encoding biological materials found in different marine organisms (in collaboration with the BBML lab) and developing new molecular techniques for efficient DNA sequencing.
Assoc Prof Hsu Wen Jing	High Performance Computing; Parallel and Distributed systems; Resource Scheduling; Multi-core Computing; Energy-efficient Scheduling; Green Computing; Peer-to-peer systems; Personal Positioning; Location-aware systems and applications;
Assoc Prof Huang Weimin	Shape memory materials and technologies Smart actuators and devices Active assembly and disassembly Surface patterning Yield surface of materials Materials selection
Asst Prof Huo Fengwei	The current research in Dr. Huo’s group involves nanolithography and biomaterials. One goal of our team is to explore the application of high throughput nanolithography approaches (polymer pen lithography, beam pen lithography, etc), such as fabrication of nano devices, biochips, optical materials, metamaterials, etc. The other field of this group is to design and develop bionanomaterials for next-generation of biosensing devices, drug delivery study and therapeutics research.
Vg Assoc Prof Jan-Thorsten Schantz	tissue engineering of bone, cartilage cell material interaction cell culture systems regenerative medicine cell migration (cell guidance, vascular guidance, biological guidance) craniofacial and breast surgery
Assoc Prof Jaume Torres	Our work is focused on structural and functional aspects of membrane proteins, leading to understanding of their function and to development of drugs that will modify their activity. One type of protein we explore is the aquaporins, the 'water channels' of the cell. Aquaporins selectively transport water and this makes them very useful for biotechnological applications such as water purification. In a medical context, aquaporins are found in most human cells and are involved in a vast array of pathological conditions, but no drugs are available for inhibition or activation. Therefore discovery of aquaporin inhibitors is one of our main interests. Another system we study are small membrane proteins from enveloped viruses, which tend to oligomerize and form channels of different selectivities. Some examples are M2 from influenza A virus, p7 from hepatitis C virus, SH from respiratory syncytial virus and coronavirus envelope proteins. No structural data exists for the full length version of these proteins despite their small size (typically less than 100 amino acids). Further, their flexibility likely contributes to their multiple reported functions.
Prof (Adj) Jean-Pierre Abastado	Our laboratory is studying the role of tumor immune microenvironment in cancer progression. We are conducting our studies with samples collected from patients with various malignancies and validating our mechanistic hypotheses in unique mouse model of melanoma. Transcriptome analysis of human tumors has allowed their molecular classification to be refined and has identified gene signatures with prognostic and theragnostic values. This approach has recently been applied to tumor stroma. Interestingly, genes expressed by the tumor stroma and especially by tumor-infiltrating immune cells often constitute a better predictor of tumor aggressiveness than those expressed by the cancer cells. Other studies suggest that the identity, polarization and function of tumor-infiltrating immune cells affect tumor progression, regression, and response to treatment. Therefore a better understanding of the tumor immune milieu is important to design more effective treatments. We have analyzed the tumor immune milieu of liver cancer, one of the most frequent cancers in Asia and a leading cause of cancer deaths. We have identified a set of immune genes whose expression is highly correlated with patient survival. We are now trying to understand the mechanism by which expression of these genes is correlated to better survival. We are also analyzing the tumor immune microenvironment in a mouse melanoma model where skin tumors develop spontaneously and then metastasize despite a strong systemic anti-tumor T cell response. Local and organ-specific immunity seems to play an important role in tumor escape.
Prof Jimmy Pingkwan Tam @ James P Tam	His research work has focused on the design and development of therapeutics, particularly biologics and immunologics of anti-infectives and synthetic vaccines. http://jptam.sbs.ntu.edu.sg/
Assoc Prof Julien Lescar	Structural Biology Infectious Diseases Structure-Based Drug Design
Asst Prof Justin Dauwels	His research interests are in Bayesian statistics, iterative signal processing, and computational neuroscience. Some of the projects include: - Mathematical modeling of the start and ending of epileptic seizures - Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease from EEG signals - Machine learning techniques for guiding neurosurgery - Detection of mental states from EEG signals - Tracking and predicting traffic in dynamic urban networks - Data-driven dynamical models of human behavior - Tracking and control of synthetic cell tissue - Copula-based modeling of extreme events - Copula-based graphical models
Asst Prof Kai Tang	Dr. Kai Tang's area of expertise is biological applications of mass spectrometry. His current research works focus on protein experssion profiling, biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics of thalassemia diseases, one of the most common genetic diseases in Southeast Asia and around the world. He is also working on developing novel methods for pathogen identification and protein structure elucidation.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Karuna Sampath	Patterning of metazoan embryos with high fidelity requires the coordinated action of maternal and zygotic macromolecular factors. Since gene expression activity is minimal during early embryonic stages, maternal RNA and protein factors deposited during oogenesis play a major role in the earliest steps of embryonic patterning. In zebrafish, the earliest steps of axis formation are regulated by maternal factors, some of which activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling to specify the dorsal axis. We are interested in identifying these factors and determining their functions in generating the embryonic axes. In Plain English: Birth defects in Singapore occur at an incidence of ~ 13.9 per 1000 live births. An additional ~20% of all natural pregnancies end in miscarriage, and the rate of miscarriage is even higher when assisted reproductive methods such as IVF are used (35-40%). The cause of these unfortunate events is not known, but it is presumed that defects in the developing embryo/fetus lead to natural terminations of such pregnancies, likely due to control mechanisms by maternal and/or other genetic factors. Identifying the factors that ensure normal development and learning how they work is key to reducing, and eventually eliminating birth defects. We use the zebrafish as a model to understand the basis of birth defects, since it is a simple animal, amenable to experimental manipulations, and shares a fair amount of similarity in its genes with humans. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly, and are transparent, which allows us to see the various body parts/organs as they form in a living animal. See this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0BtcjgOay4&feature=relmfu) to learn why zebrafish is a good model to study the basis of human birth defects. Using the zebrafish, we are trying to understand how a factor deposited in the egg by the mother (“squint RNA”) works to ensure normal embryonic development. We are identifying the machinery that makes it work at the right place and right time. In the long term, we hope our work can be extended first to small mammals (such as the mouse), and eventually, to humans.
Asst Prof (Adj) Katja Fink	Infectious diseases Anti-viral immune responses Antibody and B cell responses Immune memory Vaccines
Assoc Prof (Adj) Keller Thomas Hugo	Since I am working at the Experimental Therapeutics Center as Head of Chemistry, my research activities are limited to PhD students and postdoc. As the Head of Cehmistry of the Experimental Therapeutics Center I am supervising 34 medicinal chemists who work on the discovery new drugs for A*Star. Our approach is similar to industrial R&D, very much aimed at the creation of new drug candidates with publications only as a secondary objective. With my students and post-docs I am usually pursuing academic research in Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry (see publications) J. Alam, T.H. Keller, T.P. Loh. Indium mediated allylation in peptide and protein functionalization. Chem. Comm. 2011, 47, 9066. J. Alam, T.H. Keller, T.P. Loh. Functionalization of Peptides and Proteins by Mukaiyama Aldol Reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 9546.
Asst Prof Kim Donghwan	His research interest is broadly in biosurface engineering and nanotechnology, with a focus on functionalized biomaterials for neural prosthetics, immune-suppressive implantable biomaterials and bioconjugated nanoparticles for molecular imaging and non labeling biosensors.
Asst Prof Kim Jung-Jae	Jung-jae Kim has worked on biomedical text mining. He has designed and developed BioIE (a retargetable information extraction system), BioContrasts (a database of protein-protein contrastive information), and MedEvi (a permuted KWIC concordancer) in collaboration with colleagues of KAIST NLP&CL lab, I2R Bioinformatics group, and EBI Text Mining group. He is currently exploring the usage of biomedical ontologies for text mining in order to facilitate the integration of text mining results into interoperable solutions for the biomedical community. For the usage, he has participated in the development of Gene Regulation Ontology. This topic is closely related to, and an interdisciplinary work of, Semantic Web, Question Answering, and Ontology Engineering as well as Natural Language Processing.
Asst Prof Kimberly Kline	Enterococci are one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections and cause a variety of disease states including endocarditis, bacteremia, meningitis, wound infections, and urinary tract infections. The ability to form biofilms in vivo and in the environment is critical for many enterococcus infections. Enterococcal and other Gram positive infections are increasingly problematic due to the rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are of particular concern in hospital settings. Enterococcus faecalis can also share antibiotic resistance genes with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) resulting in bacterial infections that are exceptionally difficult to treat. Therefore, discovering new strategies to combat infections caused by these organisms is of utmost importance. E. faecalis must interact with other bacteria to transfer genetic material and with host cells to cause disease, and utilize extracellular proteins and polymers (pili) to mediate these processes. Thus, understanding protein secretion and the pathways that assemble and attach the extracellular proteins to the cell surface promotes our understanding of pathogenesis. We previously demonstrated that several E. faecalis surface proteins are secreted, polymerized, and anchored to the cell wall at distinct focal sites on the bacterial surface. Using a combination of genetics, genomics, biochemistry, and imaging, we are exploring the molecular mechanisms that dictate site selection, organization, and maintenance of localized virulence factor assembly sites in bacteria. We integrate studies of basic cellular processes with in vivo infection models to assess the contribution of localized surface structure biogenesis to disease progression. We have developed several urinary tract infection models to study the pathogenesis of Gram positive organisms. These and other models enable the study of in vivo biofilm formation, infection dynamics, and the host response. Collectively, we assess the functional consequence of perturbing focal localization of virulence factor assembly at the single cell level, the bacterial population level, and in models of disease. The overarching goal of these studies is to understand new aspects of fundamental biological processes and to identify novel anti-infective and therapeutic targets.
Prof Klaus Erik Karjalainen	All the cells of the blood and immune system are derived ultimately from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Therefore, understanding of the rules that govern the maintenance and turn over of HSC is the key to the whole hematopoietic system and especially important to the further improvement of the efficiency of bone marrow (BM) and cord blood transplantations in clinics. Using in vitro culture systems and genetically modified BM and stromal cells we attempt to build a niche that can support HSC self-renewal and hence provide us unlimited source of HSC for therapeutical purposes. T lymphocytes are the main players in adaptive immunity and the deficiency in their production or function can lead e.g. to dramatic immunodeficiences as exemplified by AIDS and to increasingly more prevalent immune dysfunctions associated in aging. Since T lymphocytes are generated in thymus we have started to characterize novel genes that are induced and expressed in developing thymocytes. We will use cell biological, genetical, and biochemical approaches in order to understand their roles in T cell development.
Assoc Prof Koh Cheng Gee	Our laboratory is interested in the signal transduction events involving small GTPases of the Rho family, their regulators and effectors. These proteins play key roles in transducing extracellular stimuli into distinct responses including cell shape changes, cell motility, adhesion, cell division and phagocytosis. The emphasis of our current research is on the kinase PAK, its interacting protein PIX and a family of serine/threonine phosphataes of the PP2C family, POPXs.
Assoc Prof Konstantin Pervushin	Solution NMR spectroscopy. NMR in solution will be used as a primary tool to elucidate structure and dynamics of IAPP and its mimics in physiologically relevant complexes encountered in health. I specialize on NMR pulse sequence, software and hardware developments in the area of NMR spectroscopy of biomolecules in solution using NMR. The main focus is development of advanced solution NMR and computational techniques to attack challenging biological problems such as structure/dynamics investigations of refolded proteins, membrane proteins, structures of molecular machines assisting heme transfer and folding of other proteins, ligand/protein complexes, large multimeric enzymes, ion channels. We developed a new TROSY concept, which allowed structural studies of large proteins (e.g. 220 kDa complex of immuno-complement proteins). Since NMR structural work should be conducted with medium and large (according to current NMR standards) proteins and protein complexes the use of the advanced NMR techniques such as TROSY, CRINEPT, LTROSY and TROSY-SPI will be critical. Dynamic behaviour of IAPP and analogues will be studied by NMR relaxation methods developed. We developed an automatic assignment of protein resonances program SideLink and extended it to direct spectrum analysis drastically speeding up structure determination of medium sized proteins.
Assoc Prof Kwoh Chee Keong	Development of a Computer Prediction System For Rational Design Of HLA-Based Peptide Vaccine; Data Mining and Analysis on Infectious Disease Heterogeneous Multi-Core Systems For Bioinformatics Constrained Optimzation for Bioinformatics Protein Interaction Network Analysis Using Graph Mining Approaches
Assoc Prof (Adj) Lai Siang Hui	Cardiovascular pathology
Prof Lars Nordenskiold	• Chromatin Biophysics: Electrostatic and Molecular Mechanisms of Chromatin Condensation • DNA Compaction and Gene Delivery
Prof Laszlo Tora	Dynamics of chromatin structure and transcription regulation Our main research interest is to study how specific protein coding genes are turned on and off in the nucleus of a given cell, during growth, differentiation and development. We use biochemical, genetic, cell biology, imaging and structural approaches to study the problem of control of gene expression in different metazoan organisms. Our research is broadly centered on three different axes, which all aim to better understand RNA polymerase II transcription: (i) the role of different proteins belonging in the TATA box binding protein (TBPs) protein family, (ii) the role of TBP-associated factor (TAF)-containing complexes (i.e. TFIID and SAGA); and (iii) the role of histone acetyl transferase (HAT)-containing chromatin remodeling coactivator complexes (i.e. SAGA and ATAC) in gene regulation. Our current and planned activities aim to better understand gene regulatory processes in different cellular systems and also during the development of intact vertebrate organisms. Our work on the different transcription factors also contributes to a better understanding of how a polyglutamine expansion in a SAGA subunit causes a neurodegenerative disorder (i.e. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7) or how the deregulation of the deubiquitination function of human SAGA causes metastatic cancers. Some recent publication on these topics: Lang G, Bonnet J., Umlauf D., Karmodiya K., Koffler J., Stierle M., Devys D.* and Tora L.* (2011) The tightly controlled deubiquitination activity of the human SAGA complex differentially modifies distinct gene regulatory elements. Mol. Cell Biol. 31, 3734-3744. (* Co-corresponding authors) Krebs A.R., Karmodiya K., Lindahl-Allen M., Struhl K. and Tora L. (2011) SAGA and ATAC histone acetyl transferase complexes regulate distinct sets of genes and ATAC defines a class of p300-independent enhancers. Molecular Cell. 44, 410-423. Helmrich A., Ballarino M. and Tora L. (2011) Collisions between replication and transcription complexes cause common fragile site instability at the longest human genes. Molecular Cell. 44, 966-77. Anamika K., Gyenis A., Poidevin L., Poch O., and Tora L. (2012) RNA polymerase II pausing downstream of core histone genes is different from genes producing polyadenylated transcripts. PLoS ONE, 7(6):e38769. Karmodiya K, Krebs A.R., Oulad-Abdelghani M., Kimura H. and Tora L. (2012) H3K9 and H3K14 acetylation co-occur at many gene regulatory elements, while H3K14ac marks a subset of inactive inducible promoters in mouse embryonic stem cells. BMC Genomics, 13:424 Ballarino M., Jobert L., Dembélé D., de la Grange P., Auboeuf D. and Tora L. (2012) TAF15 is important for cellular proliferation and regulates the expression of a subset of cell cycle genes through miRNAs. Oncogene, in press (Epub available on PubMed). Bieniossek C., Papai G., Schaffitzel C., Garzoni F., Chaillet M., Scheer E., Papadopoulos P., Tora L., Schultz P. and Berger I. (2013) The architecture of human general transcription factor TFIID core complex. Nature. 2013 Jan 6. doi: 10.1038/nature11791. [Epub ahead of print]
Asst Prof Lau Wai Man	Dr Lau's areas of expertise are Fluidization, Multiphase Flow, and Reactor Design. His current research works focus on the kinetic and hydrodynamic study of Fisher-Tropsch Synthesis process, particle formulation and inhaler design in dry powder inhalation, and process engineering study of microalgae cultivation. For more information, please visit his research homepage at: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/WMLau/
Prof (Adj) Laurent Claude Renia	Malaria is one of the most serious infectious disease of humans, with 300–600 million clinical cases and 1-2 million deaths annually. Adaptive immune responses in the host limit the clinical impact of infection and provide partial protection against pathogen replication; Worldwide, most infections are clinically silent, reflecting the ability of adaptive immune mechanisms to prevent disease. In non-immune individuals, infections are more clinically overt, and a minority of these can become severe or life threatening, manifesting a range of overlapping syndromes of complex aetiologies. Our global objectives are: 1) to identify correlates of protection or pathology against Plasmodium infection. This will allow to determine whether the immune responses associated with specific antigens play a role in the induced protection and subsequently to identify mechanisms of this protection against infection. 2) to define the basis of parasite sequestration and how the immune system can participate or interfere with this process.
Prof Law Sai-Kit Alex	The main interest remains in the understanding of the relationship between protein conformational change and function. In particular, the experimental work focuses on the integrins including the analysis of mutations found in patients with leukocyte adhesion deficicney type-1.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Lee Cheow Lei James	Radiation Physics for Radiotherapy, in particular: - Radiation dosimetry techniques for verification of dose and dose calculation algorithms - Physics of Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy and Volumetric Modulated Radiotherapy - Treatment Planning studies - Monte Carlo simulation studies - 4DCT for Radiotherapy
Asst Prof Lee Jong-Min	Prof Lee's research interest is in analysis and design of electrochemical systems and development of ionic liquid as a green solvent for chemical and biomedical reactions and of nanomaterials and of their assemblies for applications in biomedical, optical, and electronic fields. Currently, his research interests focus on: i) the electrodeposition of mesoporous materials in a dual template utilizing porous anodic alumina and lyotropic liquid crystal for electrochemical energy systems, ii) the development of ionic liquids as media for chemical and biomedical reactions, iii) the extraction of metal ions using ionic liquids, iv) and the deconstruction of biomass feedstock using ionic liquids for production of fermentable sugars.
Asst Prof Lee Kijoon	His research interest is over a broad area of interaction of light with human tissue, with the application in medical imaging in mind. Main research field is noninvasive deep tissue probing by diffuse optics, including diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS). He is experienced in both instrumentation and numerical image reconstruction, and is actively performing research on building a clinical device for breast cancer screening, brain activity monitoring, and blood perfusion monitoring in lower limb. Collaborating institutions are National Cancer Center in Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and A*STAR.
Assoc Prof Leong Kah Fai	His principal areas of research interests are in rapid prototyping and its applications in biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, product design and development science and design education.
Assoc Prof Li Hoi Yeung	1. Regulation of mitotic catastrophe 2. Regulation of spindle assembly and chromosome segregation. 3. Production of the RanGTP gradient in vivo. 4. Functional study of the RanGTPase in cell cycle progression. 5. Regulation of RCC1 during apoptosis
Assoc Prof Li Hua	Dr. Li Hua's area of expertise is computational science and engineering. His current research works focus on the multiphysics modelling of soft matters (smart hydrogel in BioMEMS and biological cell in micro scale fields), development of highly efficient numerical computational methodology (meshless & multiscale algorithms), simulation of sustainable energy (building energy efficiency and fuel cell system), and dynamics (high-speed rotating shell and composite materials structure).
Assoc Prof Li Lin	(i) polymeric gels & hydrogels, (ii) controlled drug release from hydrogels, (iii) synthesis of nanoparticles for gene delivery, (iv) development of conductive polymers for fuel cells, (v) fabrication of micro- to nano-sized drug particles, (vi) polymer rheology & processing, etc.
Assoc Prof Li Tianhu	Associate Professor Li Tianhu's areas of expertise are nucleic acid chemistry (deoxyribozyme, G-quadruplex, i-motif, supercoiled DNA). His current research focuses are mainly on the following areas: 1. Design and construction of supercoiled DNA structures that possess desired topology and superheliex density. Generation of supercoiled structure of DNA in eukaryotic cells is associated with replication, transcription, and packing of DNA into chromatin while in prokaryotic cell, this superstructure can form with the assistance of gyrase and reverse gyrase. Typically, magnitude of superhelical density in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is ca. -0.06 (6% underwinding). Our group is interested in designing and constructing negatively and positively supercoiled DNA that possess superhelical densities between -0.24 and +0.024 and in examining the physical, chemical and biological properties of these DNA topological isomers (Figure A). 2. Development of human topoisomerases inhibitors. Topoisomerases are the enzymes that release the topological stress of DNA generated by replication and transcription and several other cellular processes and are critical for cell growth and proliferation. It has been demonstrated in the past that human topoisomerase I is the molecular target of several anticancer agents such as the camptothecins, indolocarbazoles and indenoisoquinolines. Since 2005, our research group has been working on (1) design and synthesis of intrinsically curved oligonucleotides of different lengths that contain matched unnatural bases, nicked and gapped sites as well as mismatched base pairs; (2) examination of inhibitory effect of these curved oligonucleotides on the activity of human topoisomerase I and their interating mechanisms; and (3) design and synthesis of oligonucleotide-based human topoisomerase II inhibitors (Figure B). 3. Search for self-cleaving and self-splicing deoxyribosomes It was uncovered in our lab in 2007 that certain artificially designed non-biologically relevant G-quadruplet could carry out site-specific self-cleavage action. Since then, our research team has been examining the G-quadruplex structures formed by some telometric repeats with the expectation that such G-quadruplexes could perform self-cleaving and self-splicing actions as well (Figure C). 4. Design and synthesis of G-quadruplex-based anticancer drug candidates G-quadruplexes have been demonstrated by several research groups in the past to be potential targets of anti-cancer drugs. Our research team is interested in developing new reagents that could cause irreversible damage to the tetraplex entity in selective manners. 5. Nutritional and food Chemistry Our emphasis in these research areas are on investigating the biological activity of polyphenol antioxidants isolated from plant-based food and their anti-aging activity.
Asst Prof (Adj) Li Xiaoli	Data Mining (WEB and Text Mining), Bioinformatics Machine learning
Asst Prof Lian Heng	Asst Prof Lian Heng?s areas of expertise are Pattern recognition and machine learning, Bayesian analysis with applications to biological and financial data, functional modeling.
Assoc Prof Liang Zhao-Xun	I am interested in the structure and function of some newly discovered proteins that are of potential importance for the treatment of human diseases. The proteins under investigation range from enzymes involved in antitumor natural products biosynthesis to potential antimicrobial targets in pathogenic bacteria.
Asst Prof Lim Sierin	The rapid advancement of nanotechnology in the past decades results in developments of individual units that can be assembled to form hyrarchical systems with varying complexity. Our lab focuses on the design, engineering, and development of hybrid nano/microscale devices from biological parts by utilizing protein engineering as assembly tool towards future healthcare and sustainable earth. Understanding the assembly mechanism of various protein-based nanocapsules and applying them as molecular carriers in medicine are our primary foci. In addition, we are interested in exploring novel applications for these nanocapsules. Three protein nanocapsules with unique properties are under investigation: E2, Ferritin, and Vault. To address some aspects of the energy concerns, we are also working on incorporating photosynthetic organisms, chloroplasts, and light harvesting photosystems in the development of protein-based photovoltaic device.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Lim Soon Tiong Alvin	Dr Alvin Lim's research interests are in constitutional chromosomal abnromalities and copy number changes seen at prenatal diagnosis and in newborns. He is also actively involved in investigating chromosomal and gene rearrangements seen in haematological disorders, in particular multiple myeloma. His earlier research activities were on human oocytes and spermatozoa when he was with the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Singapore General Hospital.
Assoc Prof Lin Chun Ling Valerie	Estrogen and progesterone are essential for the development of normal mammary gland. They are also implicated in the development of breast cancer. The function of progesterone seems to come second after estrogen. Biologically, the expression of progesterone receptor (PR) in the target tissue is primarily dependent on the presence of estrogens so progesterone is only active in cells treated with estrogen. Evolutionarily, estrogen was the first steroid receptor to evolve and this was followed by a progesterone receptor. Our primary area of interest is to understand how PR modulate the activity of ER and what the significance of this modulation is in the context of breast cancer treatment. We are also characterizing the function of some novel progesterone-regulated genes in order to understand the down-stream pathways of PR. Tetratricopeptide repeat domain 9 (TTC9) codes for a 25 kD protein that was recently identified by our laboratory. It was also found an estrogen-inducible gene in mice. Our current research is to study the interacting proteins for TTC9 and to generate TTC9 knockout mice for functional studies. Tripartite motif-containing 22 (TRIM22) belongs to TRIM family of proteins that have a conserved domain structure consisting of a RING domain, followed by one or two B-boxes domains and a Coiled-coil domain (CC). TRIM22 was initially discovered as an interferon-inducible gene which was later found to inhibit clonogenic growth in leukemic cells, but it is better known for its anti-viral properties. We have found that TRIM22 protein form distinct nuclear bodies and the TRIM22 bodies undergo dynamic changes during cell cycle progression. Furthermore, it is immensely under-expressed in breast cancer cells compared to normal mammary epithelial cells. The current research effort for TRIM22 is directed to understand how it is inactivated in breast cancer cells and the molecular mechanism of action of TRIM22 in normal mammary epithelial cells.
Assoc Prof Lin Feng	Dr Lin's research interest includes biomedical informatics, biomedical imaging and visualization, computer graphics, high-performance computing. Currently active funded projects include: AcRF - Nonrigid graphics shaders for GPU, A-Star/BMRC - Creating an In Vivo Navigational Cellular Fluorescence Imaging System with Dynamically Optimized Endomicroscopy, AcRF - Real-time Diagnostic Endomicroscopy, A-Star/SERC - Collaborative Creation and Application of Interactive Digital Media over the Internet, AcRF - Cellular Fluorescence Imaging with Endomicroscopy, AcRF - Dynamically Adaptable Neurocomputer and Its Application to Recognition of Steroid Hormone Response Elements, SingHealth Foundation Development of a Real-time Fluorescence Endoscopy Diagnostic System for the Early Detection of Oral and Bladder Cancers, NTU/BPE Cluster SEED Funding - Gene Expression Profiling with Oligonucleotide Microarray Technology; and some completed funded projects: SCE ER Lab Research Programme Grant DNA Chip Design Programme, BMRC&NMRC Joint Research Fund - Elucidation of Expression Profiles of Genes in Alpha-fetoprotein Positive and Alpha-fetoprotein Negative Hepatocellular Carcinoma by cDNA Microarray Analysis, AcRF - Design and Simulation of Artificial Bone Implantation, NMRC Research Fund -Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: 3D Imaging for Staging and Treatment Planning, AcRF - Design and Development of Bio-medical Devices Using Rapid Prototyping (RP) Techniques, AcRF - Real-time Dynamic Simulation, MOH & Singapore Totalisator Research Fund - Transforming Medical Ultrasound Scanning into 3-Dimensional Real-time Organ Imaging to Aid Clinical Diagnosis.
Assoc Prof Lin Zhiping	Dr Zhiping Lin's research interests include multidimensional systems and signal processing, array and radar signal processing, and biomedical signal processing.
Asst Prof Lisa Onaga	The mass production and global export of silk commodities that made imperial Japan a formidable international power relied, in no small part, on the scientific improvement of the domesticated silk moth species, Bombyx mori. I am currently preparing a book manuscript (working title: Anatomy of a Hybrid: Cultivation of Silk and Genetics in Modern Japan”) that chronicles the Japanese pursuit of the ideal silk cocoon type in the archipelago and its role in generating biological knowledge. The material object of the scientific hybrid cocoon, a result of breeding Japanese varieties with those from China and elsewhere, stands as a focal point of the book, a history of breeding science and genetics from the late nineteenth century through the post-World War II era. Archival research in laboratory archives, libraries, and private collections in Japan, the United States, and the National Archives of Thailand inform this analysis of the tensions between scientists and stake holders in the silk industry. Together with detailed descriptions of the partner species and the shared human-animal product, this book illustrates why the creation of the scientific hybrid served as a potent site for understanding an entanglement of industrial standardization, biological race, and national identity in Japan. Through the object of the cocoon, I show that what appeared to circulate as universalized biological knowledge had a particular genealogy connected to the ancient but changing craft of silk-making and with it, changing ideologies of the state and Japan’s relation to the world. Any comprehensive historical understanding of Japanese modern biology before, during, and after empire must necessarily engage with the cocoon. My newer research involves the history of post-war efforts to rebuild, if not rehabilitate, bioscience through efforts to preserve genetic resources at the national and global levels. By attending to postwar discussions in Japan about creating national infrastructure for “strain preservation,” I study how activities built around the infrastructure previously created for silkworm genetics gave way to a national discourse concerning “bioresource management” that set the stage for the National Bioresource Project present today. I am also working on the history of silkworm genetics in the atomic age and am interested in how scientists who experienced wartime re-initiated their mutation experiments and served positions of leadership in high-profile roundtable discussions on the effects of radiation on lifeforms in 1950s and 1960s Japan. Addition work on the communication of Mendelian thought in Meiji Japan is slated to appear in an edited volume on the topic of agriculture and genetics. Another aspect of my research program focuses on the experiences of Asian American scientists in the biosciences and more broadly, the migration of Japanese breeding/cultivation knowledge to the Americas. I’m currently completing a journal article on the late Ray Wu, a Chinese-descent molecular biologist who played an instrumental role in the early history of DNA sequencing in the 1960s and 1970s. On tap is an ongoing project on the history of Japanese chicken sexing expertise and its relationship to eugenic science. This work will complement Nikkei studies of the diasporic experiences of expert chicken sexers before and after the exclusionary immigration policies of the United States. I am also collecting materials related to the history of ornamental fish breeding and the introduction of koi to the United States as a way to understand a phenomenon opposite of the standardized silk cocoon, which involves the cultivation and extraordinary value of individuality and difference. Related work will appear in a short essay in an edited volume, Hapa Japan: History, Identity, and Representations (Duncan Williams, ed.)
Assoc Prof Liu Ding Xiang	Research interest My current research focuses on the molecular cell biology, virus-host interactions, replication mechanisms and pathogenesis of coronavirus and dengue virus. Systematic characterization of the molecular and cellular events occurring during the life cycles of coronavirus and dengue virus, including host responses to the infection and the functions of individual viral proteins in their replication and pathogenesis, would greatly increase our understanding of the biology of these viruses. Such an understanding will ultimately lead to the development of anti-viral prophylactic and therapeutic approaches, such as vaccines and drugs. Current projects include: 1. Global screen and characterization of host cell factors involved in the replication and pathogenesis of coronavirus and dengue virus. 2. Characterization of host anti-viral responses, especially the pathways involved the Toll-like receptors and RIG-I-like receptors, during coronavirus and dengue infections. 3. Functional analysis of viral RNA elements and proteins in the replication and pathogenesis of coronavirus and dengue virus, by using reverse genetics approaches. 4. Exploration of the potential of using coronavirus as delivery and therapeutic vectors. Selected publications
Asst Prof (Adj) Liu Jiang, Jimmy	Medical Image Processing Image Guided Robot Assisted Surgical Training Computer Aided-Diagnosis Cloud-based Tele-Diagnosis System
Asst Prof Liu Linbo	My research interests are mainly focused on development and validation of non-invasive, cellular and sub-cellular resolution imaging methods for disease diagnosis and life science research. In Bouma/Tearney lab at MGH and HMS, I have developed and established a new generation of OCT technology termed micro-Optical Coherence Tomography (µOCT). µOCT provides a spatial resolution that is more than one magnitude higher than the standard OCT technology. This improved resolution of µOCT enables visualization of human tissue microstructures at the sub-cellular level ex vivo, and makes it possible to visualize the cellular and subcellular anatomy and dynamic processes in diseases like cancer and coronary artery diseases in vivo at a scale comparable to histopathology. Together with Dr Gary J Tearney and Dr Steven M Rowe, I have also developed a µOCT-based imaging assay for investigating mucociliary clearance in Cystic Fibrosis, COPD, Asthma and other obstructive pulmonary airway diseases, which enables simultaneous measurement of important anatomic parameters required for assessing mucociliary clearance under natural conditions, including airway surface liquid and periciliary liquid depth, ciliary beat frequency, ciliary beat pattern, mucus transport rate, mucus rheology, and mucus extrusion from the gland. My other research activities include study of leukocyte chemotaxis and motile cilia activities using optical microscopy. TWO GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE AREA OF OPTICAL BIOIMAGING Successful candidates will join leading efforts in the development and application of new optical imaging techniques such as next-generation optical coherence tomography imaging, endoscopic microscopy, and multimodality imaging, and application of the new techniques in the research areas such as cancer diagnosis and eye disorders. Requirements for graduate fellowship applicants Self-motivated candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, instrumentation, and optical telecommunications are encouraged to apply. GRE and TOEFL (or IELTS) scores are required.
Asst Prof Liu Quan	• Biophotonics • Biomedical optical spectroscopy and imaging • Non-invasive medical diagnostics • Biomedical instrumentation • Computer simulation of electromagnetic wave in tissue
Prof Loh Teck Peng	Teck Peng's research interests encompass a very wide array in organic synthesis. Research activities include green chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, the development of new synthetic methodology, and total synthesis of architecturally complex organic molecules with interesting biological activities. He also discovered many new concepts and methods for organic synthesis and completed the total synthesis of many complex molecules. To date, he has published 153 papers in international refereed journals, 106 conference papers, 5 book chapters, Hirsch-index of 38 and a total number of 3891 citations. He has been the Principal Investigator of several research grants, with total exceeding S$5 million, awarded by A*Star and Ministry of Education. Being the program leader of Medicinal Chemistry at National University of Singapore, he spearheaded a number of main programs and they were completed successfully. He has been a frequent plenary speaker or invited speaker at many international conferences. Recently, he is invited to the Editorial Advisory Board of ChemComm to shape one of the world?s top chemistry journals. He has also been frequently invited to write book chapters, review articles, etc. Teck Peng was awarded the prestigious Japanese Government (Mombusho) scholarship, which was only given to 5 students in Malaysia every year, from 1982 to 1989. In 1997, National University of Singapore bestowed him the University Outstanding Researcher Award. He has been the Adjunct Professor of Soo Chow University (China) and Tsukuba University (Japan) since 2002 and 2005 respectively. He was also the Visiting Professor of Columbia Medical School, Columbia University (USA) from 2002 to 2003. Recently, he was awarded by NTU for NTU Research Innovation Award.
Assoc Prof Loo Say Chye Joachim	I. Particulate Systems as Drug Carriers A range of biocompatible materials (i.e. PLGA and hydroxyapatite) are synthesized as microparticles and/or nanoparticles for drug delivery. In this work, we have synthesized multi-layered particles with drug localization at different layers. The aim is to control the release of drugs by altering particle size, layer thickness and other particulate parameters. On the same platform, mesoporous bioglass and hydroxyapatite are also synthesized to release therapeutic proteins. II. Targeted Delivery of Hybrid Particles for Osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis, or bone infection, is currently treated through systemic delivery of antibiotics over a period of time. Our approach is to utilize nanoparticles as drug carriers to delivery antibiotics to infected bone tissues, thereby increasing efficacy and reducing drug dosage. In this work, we have synthesized hybrid particles, with PLGA as core and hydroxyapatite as coating. These particles will be targeted to infected bone sites through the use of a suitable targeting ligand. III. Drug-eluting Balloons (DEB) The aim of Drug-eluting Balloons (DEB) is to deliver drugs on-site during balloon angioplasty. In this work, we have developed strategies to control the release of drugs through biodegradable films, with self-adhesive properties. IV. Nanotoxicology A library of nanomaterials are synthesized and tested for their toxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity tests are conducted through a range of assays and in vivo tests are conducted on zebrafish models. Toxicity results will be evaluated in reference to various particulate parameters to ascertain the key properties that influence toxicity and biocompatibility.
Asst Prof Lou Xiong Wen	Nanomaterials for High-performance Lithium-ion Batteries and supercapacitors, Hollow nanostructures, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis
Assoc Prof Lu Guoxing	Prof Lu's primary research interest is fundamentals in impact and crashworthiness of structures and materials, which can be applied to design of vehicle structures such as automobiles and aircraft. He has conducted extensive in-depth studies of crashing of thin-walled structures, ductile tearing behaviour of metals, mechanical properties of novel cellular materials such as honeycombs and aluminium foams. His recent interests are the behaviour of novel sandwich panels subject to impact and blast loadings, buckling of nanotubes and mechanics of cells.
Asst Prof Lu Lanyuan	●Developing computational methods for multiscale modeling of biomolecular systems. ● Coarse-grained simulations of biomembranes, peptides, and proteins.
Asst Prof Lu Lei	Our lab is interested in the biogenesis and homeostasis of organelles. Currently, we are focusing the following three areas: 1) The organization of the ER 2) The assembly\disassembly of nuclear envelope and nuclear pores 3) The regulation of Golgi structure and function by Arl small GTPases
Assoc Prof Luo Qian Kathy	Prof. Luo's areas of expertise include genetic and protein engineering, design and application of fluorescent-based biosensor in living cell analysis, apoptosis, cancer cell metastasis, microfluidics systems and nanomization using supercritical CO2 method. Her current research works focus on four areas: 1. Drug discovery: Using a biosensor-based high throughput assay to discover novel anti-cancer drugs from Chinese herbal medicines and study the mechanisms of drug action. 2. Cancer Research: Applying the FRET-based caspase sensor to study apoptosis, metastasis and angiogenesis in co-culture system, zebrafish and nude mice models. 3. Nanomedicine and pharmaceutical engineering: Using nanotechnology to enhance the solubility and bioavailability of drug candidates and determine their pharmacokinetic profiles using the Caco-2 cell monolayer model and in animals. 4. Microfluidic research: Using MEMS technology to study the mechanisms of endothelial cell dysfunction in the vascular complications of diabetes in microfluidic systems.
Asst Prof (Adj) Madhavan Nallani	We are interested in combining the proteins with polymeric self-assembled architectures. We aim to select the proteins either from nature or modified ones (e.g. by re-combinant ways or synthetic de-novo peptides). Block co-polymers as self-assembled architectures offer a unique possibility for the structural control of materials at the nano-scopic scale. Such control enables one to tune the properties for specific applications. We are exploring the above combination in applications such as sensing.
Assoc Prof Mao Kezhi	Computational Intelligence, Pattern Recognition, Medical Image Processing and Analysis, Bioinformatics
Asst Prof Marcos	His research interests include small scale fluid dynamics, microfluidics, swimming in non-Newtonian fluids, and bio-locomotion.
Prof Mark Featherstone	Hox gene products and their partners (PBX, MEIS, PREP) are homeodomain-containing transcription factors that pattern the embryo along the antero-posterior axis of the trunk and limbs, in addition to directing morphogenetic/organogenetic processes, and hematopoiesis in the adult. Importantly, the mis-expression of Hox genes and their partners has been directly implicated in human leukemias, and in the maintenance/suppression of stem cell character. Studies in my lab focus on two basic questions concerning the function of these gene families: First, what are the regulatory mechanisms that ensure that Hox genes and their partners are deployed correctly in time and space during embryogenesis? Second, how do these homeodomain proteins function as transcription factors in terms of DNA-binding specificity, partner recognition, co-regulator recruitment, chromatin modification, and subcellular localization? Our ongoing projects include (1) the analysis of chromatin modifications accompanying Hoxd4 activation in the embryo (Rastegar et al, 2004), and the identification of the trans-acting factors that bind to Hoxd4 promoter and enhancer elements (Nolte et al, 2006; Kobrossy et al, 2006); (2) the investigation of mechanisms by which protein kinase A modulates transcriptional activation by MEIS (Saleh et al, 2000; Huang et al, 2005; Goh et al, in preparation); (3) the examination of the roles of cytoskeletal systems in controlling the subcellular localization of PBX, MEIS and PREP (Huang et al, 2003; Haller et al, 2002; 2004).
Prof Martyn R Partridge	After early work on chemotherapy for lung cancer and study of the site of airflow limitation in asthma, his more recent research has concentrated upon evaluating the delivery of healthcare to those with respiratory illnesses. This includes evaluation of service enhancements such as telephone consultations, use of lay educators, Electronic asthma and COPD action plans, and methods of enhancing communication between both patients and doctors, and specialists and GPs. He has a particular interest in the subject of health literacy and in simplifying information materials and questionnaires to enhance widespread comprehension.Research in the field of Medical Educacation has focused mainly upon evaluation of E Learning Methodologies.
Asst Prof Mayasari Lim	Dr. Mayasari Lim's research focus lies in the area of stem cells and regenerative medicine with current applications in blood and cardiac cell based therapy. The primary goals in her lab is to develop more biologically relevant/mimicking in vitro models and ex vivo systems for studying various diseases, understanding biology and provide improved cell based therapies.
Assoc Prof Miao Jianmin	MEMS, biochip and nanofabrication technologies, inertial sensors, acoustical and ultrasonic transducers, RF MEMS, biosensors, MEMS for environmental monitoring, carbon nanotubes based NEMS, through-silicon via interconnects, MEMS packaging.
Prof Michael Alan Ferenczi	Prof Ferenczi’s interest is the understanding of the molecular mechanism of movement in biological systems. Since muscle is an organ specialised in the achievement of movement, his focus is on biophysics and biochemistry of muscle fibres using permeabilised muscle fibres from a variety of sources, caged-compounds, fluorescent reporter probes, low angle X-ray diffraction at ESRF, FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) and SHG.
Asst Prof Michael David Gumert	Currently, a long-term research project is being developed out of NTU to study the long-tailed macaques of Singapore and surrounding nations, such as Thailand and Indonesia. Macaques provide us a model for understanding the basis of behavior, and this project will investigate social exchange, aggression, cooperation, communication and movement patterns. In addition, Singapore currently needs a thorough understanding of their macaque population to develop strategies to resolve the human-macaque conflict issues that have become a growing concern throughout SE Asia. With such knowledge, Singapore could develop the model wildlife management program for maintaining a healthy macaque population in close proximity to human settlement. One major focus of the research program has been investigating cooperation in Indonesian long-tailed macaques. Recently, the research program released a series of studies investigating social exchange in macaques. It was discovered how grooming is used as a trade medium to coordinate cooperative exchange, and how the amount of grooming performed towards a partner was based on the current social market. Male macaques direct grooming to females mainly in a sexual context. During direct exchanges with mating, males groom females longer when competition for females is greater, as measured by supply of females per male. Similar results were found for female-to-mother grooming exchanges for infant handling. Here, the supply of infants per females influenced grooming payment. The foundation of these exchanges may be that grooming establishes a level of tolerance between a pair. This increased tolerance facilitates cooperation. Most likely through physiological and neurobiological alterations, the interface of grooming and the conditions of the surrounding social environment modulate an individual's motivation to cooperate. On islands in the Andaman Sea, Dr. Gumert and researchers from Chulalongkorn University have begun an investigation on a unique form of stone tool use. Here long-tailed macaques live on small islands and frequently come down to the rocky beaches where oysters are attached to large boulders and crabs, snails, and clams are abundant. To exploit these hard-shelled food sources, the macaques regularly use stone hammers. Research is investigating how this behavior may have emerged, how it is maintained, and how it compares to other forms of animal tool use. Moreover, these macaques use a unique form of axe hammering which may have implications for understanding early hominid tool use. In Singapore, research is being initiated that will explore social exchange and cooperation, the structure of societies, aggression and formation of power-based coalitions, social communication, grouping and movement patterns, and hormonal and genetic influences on behavior. In collaboration with Nparks, an investigation will be carried out on the urbanized monkeys of Bukit Timah, and Upper and Lower Pierce Reservoirs. In order to compare the behavior of Singapore's urbanized macaque population, a research project is also currently being put together to continue investigations in Indonesia. In collaboration with Universitas Indonesia and the Orangutan Foundation UK, researchers will investigate a much less disturbed population of monkeys in Tanjung Puting National Park, in Central Kalimantan, that live in their typical river edge environments. By comparing rural populations in Indonesia with the urban populations of Singapore, we can learn how urbanization has changed the behavioral patterns of Singaporean macaques.
Assoc Prof Mu Yuguang	Research Fields 1. MD simulation method and data analysis method development. 2. DNA dynamics, DNA ?protein, DNA-counterions interaction study. 3. Peptide, protein folding, unfolding study, specially aimed at folding, misfolding mechanism which could lead to amyloid fibril. 4. RNA dynamics and folding study.
Assoc Prof Murukeshan Vadakke Matham	Associate Professor Murukeshan V Matham's research expertise and focus interests falls under the category of (i) Biomedical Optics, Nanoscale optics (Evanescent and Surface Plasmon lithography and nanopatterning)(iii)Applied Optics, (iv) Optical Metrology, and (v) Fiber Optic sensing (IF, PCF, HiBiF and POF). The details of his Research Frontiers and current projects can be found in brief as given below: RESEARCH FRONTIERS & CURRENT FOCUS (i) Nanoscale optics (ii) Biomedical optics (High resolution multimodlaity optical imaging and sensing) (iii) Applied Optics for precision engineering and metrology(measurement), Nondestructive testing (NDT) and machining Major Current on-going projects: (i) Multimodality multidimensional imaging for tissue imaging and cancer diagnosis (ii) Photonic Crystal and crystal fibers for communications and bio-sensing (iii) Novel Interferometric ( EW and SP) lithography for sub-60nm feature fabrications- semicon and bio applications (iv) Applied Optics/ Optical Metrology for engineering applications (v) Precision fabrication of micro lenses and fiber lenses. (vi)Optofluidics Bio-optics (fiber optics instrumentation, bio-imaging and sensing) for medical and forensic applications Major current on-going Bio-optic research Projects/ Research Interests (i)Multimodality multidimensional imaging for tissue imaging and cancer diagnosis [ On-Going] (ii)Speciality fiber optics based( IF, PCF, FBG) High depth and spatially resolved imaging for bio-applications [On-Going] (iii) Opto-digital vision system for imaging and profile mapping of intra cavities of engineering parts [ On-Going] (iv) Novel opto-digital system for early colon cancer diagnosis [On-Going] (v) Phase Resolved optical concepts for bio- imaging applications [Phase-I completed & Phase-II On-Going]. (v) Photonic crystal/ Fiber for communication and sensing applications [On-Going]
Prof Nadia Magnenat Thalmann	Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann’s interests are mainly on Virtual humans, both on the creative and the algorithmic side. One recent interest is to model the physiological Virtual Human, including specific individual modelling of organs. Among recent topics of interests : - Physics-based modelling of Clothes - Simulating the touching of clothes using haptics and force-feed back devices - Interactive Virtual try on - Modelling personalities, emotions, memory processes and relationship models for Virtual Humans and Social Robots - Modeling bones, cartilage and muscles from MRI data - Physics-based modelling of deformations of soft tissue - Motion capture methods and motion retargeting - Segmentation methods for MRI data
Assoc Prof Ng Beng Koon	My research expertises include the physics of impact ionization process in semiconductors, the design and characterization of advanced photodetectors, and the use of Biophotonics imaging techniques for medical diagnosis.
Prof (Adj) Ng Huck Hui	In general, transcriptional activation results from the tethering of sequence specific DNA binding transcription factors to their cognate sites. This leads to the assembly of transcription initiation complex at promoters and subsequent transcription elongation. The mammalian genome encodes for over 2000 transcription regulators, and many of them play critical roles in orchestration of gene expression which is fundamental to cellular phenotypes and identity of the organism. Our long term goal is to dissect the functional role of transcription regulators using two complementary technologies (1. chromatin immunoprecipitation to study the location of transcription factors in living cells, and 2. RNAi depletion to examine the response of cells in the absence of the factors). This experimental strategy will allow us to probe the functional importance of the transcription factors of interest. We have setup a system for large scale RNAi to screen for transcription factors (or other proteins) involved in the regulation of cell-type specific promoter. Complemented with ChIP, we are able to dissect the functional importance of binding of transcription factors to key regulatory elements. Our focus is on stem cell biology. We are addressing two questions: 1) What makes a stem cell a stem cell? 2) How to make a non-stem cell a stem cell?
Asst Prof Ng Kee Woei	Dr Ng's research interests centres around tissue engineering and the use of various synthetic and natural biomaterials for biomedical applications. He is also interested in fundamental studies to further our understanding of cell-material interactions. In line with this, Dr Ng also works on studying the toxicological effects of nanomaterials and the mechanicsms that lead to nanotoxicology.
Assoc Prof Ng Yin Kwee	His main area of research is thermal imaging, biomedical engineering; computational turbomachinery aerodynamics; marine sustainable energy problems; computational fluid dynamics & computational heat transfer such as laser modelling, bioheat transfer analysis. He is the: Adjunct National University Hospital Scientist; Editor-in-Chief for the J. of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology; J. Med. Imaging and Health Informatics; and strategy Assoc. Editor-in-Chief for World J. of Clinical Oncology; Assoc. Editor for Int. J. of Rotating Machinery; Computational Fluid Dynamics J. (CFDJ); Int. J. of Breast Cancer, Chinese J. of Medicine, Open Medical Informatics J., Open Numerical Methods J., J. of Healthcare Engg, J. of Scientific Conf. Proceedings, and J. of Bionanoscience; co-chairman for 15th Int. Conf. on Mechanics in Medicine and Biology (2006); co-chair of the working group on thermal imagers under Medical Technology Standards Committee by SPRING, Singapore (handling the international standardisation aspects for thermal imagers for ISO-IEC) etc.
Prof Norling Inger Birgitta	Membrane organization and mechanism of protein sorting in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Cyanobacteria are unique among eubacteria in exhibiting an organized subcellular compartmentation in the form of a highly differentiated membrane system with the internal thylakoid membrane in addition to the outer and plasma membranes. Thus there are six different compartments in cyanobacteria, three membranes and three soluble compartments, periplasm, cytoplasm and lumen, leading to a complicated system for transport and sorting of proteins into the different membranes and compartments. Isolation of pure membranes of each type has been possible by a unique method developed in my group, which exploits two different attributes of membranes, surface properties and density. By shotgun and gel-based proteomics of isolated plasma and thylakoid membranes from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 a large number of membrane proteins were identified. Proteins localized uniquely in each membrane, as well as overlapping proteins, can be used as a platform for describing a model for cellular membrane organization and protein sorting into the different cellular compartments. Uniquely localized integral membrane proteins were analyzed by multivariate sequence analysis in order to trace potential differences in sequence properties important for insertion to the correct membrane. The analysis showed that information in the whole protein or in the C-terminal region was required for class separation, indicating a post-translocon sorting mechanism. The results can be discussed in terms of membrane organization. Two different opinions prevail concerning the organization of plasma and thylakoid membranes. One is that the two membranes are continuous, making the periplasm and lumen a common compartment, the second that the membranes are completely separated. Recent publications within the project Pisareva, T., Kwon, J., Oh, J., Kim, S., Ge, C., Wieslander, Å., Choi, J-S and Norling, B. ”A model for membrane organization and protein sorting in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803; proteomics and multivariate sequence analyses” manuscript Zhang, LF., Yang, HM., Cui, SX., Hu, J., Wang, J., Kuang, T., Norling, B., and Huang, F. (2009) ”Proteomic Analysis of Plasma Membranes of Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803 in Response to High pH Stress”. J Proteome Res. 8, 2892-2902 Pisareva , T., Shumskaya , M., Maddalo, G., Ilag, L., and Norling B. (2007) “Proteomics of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: Identification of novel integral plasma membrane proteins” FEBS J. 274, 791-804 Rajalahti, T., Huang, F., Edman, M., Pisareva, T., Rosén, M., Sjöström, M., Wieslander, Å., and Norling, B. (2007) ”Proteins in different Synechocystis compartments have distinguishing N-terminal sequence features. A combined proteomics and multivariate data analysis” J. Proteom. Res. 6, 2420-2434 Fulda, S., Mikkat, S., Huang, F., Huckauf, J., Martin K., Norling, B., and Hagemann , M. (2006) ”Proteome analysis of salt stress response in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803” Proteomics 6, 2733-2745 Srivastava, R., Battchikova, N., Norling, B., Aro, EM. (2006) ” Plasma membrane of Synechocystis PCC 6803: a heterogeneous distribution of membrane proteins” Arch. Microbiol. 185, 238-243 Huang, F., Fulda, S., Hagemann, M. and Norling, B. (2006) ”Proteomic screening of salt-stress induced proteins in plasma membranes of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803”, Proteomics 6, 910-920 Srivastava, R., Pisareva, T., and Norling , B. (2005) ”Proteomic studies of the thylakoid membrane of Synechocystis sp.PCC 6803”, Proteomics 5, 49015-4916
Asst Prof Oliver Martin Mueller-Cajar	Photosynthetic organisms provide us with food and other materials by using light energy from the sun to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make usable sugars. Almost all CO2 enters the biosphere via the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco). In spite of the crucial importance of this process Rubisco is non-specific and slow, which has forced nature to hugely overexpress the protein, or to use tricks such as biochemical or biophysical carbon concentrating mechanisms to saturate the enzyme with substrate. Genomic studies have uncovered that Nature possesses a great diversity of Rubiscos and associated protein machinery to perform the task of CO2 capture, much of it poorly characterized. Research in my laboratory aims to mechanistically describe the biochemistry of CO2-fixation related machinery. By increasing our understanding of the sophisticated mechanisms existing in nature we hope to provide knowledge that can later be applied to improving the photosynthetic efficiency of crop species.
Asst Prof Pang Zhen	He is interested in developing methods for the multivariate, dependent and non-linear data. His current research emphasises on the correlated multivariate binary data analysis from developmental toxicity studies, bootstrapping data with multi-levels of variations, robust methods, survey methodology and generalized linear mixed models.
Prof Peter David Steinberg	Marine chemical ecology Marine diseases and climate change The ecology of invertebrate larvae settlement Bacterial biofilm biology and ecology Microbial ecology Kelp and seaweed ecology Environmental biotechnology Environmental bioengineering
Assoc Prof Peter Droge	please refer to http://www.sbs.ntu.edu.sg/Staff/pdroge/index.html for a detailed description
Prof Peter M. A. Sloot	I try to understand how nature processes information. I study this 'natural information processing' in complex systems by computational modeling and simulation as well as through formal methods. My work is applied to a large variety of disciplines with a focus on -but not limited to- Biomedicine. Recent work is on modeling the virology and epidemiology of infectious diseases, notably HIV, through Complex Networks, Cellular Automata and Multi-Agents. Recently in my work I try to build bridges to socio-dynamics. Currently I lead two large EU projects: ViroLab and DynaNets and supervise research from various NIH, NSF and NWO and Royal Academy projects, see my WebPages and my Research Group . All the rest via: http://staff.science.uva.nl/~sloot/
Prof Peter Preiser	My research interests focus on the molecular mechanisms by which the malaria parasite is able to avoid host immunity and adapt to changes in the host cell environment. One of the main problems in developing an efficient malaria vaccine is the ability of the parasite to evade host immune responses. Immune evasion happens both at the level of the infected red blood cell and at the process of invasion, the step at which the parasite infects a new cell. A key focus area of the lab is to understand the mechanisms on how the malaria merozoite recognizes and penetrates the erythrocyte. To address these questions we have particular focused on the role of the Reticulocyte Binding Protein Homologues (RH) family of proteins which is found in all malaria species and has been implicated on playing a role in immune evasion and parasite virulence. Using both the human parasite Plasmodium falciparum as well as the rodent parasite P. yoelii we have been able to address question relating to mechanisms regulating parasite virulence as well as getting a cleared understanding on how these large proteins mediate their function. An interesting upshot of this work is the possibility of using them as part of a malaria vaccine formulation. In addition to merozoite invasion the lab has also spend significant effort in elucidating the biological role of the STEVOR and PIR multigene families identified in P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively. While STEVOR is unique to P. falciparum the PIR multigene family is found not only in P. vivax, but also rodent and simian malaria parasites. My research group has focused on developing a range of reagents that allow us to address what the role of STEVOR is in parasite development. We have recently been able to show that STEVOR is highly expressed in patient isolates and may play an additional role in immune evasion. We are now further characterizing how STEOVR functions. The PIR gene family provides a unique opportunity to study antigenic variation in a rodent model and possibly utilize the information gained in this system to understand how these genes may work in the intractable human parasite P. vivax. Currently, our efforts focus on understanding how the pir genes are transcriptionally regulated. A more recent effort is to gain new insights into how human malaria parasites interact with their host. Until recently most research efforts have focused on using culture adapted parasites but it has become clear that significant information in relation to host parasite interactions are lost in this system. We are therefore interested in using the P. falciparum and P. vivax microarray platform developed here at NTU (in collaboration with Professor Zbynek Bozdech) to investigate differences in the transcriptional profile of parasites obtained directly from patients with different clinical symptoms. This effort has recently given significant new insights into the biology of P. vivax.
Prof Peter Wilhelm Schiller	Peter W. Schiller’s research is focused on structure-activity relationships of peptide hormones and neurotransmitters. He uses an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating organic synthesis, peptide chemistry, pharmacological testing and conformational studies, to develop new concepts in peptide drug design. His research efforts in the opioid peptide field resulted in the discovery of highly receptor-specific agonists and antagonists and mixed agonist/antagonists. Some of these compounds are widely used as pharmacological tools in opioid research or are being pursued as analgesic drug candidates. Together with Hazel H. Szeto he is the co-inventor of a new class of mitochondria-targeted peptides (SS peptides) with therapeutic potential for the treatment of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Selected Publications Szeto, H.H., Schiller, P.W. (2011). Novel therapies targeting inner mitochondrial membrane – from discovery to clinical development. Pharmaceutical Res. 28, 2669-79. Schiller, P.W. (2010). Bi- or multifunctional opioid peptide drugs. Life. Sci.86, 598-603. Weltrowska, G., Chung, N.N., Lemieux, C., Guo, J., Lu, Y., Wilkes, B.C., Schiller, P.W. (2010). ‘Carba’-Analogues of fentanyl are opioid receptor agonists. J. Med. Chem. 53, 2875-81.
Assoc Prof Phan Anh Tuan	Dr. Phan's research focuses on the use of a combination of physical, chemical and computational methods to investigate and manipulate properties of biomolecules. The research goals include: (1) Structures, dynamics, interactions and functions of DNA, RNA and proteins. (2) Noncanonical structures of DNA and RNA as molecular targets against diseases. (3) Structural design and engineering of nucleic acids and proteins. (4) Application and development of methods, including Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and other spectroscopic techniques, as well as single-molecule manipulations, for the study of biomolecular structures and dynamics.
Assoc Prof Phee Soo Jay, Louis	His current research works focus on Medical Robotics and Mechatronics in Medicine.
Assoc Prof (Adj) Philip Wong En Hou	1. Cellular Therapy and devices used for cell transplantation 2. Implantable Medical Devices 3. In-vivo imaging of disease, particularly cardiovascular related 4. Materials used for implantable devices
Assoc Prof Pina Marziliano	- Digital signal and image processing - Sampling theory and applications - Biomedical signal and image processing - Watermarking and information security - Perceptual quality metrics for multimedia
Assoc Prof Poenar Daniel Puiu	Sensors & actuators; MEMS; Si processing; (Bio)chemical sensors; bio-photonics; colour discriminators (e.g. using triple junction structures); miniaturization of bio-analitical methods (e.g. spectrometry, electrophoresis, chromatography) for (Bio)chemical applications, as well as optical detection for these separation methods; bio-photonics & opto-fluidics
Asst Prof Qu Xingda	Human Factors Engineering Human Factors Research Design Occupational Biomechanics Industrial Ergonomics and Work Physiology Occupational Safety and Health
Assoc Prof Quek Hiok Chai	His main interests includes the research and study of brain-inspired functional and computational models of memory structures that underlie the human reasoning process. In addition, advanced brain-inspired reasoning and cognition frameworks such as focus of attention, affect modeling, skill learning from novice to expert are actively investigated using the neurocognitive informatic approach. Fuzzy, Fuzzy neural, Neural, GA, GA-Neural, Rough set that maps formal fuzzy logical structures onto neural systems to perform fuzzy set derivation and Rule identification/reduction are investigated. The development of architectures that supports on-line and off-line learning fuzzy intelligent rule based systems is examined. The research issues cover fuzzy clustering, learning, modeling, fuzzy rule model, etc. These basic techniques are used to craft the brain-inspired memory learning systems. These memory learning structures are the building blocks of the functional neuro-cognitive brain and they can be broadly classified into huppocampal global semantic memories and neocortical like semantic association memories. In addition, research into CMAC and in-house developed MCMACs and Fuzzy MCMACs are actively pursued. They form a class of cerebellar like association memories that have excellent memory resolution and recall. The application areas are extensive as they rely heavily on the basic research into brain-inspired learning memory structures and brain-inspired cognitive architectures for emotion, cognition and perception modeling. The exciting application areas include computational finance ? arbitration, portfolio, trend analysis, bond and commodity trading; biomedical engineering ? diabetes modeling and control, ICU ventilator control; Affect modeling for edutainment, forensic tools, marketing research tools; Medical decision support tools ? thermograph analysis, pediatric leukemia and ovarian cancer analysis; Intelligent transportation analysis tools ? trend analysis and incident monitoring; as well as student affect modeling in Intelligent Tutoring System.
Assoc Prof Rachel Susan Kraut	Dr. Kraut's group is interested in the intracellular trafficking and biophysical behavior of sphingolipids, and the role these lipids play in neurodegeneration. The significance of sphingolipids in neurodegeneration, particularly Alzheimer's disease, is now recognized. The metabolism of these lipids is altered in the disease, and conversely, the cellular content of sphingolipids affects Alzheimer's pathogenesis and production of the disease-causing peptide, A?. In spite of the critical involvement of sphingolipids in the disease, and the intense interest this has awakened, the means available to visualize sphingolipids and their trafficking pathways in live cells remain extremely limited. We address this problem by developing fluorescently tagged probes to trace the behaviors of sphingolipids and observe how this changes under neurodegenerative conditions. We exploit a phenomenon in which plasma membrane "rafts", or nano-scale assemblages of sphingolipids and cholesterol, interact with short peptide motifs within various toxins and viruses, and mediate cellular uptake of the invading pathogen. We have developed a fluorescent probe based on the Sphingolipid Binding Domain (SBD) of A? (identified by Fantini et al). The SBD probe is internalized via a raft- and sphingolipid-dependent mechanism. Using time-lapse fluorescence imaging and quantitative colocalization with cellular markers, we have characterized precisely the intracellular trafficking behavior of the SBD probe. We also analyze the biophysical properties of the SBD peptide, using Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (collaboration with Dr. Thorsten Wohland, NUS), Surface Plasmon Resonance, and Atomic Force Microscopy. With this combination of techniques, we have determined that SBD, through interacting with a subset of sphingolipids and cholesterol, marks a small, low-mobility domain at the cell surface that is required for efficient internalization into the cell. Importantly, the trafficking behavior of SBD and other sphingolipid probes changes drastically under pharmacological treatments that alter lipid metabolism and storage, mimicking neurodegenerative conditions such as Niemann-Pick and the lipid storage diseases. We are now analyzing changes in sphingolipid trafficking, using SBD and other probes, in cellular models of Alzheimer's disease that will be amenable to high throughput analysis. Taking advantage of quantifiable changes in trafficking of these probes, intracellular trafficking analysis will be used as a cell-based drug-screening platform, where automated fluorescence imaging and quantitative colocalization can be applied as a diagnostic readout. A second interest in the lab is the role of sphingolipids and lysosomal trafficking in neurodegeneration. Neurons and other cells rid themselves of toxic aggregated proteins and damaged organelles by transporting them to degradative autophagosomes and lysosomes. When degradative function is compromised, neurons degenerate. Autophagy is controlled by sphingolipids at a number of levels, but its connection to vesicle transport is not understood. Blue-cheese is an autophagosomal/lysosomal protein in Drosophila that affects both vesicle transport and sphingolipid metabolism (Lim & Kraut, `09; Hebbar & Kraut, in prep). Degenerating motorneurons in blue cheese mutants show a severe impairment in axonal transport of GFP labeled lysosomes, similar to transport defects in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, suggesting a mechanism whereby failure in axonal transport of a degradative compartment is a primary cause of the pathology. As in the case of Alzheimer's, blue-cheese also affects sphingolipid and cholesterol metabolism in the fly. Our goal is to analyze the relationship between sphingolipid metabolism, neurodegeneration and vesicle transport in this model, using a combination of genetics, live imaging, and sphingolipidomic analysis.
Prof Rajapakse Jagath Chandana	Professor Rajapakse's areas of expertise are machine learning, brain imaging, and computational and systems biology. Professor Rajapakse has pioneered several techniques for analysis of anatomical and functional MR images. His team was the first to develop techniques to model brain connectivity in an exploratory manner, using functional MR images. Presently, his team is investigating brain connectivity patterns underlying higher-order brain functions such as language and memory, and brain disease such as Parkinson's disease. He is also working on potential applications of brain connectivity and constrained independent component analysis (cICA) in Brain Computater Interface applications, especially in identifying different mental states and extracting features robust to inter- and intra-subject variations. Professor Rajapakse is presently working on identifying key targets in biological pathways. His research is centered on identifying co-regulated genes, building gene regulary networks, fusion of protein-interactions, and identifying key molecules and core networks in pathways. His team also develops techniques to segment cells and nuclei, identify protein subcellular localizations, and model spatiotemporal changes of cell morphologies from cellular images obtained from electron microscopy and high content screening.
Assoc Prof Raju Vijayaraghavan Ramanujan	Nanomaterials are the focus of research work in Ramanujan?s group, especially magnetic and thermoelectric nanomaterials for energy, bioengineering, information storage and defense applications. Processing, characterization and property measurements are carried out in his group (presently 8 graduate students and 3 Research Fellows). Recent PhD theses include: Characterization and processing of cobalt based magnetic nanomaterials (Li Huafang),Microstructural evolution and processing of melt spun and mechanically alloyed Fe-Ni-B-Mo nanomagnetic materials (Du Siwei), Alloying effects on nanostructure formation in iron based soft magnetic materials (Yanrong Zhang) and Directed self assembly of patterned magnetic nanostructures (A. Srivastava). A strong emphasis is placed on electron microscopy and phase transformations are used as an important tool to tailor the microstructure. A bioengineering project, in collaboration with SingHealth, aims to develop magnetic nanoparticles for human liver cancer treatment. Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles, coating these particles with a suitable polymer and cancer drug, followed by in-vitro and in-vivo testing of the coated particles is being carried out. MRI imaging is being used as an investigative tool in this work. Microelectronic reliability issues, e.g., stress-induced diffusive voiding in microelectronic materials are being studied. Magnetocaloric materials for energy applications, patterned nanostructures for ultra high density data storage media, giant energy product exchange coupled magnetic nanomaterials and nanomaterials for artificial muscles, targeted drug delivery and gene delivery are topics of ongoing research.
Assoc Prof Ravi Kambadur	My laboratory has been actively involved in skeletal muscle research for the past 10 years. We have discovered that, in addition to the positive regulators of myogenesis, there are negative regulators of myogenesis too. In 1997, my laboratory discovered that mutation in the gene Myostatin, a TGF beta super-family member, causes an increased growth in the prenatal and post natal skeletal muscle. We have demonstrated the function of myostatin in three independent models that is chicken, mice and cattle. Recently myostatin?s ability to regulate muscle growth has also been demonstrated in humans. Thus Myostatin is considered to be a well conserved potent negative regulator of myogenesis. The recent research from our lab indicates that myostatin is expressed in muscle resident stem cells, Satellite cells, and induces quiescence in satellite cells. Furthermore, our research also suggests that myostatin could be involved in the self-renewal of satellite cells and specification of satellite cell lineage. The future research projects in my laboratory thus will capitalize our significant findings to unravel the molecular mechanism behind satellite cell self renewal and specification. This research has tremendous scope in regenerative medicine and therefore has applications in gene therapy and cell based therapies for muscle wasting conditions.
Assoc Prof Ruedl Christiane	My major research interest has been and continues to be how innate and adaptive immunity is regulated. In particular, dendritic cells (DCs)- the major professional antigen presenting cells of the immune system-, have been in my focus for the last few years. As key players of immune responses, DCs are fine-tuning the balance between the opposing forces of tolerance and immunity, making them attractive candidates for several clinical applications. We are currently engineering ?tailor-made? DCs by overexpressing or deleting genes known to be involved in DC-mediated tolerance with the aim of a therapeutic application in a variety of disease, like autoimmunity, transplantation or gene therapy.
Asst Prof Rupshi Mitra	Neurobiology of Resilience Stress targets everyone; but not everybody succumbs to it. Some develop stress-related psychopathology, anxiety, depression, dementia, while others weather it well and even emerge healthier. What makes some individuals resilient and others not? Comprehensive studies on 9/11 survivors and war veterans report that positive emotion helps resilient people re-route physiological resources activated by stress into successful coping strategies. Stress is known to cause brain damage, shrink neurons of hippocampus (memory center of brain) and enhance emotional learning along with neuronal growth in amygdala (emotion center of brain). Our research (@ Resilieo) is geared to find out how we can minimize and prevent brain damage caused by stress. Also, what is different and special in resilient individuals in terms of brain changes during/after stress? With this backdrop, we venture into 4 different lines of investigation. 1. Is there any difference in brains of resilient and vulnerable individuals? Our study on rats exposed to predator stress showed distinctive pattern of neuronal branching within amygdala of resilient individuals. Well-adapted (resilient) animals had more densely packed neuronal branching and maladapted (vulnerable) animals had more spread out neuronal branching of amygdala neurons. Questions we are pursuing now include, what determines individual variation in neuronal branching? And what are the possible factors mediating this? 2. How to rescue or prevent stress-induced damages (enhance resilience)? In addressing this question we employed gene therapy as a technique to deliver genetically altered proteins through viral vectors into specific brain regions. Targeted infusion of therapeutic molecules within amygdala rescued stressed animals from maladaptive anxiety, abnormal stress-response and neuronal over growth (hypertrophy). We continue to identify newer molecules for therapeutic intervention within amygdala and other brain regions. 3. Developing animal model of resilience Enriched environment is known to induce positive behavior and protection against brain damage. We are testing different enrichment paradigms to develop a testable animal model of resilience. Initial results are promising. Short term enrichment rescues maladaptive fear response in stressed animals. 4. Are resilient individuals better adapted? In an interesting new finding we showed that male rats exposed to enriched environment for a short 2 week period were more attractive and preferred as mates by females over non-enriched males. The enriched male rats also had stronger defense response against predator. Thus resilience not only makes individuals cope better with stress, but also has a bigger scope of adaptability in an ever-changing environment. Resilience triggers several physiological pathways that are directly beneficial for basic survival drives, namely, reproduction/mate-choice and protection from danger. We continue to investigate how enrichment drives basic physiology to be more adaptive? What are the pathways and molecular factors triggered by enrichment in this context?
Vg Assoc Prof Said Eshaghi	The focus of our research is to elucidate the molecular biology of divalent cation (Mg2+, Co2+, Zn2+ and Ca2+) transporters. These families of transporters are integral membrane proteins involved in cellular activities (e.g. cell signaling and homeostasis) where impairments lead to pathological conditions, thus making them biomedically very interesting. Structure determination using X-ray crystallography is the main strategy for this. We also implement various biophysical assays as complementary tools. In addition, we constantly work on method developments and improvements in order to isolate these membrane proteins in large quantities and of high qualities.
Dr Salil Kumar Bose	Energy production and consumption inside a biological cell occurs under a very finely regulated manner. The focus of my research is the understanding of the regulatory network in the heart that controls the flow of energy. This includes the delivery of oxygen and metabolic substrates from the blood, to the energy conversion processes in the cell, to the actual muscle contraction and ion transport associated with the pumping of blood. Because mitochondria are the `powerhouse? of energy production, a major effort is put in determining the cellular factors that control and balance the interaction between the production of ATP and its utilization. This is being accomplished at the level of intact heart cells as well as isolated organelles and proteins using various biochemical and biophysical techniques. We are currently working on the mechanisms that calcium and phosphate can regulate muscle energy metabolism in mitochondria in the intact heart cells. I have studied how sunlight is utilized by bacteria, Halobacterium salinarium, to produce electro-chemical energy that is used to make ATP. This energy conversion in the cell is accomplished by a membrane protein called bacteriorhodopsin. This protein is excited by absorption of light and then undergoes a series of conformational changes within a short time of few milliseconds before returning back to the starting unexcited state. This process, called photocycle, is energetically coupled in transporting protons across the bacterial membrane. Using flash photolysis technique I study the kinetics of photocycle in relation to its regulation through interaction between bacteriorhodopsin protein and the neighboring lipids.
Vg Asst Prof Scott Rice	Main Research Interest Biofilm development by bacteria Bacteria predominantly exist in the environment as surface associated communities, called biofilms, which protect them from stresses including oxidative stress, UV exposure, antibiotics, the host immune response and predation. There is an emerging genetic program that underpins biofilm development, and bacteria within biofilms express unique genes that are not normally expressed in planktonic cells. Biofilm development is driven by a complex regulatory program involving intra- and extra-cellular signalling molecules, physiological responses to nutritional cues as well as environmental cues (e.g. temperature, salinity), and responses to predators. Biofilms are responsible for > 65% of all infections, including chronic infections as well as infection associated with indwelling biomedical devices and fouling of industrial surfaces such as water purification membranes. The study of biofilm development offers unique opportunities to investigate a fundamental adaptive strategy of bacteria as well as to develop novel methods for the control of biofilm formation in medical, industrial and environmental contexts. For example, we have identified antagonists of cell-cell signalling molecules that block biofilm development and have also shown that nitric oxide acts as an intracellular signal, via cyclic-di-GMP, to control biofilm development in bacteria. Biofilm control for medical and industrial applications are being developed based on these signalling systems. Therefore, my research platform is multidisciplinary in nature in order to develop a complete understanding of the genetics, physiology, biochemistry, inter-kingdom interactions and signalling, medical and evolutionary aspects of biofilm development.
Assoc Prof Seah Leong Keey	Phase-resolved Imaging, Latent Fingerprint Imaging, Strain Measurement, Thin-Walled Structures, Buckling Analysis, Structural Behaviour,
Asst Prof Shashi Bhushan	We are interested in determining 3D structures of macromolecular protein complexes to understand their function and mechanism. We employ Cryo-Electron Microscopy with single particle reconstruction as our main tool for structural determination. Our laboratory is equipped with advanced Electron Microscopes and high speed computing clusters for routine single particle reconstruction work. We are mainly interested in following research areas: Protein translocation across cellular membranes Co-translational protein folding Protein secretion Translational stalling and regulation
Asst Prof Shirley Ho Soo Yee	Media effects and public opinion in the context of science, health, and environmental issues Computer-mediated communication Mass communication theory and quantitative research methods
Assoc Prof Shu Dong Wei	Drop test of Seagate Hard Disk Drives and other consumer products; Working with the defence industry and the hard disk drive industry; High speed camera at speed upto 20,000 fps; Impact tester at peak accleration upto 10,000g; Effects of delaminations in laminate composites on vibration and buckling; Piezo-electric sensors and actuators embedded in composites as vibration control-Theory; Piezo-electric ceramics fibres and particulates embedded in piezo-electric polymers; Stress of solder, metal foams, AZ90 and MA50 alloys at high strain rate of about 1000/s. Study on the Split Hopkinson Bar technique; FEM simulation of collision, energy absorbing devices (EAD) Ballistic testing on novel materials such as SMA, Solder, and metal foams; Spina Bifida in salamander and its early development; Youngs Modulus of metal foams; Youngs modulus of tropical swine bones under different moistures.
Asst Prof Song Hao	My research interests are on the synthetic biology & metabolic engineering, systems biology and bioreactors modeling and optimization, aiming at production of chemicals (including commodity chemicals/materials, drugs and functional foods) by engineered microorganisms, and environmental biotechnology. Specifically, ● Genetic engineering microbes and microbial ecosystems for bioelectrochemical systems; ● Electrofuels: Biological recycling of CO2 to biofuels by microbial electrosynthesis ● Genome-scale modeling and engineering gene circuits for metabolic pathway engineering; ● Systems and computational biology.
Assoc Prof Sridhar Idapalapati	Mechanics of Materials; Failure Ananlysis; composites consolidation with CNTs; Optimal Sandwich Panels design as protective structures; Nanoindentation and contact mechanics especially for adhesion; bone fracture fixation
Prof Staffan Kjelleberg	Kjelleberg is internationally recognized for his studies of bacterial adaptive responses, signalling based communication between bacteria, bacterial biofilm biology, and chemically mediated interactions between bacteria and marine sessile organisms. His research approach includes molecular based studies of the mechanisms by which bacteria respond to prevailing conditions as well as environmental genomics of the biodiversity and function of natural microbial consortia. Kjelleberg has published more than 240 original papers in international refereed scientific journals and 30 books or book chapters. On the basis of strong collaborative research across microbiology, marine ecology and chemistry, and applied studies of the strategies employed by bacteria to build biofilms and communicate, substantial intellectual property has been established and utilized in biotechnology industries. Kjelleberg and his colleagues at the CMB also serve as a major research provider to several companies and organizations, including the Australian based Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre.
Prof Stephan Christoph Schuster	Genomics, Bioinformatics, Molecular Evolution, Biological Diversity
Asst Prof Su I-Hsin	Our research centers on the molecular mechanisms by which the development and function of immune cells are regulated. We have identified that a polycomb group protein Ezh2 is required for differentiation of early lymphoid precursors and immune responses of mature lymphocytes. Using a conditional Ezh2-deficient mouse, we have demonstrated that Ezh2-dependent histone H3 lysine 27 (H3-K27) methylation regulates immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) gene rearrangement and early B cell development. Our work has established, for the first time, the important role of histone methylation in antigen receptor rearrangement and lymphocyte development. The histone-modifying function of Ezh2 is consistent with its predominant nuclear localization in various cell types. While the role of Ezh2 in B cells and T cell precursors is more dominant in the nucleus, we found that Ezh2 is crucial for TCR-mediated cytosolic signaling in mature T cells. Our recent study has shown that the Ezh2 complex is also present in the cytosol, and there it acquires an unexpected role in cell signaling: the cytosolic Ezh2 methyltransferase complex controls receptor-induced Rho-family GTPase activity and actin polymerization in a methylation-dependent manner in T cells and fibroblasts. The molecular mechanisms by which Ezh2 regulate GTPase activity and actin polymerization are still elusive. However, given the methyltransferase nature of Ezh2, it is feasible that Ezh2 regulates cell signaling through protein methylation. We will further explore the dual functions of lysine methylation in 1) cytosolic cell signaling and basic cellular processes, and 2) epigenetic regulation of lymphocyte development and immune responses.
Prof Subramanian Venkatraman	Research is focussed on the applications of polymeric biomaterials in medicine. In particular, research areas include biodegradable stents, injectable drug delivery systems and gene delivery. Controlled release of drugs to the eye and the cardiovascular system are the primary end applications. Cancer therapy using "stealth" particles also forms a significant component of the research activities.
Assoc Prof Surajit Bhattacharyya	Structural Dissection of Scaffolding Protein and Its Interactions with Kinases SAM-SAM Interactions in MAPKKK Activating Ste11/Ste50 Complex Interactions of Integrin Tails with Effector Proteins Designed Peptide Antagonists against Endotoxin: A structure-based approach to develop antisepsis and antimicrobial drugs. Structure and Activity of Cathelicidin Family of Antimicrobial and Antiendotoxic Peptides.
Asst Prof Suresh Sundaram	Guidance and Control of Aerospace Vehicles Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design Machine Learning Applied Game Theory Optimization Distributed Computing Computer Vision
Assoc Prof Susana Geifman Shochat	Associate Professor Geifman Shochat's expertise is in bimolecular interactions which she monitors mainly using SPR Biosensors. Since her arrival at SBS she has established a platform for SPR Biosensors and has collaborated with scientists from SBS and other Institutes in different projects including antibodies screening, small molecules screening, interactions of membrane proteins with partners,nucleic acids-protein interactions, binding of antibacterial peptides to liposomes mimicking bacterial membranes, etc...
Asst Prof Susanna Leong Su Jan	My research interests are: - Bioprocess development studies for economical and simplified production of commercially relevant proteins and peptides. Effective studies and widespread use of bio-inspired products such as recombinant proteins and peptides are often hindered by the lack of efficient manufacturing routes to produce them efficiently and cost-effectively, at large scale. My group has research interests in designing and developing efficient bioprocesses for the production of these recombinant products, which are often confounded by a vast range of combinatorial parameters available to study, understand and then optimize. New improved processes (both generic and molecule-specific for recombinant proteins/peptides) that can be readily validated and scaled-up are extremely desirable to underpin the fast-growing pharmaceutical and chemicals industries and to keep cost-of-goods low. - Antimicrobial peptide engineering and development. The importance of antimicrobial peptides as potential antibiotics is increasingly recognized as their use in diverse industrial applications continues to broaden. My group has research interests in the production and biomolecular engineering of new antimicrobial peptide variants, and structural studies for elucidation of their structure-function relationship for new applications. New knowledge in peptide production and processing technology generated from this work will also be invaluable to advance emerging peptide-based technologies which are sustainable. - Synthetic biology. Employing synthetic biology tools to address energy challenges.
Asst Prof Sven J Norris	3D immersive environments, Architectural visualisation, Games & Game Design, interactive multimedia technologies, Architecture, Product Design, Lifestlye Technologies
Asst Prof Sze Chun Chau	Assistant Professor Sze Chun Chau's basic research interest lies in bacterial gene regulation and communication. Specifically, the complexity of gene regulatory circuits and inter-species communication are being investigated using biofilms, i.e. surface-associated and structured bacterial communities, as model systems. The two systems that she is currently working on includes (a) intestinal microbiota and (b) Legionella pneumophila in interaction with its amoebic host. On the second level, she is interested in the application and domestication of biofilms in medical, industrial and environmental contexts. Eradication of biofilms has been the primary force driving applied research in this field, but exploiting (rather than fighting) biofilms has great potential that awaits exploration.
Assoc Prof Sze Siu Kwan	Our research is devoted to develop and apply advanced proteomic technologies to decipher human diseases through a rational search for novel disease targets and medicines. As proteomics is still in the infancy stage, technology development is the key to advance the field to address more sophisticated biomedical questions. During the past few years, we have successfully developed a few novel proteomic techniques and applied to study proteins that are important to transcriptional and translational regulatory networks, DNA repair, and apoptotic pathway. More importantly, we have established a biological and biomarker discovery pipeline to study clinically important proteome systems relevant to host-pathogen response, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases
Asst Prof (Adj) Tan JS Gerald	Gerald's main research area is in Diagnostic Radiology, in particularly clinical topics such as functional imaging, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and CT. He is also interested in para-clinical projects regarding Hospital Information Technology Systems, Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Picture Archival and Retrieval Systems (PACS).
Assoc Prof Tan Lay Poh	Asst Prof LP Tan research interests include polymer engineering, and biodegradable polymers and heart tissue engineering
Asst Prof Tan Nguan Soon	My research centered on peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors (PPARs) signaling in several complex processes which are of extreme clinical relevance. Wound repair Effective wound repair requires the interactions among immune cells, keratinocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Mesenchymal-epidermal interactions play a crucial role in skin homeostasis and tissue repair. My laboratory research concerns the crosstalk of signaling pathways invoked during barrier and skin repair, especially in obese and/or diabetic conditions. Carcinogenesis Many evidences clearly support a tumor-promoting role of inflammation in the development and progression of epithelial skin cancer. Tumor-promoting microenvironment resembling the wound environment is indispensable for tumor formation and progression. PPARs play important role in carcinogenesis. My laboratory is interested in the impact of tumor microevironment on the PPAR activity.
Assoc Prof Tan Soon Huat	Prof Tan's areas of expertise are biomechanics and stress analysis. His current research works focus on rotator cuff and spine.
Assoc Prof Tan Suet Mien	My laboratory is interested in dissecting the molecular mechanisms governing the adhesion and migratory properties of immune cells. A major focus of my laboratory is the regulation and dynamics of a family of molecules known as the integrins. The integrins are essential for leukocyte adhesion, migration, trafficking, immune synaspe formation, and proliferation. My laboratory is currently investigating the regulatory mechanisms of the integrins in different lineages of immune cells.
Assoc Prof Tan Thatt Yang Timothy	1. Nanomedicine: Design and Engineering of Multifunctional Nanomaterials for simultaneous targeting, bio-imaging and drug delivery. The research objective of this work is to apply nanotechnology to medicine. We have developed a new class of florescent-magnetic nanoparticles as probes and aim to demonstrate their application in both fluorescent microscopy and MRI. Subsequent work will be undertaken to introduce multifunctional organic, organometallic or biological groups into nanostructured materials to render them with biocompatibility, targeting, drug loading and delivery functions. The cytotoxicity of such nanomaterial will also be evaluated. 2. Design of Nanoparticles for Drug Separation. The project focuses on the development of nano-sized achiral and chiral packing materials for Super-critical fluid Chromatography (SFC), Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) and Capillary Electrochromatography (CEC). Judging from the viewpoint of novelty of science, there are to date no known research work published in open literature on the application of chiral-nanomaterials having size ranging < 1.5 ?m for SFC, CE and CEC analyses. The reduction in size of packing materials is anticipated to lead to a huge increase in chromatographic resolution. 3. Advanced Materials for Green Architecture: Nanocomposites for Permanent Self-cleaning and Antibacterial Surface. This research focuses on synthesizing scratch resistant nanocomposite coating that are photocatalytic, superhydrophilic and antibacterial. This material can then be coated to surfaces inside and outside buildings and structures for permanent self-cleaning and antibacterial functions. Current work includes exploring various synthesis methods (including atomic deposition, sonication and sol-gel) that will give the most efficient materials.
Prof Tay Joo Hwa	Waste recycling and reuse. Hazardous waste management. Biotechnological applications on wastewater treatment. Membrane filtration technology. Advanced oxidation processes technology. Sludge management.
Asst Prof Tee Shang You	Entrepreneurship and Innovation -Startups and Technology Transfer Human Health Engineering -Bioengineering -Tissue Engineering Renewable Energy -Fuel Cells -Material Science -Soft Condensed Matter Physics
Assoc Prof Teh Kah Chan	Prof Teh Kah Chan's areas of expertise and research interests are as follows: 1. Signal Processing for Communications 2. Performance Analyses for Spread Spectrum (Direct-Sequence and Frequency-Hopped) Communication Systems 3. Multi-user Detection for Code-division Multiple-Access Systems 4. Interference Suppression for Ultra-Wideband Communication Systems 5. Cognitive Radio
Assoc Prof Teo Ee Chon	Dr Teo has for the past 18 years been a dynamic researcher in the area of human spinal biomechanics, crossing both experimental and computational fields. His central accomplishment was pioneering a novel method for the computational modelling of the human second cervical vertebra (C2) using a computer controlled Co-ordinate Measuring Machine in 1987, progressing to the spinal segments and column using an advanced 6 DOF flexible digitiser in 2000. It was one of Dr Teo's earliest conference papers, Finite Element Stress Analysis of a Cadaver Second Cervical Vertebra, presented in the 16th World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Kyoto 1991, that subsequently led to the exploration of the use of the FE method in human spinal analysis based on geometrical data from digitised or scanned images (X-ray, CT scan, MRI). The presented paper was selected as outstanding contribution for subsequent publication in Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing in 1994. Over the years, Dr Teo and his team have created FE models of the various spinal regions to predetermine the three-dimensional flexibility changes of degenerated or injured spine and relate the data to established published experimental and radiological findings. The FE models help to enhance various relevant clinical and experimental studies and reduce time and cost for diagnosis and implants pre- and post-surgery. Also, as an extension of his research interest in producing "virtual" injuries, he is employing the FE models of the spine for simulation and analysis of head-neck region trauma due to whiplash and pilot egress, with the aim of predicting injury, establishing safety standards and influencing the design of equipment and platforms. Extending his computational research expertise beyond the spinal field, Dr Teo also performed simulation analyses of offshore tubular tubular joints with doubling-plate stiffeners and deep seas offshore connectors for offshore marine engineering company. He also performed comparative analysis of proposed coronary (heart) stents and human spine implants devices for few joint venture local biomedical company. Overall, the research success that Dr Teo has achieved and the extensive network with external researchers in similar fields that he has built have helped NTU's standing, particularly, in spinal research both locally and internationally.
Prof Teoh Swee Hin	Prof Teoh’s main field of research is in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. He is well known for his outstanding contribution to the 3D bioresorbable scaffolds for bone where it has obtained FDA and CE mark and commercialised successfully to Osteopore International Pte Ltd. His research focused on the study of mechanisms that promote cells proliferation and differentiation as a result of mechno induction through load bearing scaffolds for tissue regeneration and remodelling. He did pioneering work in fracture-wear resistant biomaterials. He received the prestigious Golden Innovation Award, Far East Economic Review, and the Institute of Engineers Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award in 2004, for development of the platform technology for scaffolds in bone tissue engineering. His group was ranked 1st in bone tissue engineering scaffolds in World Web of Science 2010. He has supervised more than 60 graduate students, filed 6 patents, given 45 keynote/invited lectures and published more than 300 technical papers.
Asst Prof Terry W.J. Steele	Surface Functionalization of Thin Films Surface functionalization of biocompatible materials is an area under tremendous development for medical implants. The medical implant bulk materials often lack the required surface properties needed for blood compatibility (hemocompatibility), tissue adherence, or promotion of host-cell growth. Secondary surface modifications attempt to address these issues with the grafting of known biocompatible polymers. To address the significant need for a highly versatile surface coating, we have designed a surface function methodology that incorporates water based ‘green chemistry’, acrylate-based combinatorial libraries, and living polymerization techniques. This strategy will be applicable to most known materials typically employed for solid medical implants, while providing an unprecedented versatility with a wide choice of functional groups, surface densities, and layer thicknesses. Ocular Delivery Through Periocular, Unidirectional, Biodegradable Discs We propose an innovative practical and proactive strategy to circumvent the practical hurdles in delivering the anti-CMV drug to the retina, in a safe, effective and affordable manner. We propose to develop a unidirectional nano-drug delivery technique that remains periocular (subtenon’s space) but provides drug delivery into the vitreous over a prolonged or intermittent period yet maintain an adequate concentration at the retina. We will design a biodegradable disc with selective permeability on the two surfaces. The surface adjacent to the sclera will be permeable for unidirectional drug delivery into the eye, while the other surface will be non-permeable, thus obviating the risk of diffusion of the drug externally. The aim of the therapy is to suppress viral replication, halt the progression of disease, minimize retinal damage, prevent drug resistance, prevent local complications and preserve visual function. In short term, the proposed biodegradable disc will aim to deliver the optimal concentration of the drug near site of lesion and the concentration of the drug will remain sustained over period of six months thereby preventing the need for repeated intraocular injections and also prohibit the patient to come to clinic for repeated injections. Removable after six months won’t be necessary as well, as the polymer components are designed to slowly dissolve and be metabolized into the tissue. Blood Vessel Joining (Anastomosis) With Adhesive Biodegradable Inserts Anastomosis—the joining of two blood vessels—requires precise placement of sutures through the two blood vessels that need to be healed together. The technique is technically challenging and requires a long learning curve through practice on cadavers, in vivo animal sacrifices, or both. The suturing practice of today has been nearly the same for 100 years. As the surgical theatre continues toward laparoscopic and keyhole surgeries, catheter based methods for surgical anastomosis will be sorely needed. Practical limitations to vascular surgeon’s abilities limit sutures to only the most easily accessed vessels and vessel diameters greater than 1 mm. New methods are needed for impossible to access areas such a cerebral blood vessels (i.e. stroke treatments). Methods to join micro-vasculature—such as arterioles and venules—are needed to advance severed limbs and associated limb or organ transplants. Pipe sleeves in construction and plumbing are commonly used to join gaps, protect pipes from the environment, and repair damaged or leaky plumbing. Similarly, we have designed biodegradable pipe sleaves made from FDA approved implantable polymers. In our design, the polyesters would be cast into thin film cylinders, no longer than 1-2 cm, 0.5-5 mm in diameter, and 100-500 micrometers thin. These cylinders would incorporate pressure sensitive adhesives on their outer surface to seal and join two opposing blood vessels.
Assoc Prof Thirumaran s/o Thanabalu	The actin cytoskeleton plays an essential role in cell proliferation, migration and differentiation; cellular processes essential for embryogenesis, wound repair, angiogenesis and immune response. The Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASP) and its homologue N-WASP are key downstream components which link multiple signaling pathways to actin cytoskeleton remodeling. The founding member of the WASP family is implicated in the Wiskott Aldrich syndrome, an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by recurrent bacterial infection, eczema and immunodeficiency. WASP and N-WASP N-WASP regulate the actin cytoskeleton by modulating the activity of Arp2/3 complex.
Assoc Prof Tjin Swee Chuan	Swee Chuan Tjin's research interests are in fibre optic sensors, biomedical engineering and biophotonics.
Asst Prof Toh Chee Seng	His general interest is analytical chemistry and his current research interests are in the developments of biosensors using new ultrasensitive methods for direct detection of virus through specific interaction of envelope proteins with antibodies. His group is also interested in the development of new methods for ultrasensitive detection and identification of specific gene sequences. Presently, he is working actively on development of diagnostic tools for dengue and other microbes. His method using similar approach was useful for detection of water pollutants of environmental concerns. His other research interest is the study of ion transport through nanosized channels and the utilization in energy efficient biomimetic applications.
Assoc Prof Vinod Achutavarrier Prasad	Digital Signal Processing, Low Power Reconfigurable DSP Circuits for Software Radio and Cognitive Radio, Biomedical Signal Processing, Brain-Computer Interface, Number Theoretic Transforms for Signal processing and Communications ACTIVE RESEARCH GRANTS: - Project grants amounting $298,344 as Principal Investigator (Funding from MOE, MINDEF, Merlion (France-Singapore Cooperation), European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS). - Project grants amounting $54,194 as Co-Investigator (Funding from MOE).
Asst Prof Vitali Zagorodnov	Image processing, computer vision, medical imaging, image registration and segmentation.
Prof (Adj) Vladimir Kuznetsov	bioinformatics, Genomics, Systems Biolgy, Applied Mathematics&Statistics, Cancer Biology, Immunology
Assoc Prof Vladimir Vladimirovich Kulish	Prof. Kulish's main research interest is in the area of mathematical modeling of energy-informational transport processes and transport phenomena in biological systems.
Asst Prof Wang Desheng	His research interests include Interactive Digital Media, numerical analysis and scientific computing, computational biomedical engineering and computational EM, computational geometry, computational graphics and vision.
Assoc Prof Wang Dongan	Assistant Professor Wang Dongan's research interests include: (1) Functional biomaterials for tissue engineering; (2) Stem cells for engineered tissue regeneration; (3) Gene delivery for engineered tissue regeneration; and (4) Tissue-biomaterial integration.
Mdm Wang Xiaolan	Research in the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine and Acupunture in the treatment of common illnesses and complicated diseases. To promote the development of TCM and increase public awareness in Singapore.
Asst Prof Wong Siew Peng Esther	My research focuses on autophagy, a cellular quality control pathway involved in protein degradation by lysosomes. The overall goal of my research is to elucidate yet unknown mechanisms in the degradation of proteins by autophagy and how the related defects result in accumulation of damaged components, proteotoxicity and loss of cognitive functions associated with neurodegeneration and aging. Harnessing autophagy to control protein homeostasis has been shown to be protective in many age-related pathologies. Central to my research focus is the characterization of the mechanisms behind autophagic dysfunctions in neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the mechanisms behind these aberrations will allow us in future delineating interventions to restore autophagic function and mitigate disease progression. In addition, autophagic activity also decreases with physiological aging resulting in the progressive intracellular accumulation of nonfunctional proteins characteristic of old organisms. In particular, prevention of the age-related decline in a selective form of autophagy, known as chaperone-mediated autophagy, has been shown to preserve “young-like” cellular and organ function as well as homeostasis in mice. These major beneficial effects underscore the importance of determining new means to regulate/restore the activities of different autophagic pathways. Our recent work supports a novel connection between ubiquitination and autophagy. The other objective of my lab is to elucidate the regulatory role of the ubiquitin system over selective forms of autophagy and understand how changes in this regulatory mechanism with age contribute to autophagic dysfunctions in aging and age-related disorders.
Asst Prof Wu Yanhua	Experimental diagnostics of complex fluid systems including smooth- and rough-wall turbulent flows, biological fluids, turbulence and flow control, unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wing flight, bio-mimic flows, multi-phase reactive flows, and fluid engineering related to renewable energy.
Asst Prof Xiang Liming	Dr. Xiang Liming's areas of expertise are clustered/longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, robust estimation, statistical diagnostics, biostatistics and statistical quality control. Her current research work focuses on robust approaches for finite mixture with random effects and survival analysis.
Assoc Prof Xiao Gaoxi	* Complex Systems and Networks * Optical and Wireless Networking * Internet Technologies * Network Security
Assoc Prof Xing Bengang	Dr. XING's research interests will be highly interdisciplinary in the interface of nano-biotechnology, fluorescent imaging, Biomaterials as well as medicinal chemistry. Specific aims of ours are to integrate the basic knowledge and techniques to design, develop and identify the small molecules, natural products, peptides and/or their analogues for probing some special biological molecular. We are also interested in development of new functional nanomaterials for enzyme detection, drug delivery and clinical diagnosis. 1. Nano-biotechnology: Developments of nano-particles (such as gold, silver, magnetic particles and quantum dots etc) and/or carbon nanotube based biomaterials for drug delivery and biomolecular imaging. 2. Fluorescent imaging: Design and synthesis of new fluorescent probes for efficnet detection of biological active molecules (?-galactosidase, proteases and ?-lactamase etc). 3. Biomaterials: Design, synthesis and characterization of new transporters and/or the peptides based hydrogels for biomedical application.
Asst Prof Xu Chenjie	Dr. Xu is mainly interested in designing smart materials for disease diagnosis and therapy. Currently the focus of his lab is to design stimulus-responsive nanomaterials for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Asst Prof Yang Liang	A bacterial biofilm is defined as a surface attached community of microorganisms that is embedded and protected by an extracellular matrix of self-made biomolecules. The US National Institute of Health (NIH) has estimated that 65-80% of all microbial infections involve bacterial biofilms. Biofilm-based infections can evade the otherwise detrimental actions of immune responses and develop into chronic conditions. Because the present day’s armory of conventional antimicrobials cannot efficiently eradicate biofilms, there is an urgent need to understand the fundamental mechanism of antibiotic resistance by biofilms. Using molecular biology, microbiology, computer modeling and systems biology approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, phenotypic arrays), We are trying to explore the following topics: i) bacterial stress response and tolerance to treatments by antimicrobial agents and host immune attacks; ii) role of extracellular polymeric substances and bacterial intercellular communication (quorum sensing) during mono-species and multi-species biofilm development; iii) bacterial evolution and adaptation during chronic infections and antibiotic exposure. We also interested in development of novel anti-pathogenesis drugs as alternatives to the conventional antibiotics to combat the multidrug resistant pathogen. High-throughput cell-based assays in combination with computer-based modeling approaches (such as QSAR, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation) are employed for this purpose.
Assoc Prof Yeo Joon Hock	Prof Yeo research interest is mainly in Cardiovascular Engineering including : heart valves engineering, arterial pusle waveform analysis, pulse waveform analysis,
Asst Prof Yeong Wai Yee	Rapid prototyping, tissue engineering, development of biodegradable polymer implants and laser-material interaction in biodegradable polymers.
Asst Prof Yong Ken Tye	- Creating new nanotechnology approaches for cancer detection and therapy - Engineering multifunctional nanoparticles for biomedical and nanomedicine applications - Synthesizing new semiconductor quantum dots for bioimaging applications - Investigating the pharmacokinetics and toxicity from nanoparticles delivery systems - Creating new biomaterials with controlled structure properties for delivery of biomolecules - Studying applications of delivery systems for gene therapy - Researching new approaches to create nanomaterials for solar and optoelectronic engineering
Assoc Prof Yoon Ho Sup	RESEARCH INTERESTS: Apoptotic cell death mechanism; Molecular chaperones in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases; NMR; Kinases and phosphatases involved in cell signalling pathways; Structure-based drug design Selected Publications 1. Yoon, H.S., Hajduk, P.T., Petros, A.M., Olejniczak, E.T., Meadows, R.P., and Fesik, S.W. (1994) Solution structure of a Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Nature 369, 672-675. 2. Muchmore, S.W., Sattler, M., Liang, H., Meadows, R.P., Harlan, J.E., Yoon, H.S., Nettesheim, D., Chang, B.S., Thompson, C.B., Wong, S.-L., Ng, S.-C., and Fesik, S.W. (1996) X-ray and NMR structure of Bcl-XL, an inhibitor of programmed cell death. Nature 381, 335-341. 3. Sattler, M., Liang, H., Nettesheim, D., Meadows, R.P., Harlan, J.E., Eberstadt, M., Yoon, H.S., Shuker, S.B., Chang, B., Minn, A.J., Thompson, C.B., and Fesik, S.W. (1997) Structure of Bcl-XL-Bak peptide complex: Recognition between regulators of apoptosis. Science 275, 983-986. 4. Petros, A.M, Medek, A., Nettesheim, D. G., Kim, D.H., Yoon, H.S., Swift, K., Matayoshi, E.D.,Oltersdorf, T., and Fesik, S.W. (2001) Solution Structure of The Anti-Apoptotic Protein Bcl-2. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 3012-3017. 5. Kang, CB., Tai, J, Chia, J, and Yoon, HS (2005) Flexible loop of Bcl-2 is required for molecular interaction with immunosuppressant FK-506 binding protein 38 (FKBP38) FEBS Letters 579, 1469-1476. 6. Kang, C.B., Ye, H, Vivekanandan, S, Simon, B., Sattler, M, and Yoon, HS (2006) Backbone 1H, 13C, and 15N resonance assignments of the N-terminal domain of FKBP38 (FKBP38NTD). J. Biomol. NMR. 36, 37. 7. Kang, T.H., Park, DY., Choi, YH., Kim, KJ., Yoon, HS, and Kim, KT (2007) Mitotic histone phosphorylation by VRK1 in mammalian cells. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27, 8533-8546. 8. Liang, Y, Ye, H., Kang, CB, Yoon, HS. (2007) Domain 2 of Non-Structural Protein 5A (NS5A) of hepatitis C virus is natively unfolded. Biochemistry 46, 11550-11558. 9. Kang, CB, Ye, H, Yoon, HR., and Yoon, HS. (2008) Solution structure of FK506-binding domain (FKBD) of Plasmodium falciparum FK506-Binding Protein 35 (PfFKBP35). PROTEINS: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 70, 300-302. 10. Kotaka, M, Ye, H, Alag, R, Hu, G, Bozdech, Z, Preiser, P, Yoon, HS, Lescar, J (2008) Crystal Structure of the FK506-binding domain of the Plasmodium falciparum FKBP35 protein in complex with FK506. Biochemistry 47, 5951-5961. 11. Kang, CB, Ye, H., Chia, Dhe-Paganon, S, and Yoon, HS (2008) FKBP Family Proteins: Immunophilins with Versatile Biological Functions. Neurosignals 16:318?325 Patents Mutant Bcl-2 Proteins and Uses Thereof. US Patent No 01987213.4-2405-US0145693 Scientific Awards Abbott Laboratories Drug Discovery Impact Award, 2000
Asst Prof Yoon Yong Jin	Biomimetic electroacoustic MEMS transducer Bio-chemical MEMS sensor Health monitoring medical device using sensor network Surgical simulation Psychoacoustic neuroscience
Asst Prof Yu Ting	My research focuses on synthesis of nanostructures, assembly and manipulation of 1D nanostructure, and development of nanodevices: 1. Graphene: preparation, optical characterization, chemical/biological sensor, electrical devices 2. Substrate-friendly synthesizes of metal oxide nanostructures with controlled morphologies and patterns. 3. Wet-chemical method for fabrication of metal hydroxides and metal oxides nanostructures. 4. Field induced electron emission of individual nanowires or nanowire arrays 5. Electronic transport and mechanical properties of individual nanostructures 6. Nanowire FETs for nanoelectronics, nano-chemical sensors and nano-biological sensors
Assoc Prof Yvonne Lam Ying Hung	Assoc Prof Yvonne Lam's research interests are in analogue IC design as well as Analogue Design Automation.
Assoc Prof Zaher Judeh	My research interests are in the following areas: 1. Organic synthesis: Reaction mechanisms new methodologies 2. Asymmetric catalysis: Synthesis and use of novel chiral bidentate ligands based on bisisoquinolines focusing on synthesis of enantiomerically pure drug intermediates 3. Ionic liquids: Use as solvents for new reactions 4. Natural product chemistry: Study the synthesis, characterization and bioactivity of Vanicosides
Assoc Prof Zbynek Bozdech	My research focuses on regulatory mechanisms that are associated with the progression of the complex life cycle of human malaria parasites, Plasmodium species. The research activities can be divided into three major objectives (i) Characterizations of transcriptional regulation in Plasmodium. In these studies we conduct genome-wide transcriptional profiling of field isolates and chemical genomics analyses of the laboratory strains. The main goal of these studies is to identify transcriptional regulation that controls parasites virulence as well as responses to drug therapies. (ii) Quantitative proteomics of the Plasmodium intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. The main objective these studies is to characterize protein abundance profiles as well as the pattern of posttranslational modification associated with the progression of the Plasmodium erythrocytic development. These studies are conducted in the proteome-wide manner using the two dimensional gel electrophoresis approaches. The main objective is to identify regulatory elements of Plasmodium translational machinery as new therapeutic targets for human malaria. (iii) Epigenetic regulation of transcriptional control in Plasmodium parasites. Using a chemical genetic approach we characterize a role of Histone Deacetylases (HDAC) in the transcriptional regulation of the Plasmodium life cycle. Using these approaches we attempt to analyze the histone code in Plasmodium and its role in parasite growth and development. Simultaneously we evaluate a potential of HDAC inhibitors as new malaria chemotherapeutics.
Asst Prof Zhang Baile	Dr. Baile ZHANG’s current research interests include electromagnetic wave theory and applications, metamaterials, optical microscopy, and photonics. His research theme focuses on the analysis and control of electromagnetic waves, from radio to light.
Asst Prof Zhang Dawei	The Dawei research group has two key research interests involving computational biology and molecular biology. (1) Development of Force Field We are collaborating with John Zhang's group at New York University to develop new force field containing polarized protein-specific charges (PPC) for molecular dynamics simulation of proteins by combining a recently developed fragment-based scheme, molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (MFCC), with continuum solvent model. Since the PPC is derived from first principal quantum solvation calculation of protein in a native (or a given) structure and thus correctly represents electronically polarized state of the protein and therefore provides accurate electrostatic interaction near the native structure. Extensive researches will be carried out to investigate the effects of PPC on protein folding (especially for folding thermodynamics), protein-protein interaction, protein-ligand interaction, and protein-ligand docking. (2) Structure-Function of CAM Structure-based virtual ligand screening computation is performed on a natural compound library to discover novel classes of PPAR-delta agonists. The free energies of binding with PPAR-delta will be predicted by using linear interaction energy (LIE) method. The real binding affinity values of putative candidates will be measured by adipogenesis assay and whether they are agonists or antagonists or partial agonists will be determined by measuring the expression of PPAR-delta during adipocyte differentiation. After confirming the validity of the predicted binding energy values and also their binding conformations by comparing the predicted values with the experimental data, we will then further analyze the binding conformations of PPAR-delta agonists to identify important structural determinants that would favour PPAR-delta binding. The goal of our research in the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is to identify novel natural PPAR-delta agonists as promising new drugs in the fight against obesity.
Asst Prof Zhang Li-Feng	Dr. Zhang Li-Feng's current researches focus on using X chromosome inactivation as example to study chromatin modifications, non-coding RNAs and embryonic stem cell pluripotency.
Vg Asst Prof Zhao Fangqing	Metagenomics Computational biology Evolutionary genomics
Vg Assoc Prof Zhao Yansong	theories of chinese medicine, clinical practice especially in Gynecological diseases, internal diseases and dermal diseases
Asst Prof Zheng Jie	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Genomics and Epigenomics Systems Biology Molecular Evolution, Comparative & Population Genomics Algorithm Design, Scientific Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery
Asst Prof Zheng Yuanjin	• GHz RFIC and SoC design, SAW/MEMS Circuits and Device • Bio-IC System and Circuits • UWB and Wideband communication System and Circuits • Adaptive Signal and Image Processing Algorithm and ASIC
Asst Prof Zhou Jianrong	My research programs will be focused to devise efficient and practical ways to access important chiral building blocks from cheap, readily available feedstock chemicals. The importance of this quest is underscored by over $ 200 billion sales of chiral drugs, projected for 2008. Despite tremendous advances in asymmetric catalysis, preparation of several key building blocks still needs much improvement. My research programs will specifically target these classes of compounds, e.g., epoxides, alkyl amines, alkyl alcohols, carbocycles, and heterocycles. I am also interested in the synthesis of fluorinated arenes and heteroarenes, due to their frequent occurrence in both pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. To achieve these goals, my group will be engaged in the design and synthesis of both transition metal and organic catalysts, method development and mechanistic investigations. My other interests include: general-purpose, organic platforms for both structural and functional modeling of metalloenzyme active sites; new designs of organic polymers and oligomers for solar energy harvesting and conversion.
Asst Prof Zhou Yufeng	Image-guided ultrasound therapy; Interaction of ultrasound burst with microbubble; Acoustic field characterization; High-intensity focused ultrasound for cancer/tumor ablation; Histotripsy technology (inducing soft tissue erosion by HIFU pulses); Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, gene transfection, and immune response; Improving shock wave lithotripsy technology in stone fragmentation and vascular injury; Sonothrombolysis technology (using diagnostic ultrasound pulses, microbubbles, and thrombolysis drugs in enhancing dissolution of blood clot for stroke patients); Vascular occlusion using mechanical HIFU pulses; Ultrasound imaging; Ultrasound application in nondestructive evaluation/testing (NDE/NDT).

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