Category: Our Focus

NUS Medicine Launches Neuroscience Translational Research Programme

The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) has established a new Neuroscience Translational Research Programme (TRP), marking a significant step forward in advancing neuroscience research and clinical innovation. Leading the programme is Prof Rickie Patani, who has been appointed as its inaugural Programme Chair.

Schools

HRPC – Enabling humans to thrive an a warming world Enhancing heat resilience awareness at primary and secondary school.

Dr Liu Boxiang

Assistant Professor,
NUS Presidential Young Professorship

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Precision Medicine

Research Interests:

 

  • Genomics and single-cell sequencing analysis

  • AI/ML for drug discovery and RNA therapeutics

  • Functional genomics and disease target identification

  • Genetic regulation

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

  • Cell-type-specific identification of disease risk genes using single-cell and spatial omics in diverse Asian populations, with focus on type-2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular conditions.

  • Development of computational methods for functional genomics and precision medicine applications.
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Dr Yu Haojie

Assistant Professor

Dept of Biochemistry

Precision Medicine

Research Interests:

 

My lab at NUS aims to establish an integrative and systematic approach to uncover novel regulators of cardiometabolic diseases by leveraging human GWAS data, cell type-specific eQTL, single-nucleus RNA sequencing & chromatin accessibility profiling, and CRISPR/Cas9-based functional screening.
In addition, we have a strong focus on GPCRs and their roles in disease regulation. To advance therapeutic development, we utilize high-throughput compound screening and AI-driven ‘hit-to-lead’ optimisation to identify and refine novel GPCR-targeting therapies.

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

We seek to collaborate with clinician to acquire patient-derived
samples (plaques and liver) for single-nucleus RNA sequencing
and chromatin accessibility profiling.

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Dr Yeo Shang Long

Assistant Professor

Centre for Biomedical Ethics

Programmes:

Research Interests:

  • Ethics of nudging, ethics of behaviour change
  • Clinical ethics
  • Ethics of public policy
  • Ethics of AI

Potential Clinical Partnership:

  • Opportunities to analyse clinical cases that are unique to Singaporean/Asian context (e.g. about role of family, role of religious values etc.)
  • Opportunities to test and ethically evaluate various interventions in clinical context (e.g. AI summarization, nudges to take up screening/treatment)
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Dr Vincenzo Sorrentino

Assistant Professor

Dept of Biochemistry

Healthy Longevity

Research Interests:

My laboratory focuses on: -Biology of aging; -Proteostasis; – Mitochondria and NAD+ metabolism; – Preclinical models of neuromuscular disease (e.g. C. elegans, cell lines, rodents).

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

  • Access to clinical samples for analyses of NAD+ metabolites in different cohorts (e.g. elderlies, chronic diseases)
  • Observatory studies linking energy metabolites to clinical phenotypes
  • Pilot/Intervention studies in humans with novel NAD+ precursors studied in my lab
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Dr Tsai Shih-Yin

Assistant Professor

Dept of Physiology

Healthy Longevity TRP

Research Interests:

  • mTORC1 signaling and muscle aging: Understanding how mTORC1 pathway disrupts proteostasis and contributes to sarcopenia.
  • Sex differences in muscle aging: Investigating how biological sex influences proteostasis mechanisms and responses to anti-aging interventions.

Potential Clinical Partnership:

One area where collaboration would be particularly impactful is the
development of a non-invasive biomarker for mTORC1-associated
sarcopenia. This project would aim to:

  • Identify circulating factors (e.g., plasma proteins, miRNAs, metabolites) that reflect mTORC1 activity and proteostasis status in skeletal muscle.
  • Correlate these biomarkers with muscle strength, composition, and functional assessments in older adults.
  • Lay the groundwork for early detection tools and monitoring response to targeted therapies, such as mTORC1 inhibitors or proteostasis enhancers.
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Dr Tan Chee Wah

Research Assistant Professor

Dept of Microbiology and Immunology

Infectious Diseases TRP

Research Interests:


My lab focuses primarily on pandemic sciences, with a particular interest in ‘bat viruses’ and ‘antibodies.’ Our team leverages surrogate systems to accurately quantify neutralizing antibodies, which are key immune biomarkers responsible for protection against viral diseases. Through surveillance, we aim to identify infectious disease threats in the region and better prepare for future pandemics, including the development of universal vaccines and therapeutic antibodies.

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

To understand the correlates of protection, we aim to analyze
clinical samples from patients infected with respiratory diseases,
such as RSV and influenza viruses.

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Dr Shi Jiahai

Assistant Professor

Dept of Biochemistry

Synthetic Biology TRP

Research Interests:

  • Red Blood Cell maturation and ageing, aiming for thalassemia treatment
  • Red Blood Cell & Synthetic RBC therapy against anemia, autoimmune diseases, and cancers
  • Non-viral gene therapy delivered by Red Blood Cell extracellular vesicle
  • Al-Assisted Antibody Discovery

Potential Clinical Partnership:

  • RBC Therapy against Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
  • Type Specific Blood Inventory Management
  • Thalassemia Therapy Development
  • Extended Blood Typing Technology
  • Gene Therapy against Metabolic Disorders
  • Al-Assisted Antibody Discovery for diagnostics and targeted therapies
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Dr Jiao Chunlei

Assistant Professor

Dept of Biological Sciences

Synthetic Biology TRP

Research Interests:

Discovery, engineering, and design of CRISPR and novel bacterial defense systems with the aim of developing innovative platforms for disease diagnosis and treatment.

  1. Mine and characterize new CRISPR or other novel defense systems
  2. Develop a sensitive and high-throughput RNA detection platform
  3. Develop a precise and highly efficient knock-in platform in eukaryotic cells
  4. Develop a precise and non-cytotoxic RNA knock-down platform
  5. Develop a long-range genome knock-out platform
  6. Develop a spatial, sequential RNA recording platform

Potential Clinical Partnership:


Our laboratory develops technologies for practical clinical applications, such as the DNA microarray-based multiplex disease detection platform, which relies on collaboration with clinicians to obtain patient samples—including those from sepsis cases. Additionally, our large-scale gene insertion research in eukaryotic cells, relevant to CAR-T cell therapy, underscores the importance of clinician partnerships.

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A/Prof Chris Sham Lok

Associate Professor

Dept of Microbiology and Immunology

IDTRP

Research Interests:

Our research program explores the molecular mechanisms that underpin capsule synthesis and bacterial virulence. We sought to:

Investigate how cell-surface glycans shape pathogenicity and immune responses.

Elucidate the interplay of capsule assembly, cell envelope synthesis, and cell division.

Uncover the mechanism behind enzyme specificity that ensures the fidelity of glycan synthesis.

Innovate high-throughput systems biology methods, such as Dual Tn-seq, to map genetic interactions and define gene functions.

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

We seek clinical scientists specializing in vaccinology, infection biology,

and epidemiology to partner with us to explore captivating biological

questions and address unmet medical needs.

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Dr Alan Prem Kumar

Research Assistant Professor

Pharmacology

NUS Cancer for Cancer Research (N2CR)

Research Interests:

 

At the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, my research is dedicated to advancing precision oncology in breast and gynecological cancers by targeting nuclear receptor signaling and RNA helicases. By identifying predictive biomarkers and developing targeted therapeutics, my work aims to enhance drug efficacy, personalize treatment strategies, and ultimately improve patient survival and quality of life.

Potential Clinical Partnership:

 

  1. Enhancing Immunogenicity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC): Our in-house drug development program focuses on modulating the tumor microenvironment to boost immunogenicity in TNBC.
  2. Biomarker-Driven Optimization of Platinum Therapy in Ovarian Cancer: We are translating the clinical relevance of a key biomarker to refine patient selection for platinum-based therapies in ovarian cancer.
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A/Prof Teo Kee Keong, Adrian

Associate Professor

Dept of Biochemistry

Dept of Medicine

Research Interests:

  • Stem cells
  • Diabetes
  • Pancreatic beta cells
  • Organoids
  • Precision medicine
  • Cell therapy

Potential Clinical Partnership: 

  • Insulin insufficiency 
  • Transplantation therapy 
  • Diabetes complications 
  • Cell therapy 
  • Clinical trials 
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