Dr Stephen Kwa Wit Thun

Stephen Kwa

MBBS, PhD

Instructor

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Email: kwa.w.t@nus.edu.sg

Tel: 6601 6133

Teaching Philosophy

I believe in bridging scientific knowledge with practical application by integrating research examples, active learning, and open discussion to cultivate curiosity, analytical thinking, and the ability to translate insights into meaningful clinical and research impact.

Biography

Dr Stephen Kwa Wit Thun is an MBBS graduate with a PhD from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. He has been working at the National University of Singapore since 2021 and joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in 2025. His research spans gastrointestinal biology, molecular biology techniques, the microbiome, and translational health sciences. He is passionate about mentoring students as they explore the connections between microbial systems and human health, and loves watching them grow into confident, independent researchers. Currently pursuing his MBA at Nanyang Business School, Stephen is expanding his expertise in leadership, strategy, and innovation to advance education and translational research in the life sciences.

Recent Publications

  1. Kwa, W. T., Sim, C. K., Low, A., & Lee, J. W. J. (2024). A Comparison of Three Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction Systems for Human Stool Samples. Microorganisms, 12(12), 2417. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12122417
  2. Ng, D. Z. W., Low, A., Tan, A. J. H., Ong, J. H., Kwa, W. T., Lee, J. W. J., & Chan, E. C. Y. (2024). Ex vivo metabolism kinetics of primary to secondary bile acids via a physiologically relevant human faecal microbiota model. Chemico-biological interactions, 399, 111140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2024.111140
  3. Kwa, W. T., Sundarajoo, S., Toh, K. Y., & Lee, J. (2023). Application of emerging technologies for gut microbiome research. Singapore medical journal, 64(1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.4103/singaporemedj.SMJ-2021-432
  4. Effendi, K., Kwa, W. T., Ueno, A., & Sakamoto, M., (2022). The role of molecular pathology in the precision diagnosis and subclassification of hepatocellular carcinoma. Universa Medicina, 41(2), 194–206. https://doi.org/10.18051/UnivMed.2022.v41.194-206
  5. Kurebayashi, Y., Matsuda, K., Ueno, A., Tsujikawa, H., Yamazaki, K., Masugi, Y., Kwa, W. T., Effendi, K., Hasegawa, Y., Yagi, H., Abe, Y., Kitago, M., Ojima, H., & Sakamoto, M. (2022). Immunovascular classification of HCC reflects reciprocal interaction between immune and angiogenic tumor microenvironments. Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 75(5), 1139–1153. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.32201
  6. Kwa, W. T., Effendi, K., Yamazaki, K., Kubota, N., Hatano, M., Ueno, A., Masugi, Y., & Sakamoto, M. (2020). Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation correlated with intratumoral heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinoma. Pathology international, 70(9), 624–632. https://doi.org/10.1111/pin.12974
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