OUR 2022 HIGHLY CITED RESEARCHERS

Dr Chen‘s research leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to transform data into meaningful findings to help cancer patients. Her work includes analysing the microenvironment of tumour cells to understand their heterogeneity so scientists can develop therapeutics targeting malignant cells within the tumour.

Dr Chen and her team also developed a database of Deeply Integrated Single-Cell Omics (DISCO) data, an integrated cell atlas with harmonised data, for biologists to analyse, derive and share new findings that benefit the medical community for drug discovery.

Recently, her team developed an AI tool named GraphST that combines graph neural networks with self-supervised contrastive learning to fully exploits spatial transcriptomics data for three key analysis tasks, spatial clustering, multisample integration, and cell-type deconvolution.

She urges young researchers to stay curious, be ambitious about pursuing their passion and expand their knowledge and network through collaboration to develop products that bring greater impact to society.

"I hope to be able to build up a team of competent people across these disciplines to further the development of science."

Read more about Dr Chen's research journey

“Dendritic cells (DCs), monocytes and macrophages play crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are thus attractive therapeutic targets. Potential intervention strategies aiming at manipulation of these cells will require in-depth insights of their origins and the mechanisms that govern their homeostasis.

The focus of our laboratory is to understand the ontogeny of DCs, monocytes and macrophages, their differentiation pathways and how their unique ontogeny dictates their immune functions. Our approach encompasses the integration of high dimensional platforms such as RNAseq, single cell transcriptome analysis using microfluidic RNA sequencing and deep immunophenotypic assessment using state of the art 18 parameters flow cytometry or Cytometry by Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometry (CyTOF). Such high-density molecular profiling at the single level and at unprecedented dimensionality and complexity will provide new insights in the biology of DC, monocyte and macrophage cell populations.”

Dr Florent Ginhoux joined SIgN in 2009 and is currently a Senior Principal Investigator on a joint appointment. He is now a Laboratory Director in Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France focusing on pediatric cancers and the role of myeloid cells in tumor progression.

“My research focus has always been understanding exosomes secreted by Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC). What are the underlying mechanisms of MSC exosomes in treating various diseases, and how to transform this scientific discovery to the clinic are the questions that are always on my mind.”

Dr Lai Ruenn Chai did his PhD in Biology with Dr Lim Sai Kiang’s guidance at A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) under the NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering Scholarship, where he discovered the MSC exosome is the active component in the secretion of MSC that treats myocardial infarction/reperfusion injury. He joined A*STAR in 2011 and is now a research scientist under Dr Lim Sai Kiang’s group. Currently, he is trying to bring the MSC exosome to clinical trial to treat psoriasis.

Professor Xiaodong Chen is Principal Scientist II and Scientific Director at IMRE. He is the President’s Chair Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Chemistry (by courtesy) and Medicine (by courtesy) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), and. His current research interests include mechano-materials science and engineering, flexible electronics technology, sense digitalization, cyber-human interfaces and systems, and carbon negative technology.

He has created a wide range of soft composite materials for flexible electrodes which have superior stretchability and electronic conductivity. These electrodes can conform and adhere to human skin and animal tissues and are also easily scalable. Through these efforts, he pioneered an emerging field called mechanomaterials, by establishing a method that proactively programs the functionalities of materials by leveraging the force-geometry-property relationships. As a result, he advanced soft bioelectronic interfaces capable of digitising biological senses and extending human sensing capabilities.

So far, he has published more than 380 high-profiled papers and filed/applied more than 40 patents. He is the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano, a flagship journal in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and serves as editorial advisory board member for various international journals. He was recognized by multiple prestigious awards and honors including Singapore President’s Science Award and Singapore NRF Investigatorship.

Prof Nick Barker’s research focuses on developing novel cancer treatments targeting tumour-resident stem cell populations responsible for driving cancer progression. Following his pioneering work on Lgr5 as a marker of multiple stem cell populations throughout the body, he recently discovered Aquaporin-5 (AQP5) as a surface marker of gastric stem cells. This discovery has led to isolating human gastric stem cells from healthy tissues and cancers for the first time using antibodies.

Using advanced experimental models, including cultured organoids derived from human tumour cells, that accurately mimic patient cancers, Prof Barker and his team are deciphering the contributions of gastric stem cells to stomach cancer development, revealing novel opportunities for developing more effective treatment options in the clinic.

“Ten years ago, precision medicine was probably unthinkable. Now, it’s a reality,” says Prof Barker, citing advances in DNA sequencing and gene expression profiling as key to understanding the underlying mechanisms driving cancer.

As cancer presents differently in patients, understanding each patient’s genetic and epigenetic makeup through DNA sequencing and profiling allows doctors and scientists to match drugs and treatment options that are the most appropriate.

Read more about Prof Barker's research journey.

“My research focuses on the study of myeloid cell dynamics and their heterogeneity, with a specific focus on neutrophils. In particular, we employ the use of advanced microscopy techniques such as multi-photon microscopy and light-sheet microscopy, to examine the cellular dynamics and spatial behaviour of immune cells.

Our imaging data has provided important clues about the functional heterogeneity of myeloid cells as they were observed to have different cellular behaviour depending on the tissue micro-environment. These findings have since driven my interest towards the study of heterogeneity among myeloid cells by concurrently examining their developmental pathway and tissue origin, as I believe that these two factors confer their heterogeneity.”

Dr Ng Lai Guan is a Principal Investigator at SIgN. Following his postdoctoral training, he joined SIgN in 2009 to establish his own laboratory. He is now Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Dr Ng has also been appointed as an Adjunct Investigator at the National Cancer Centre Singapore, and more recently he has taken up an Adjunct Investigator position with the National Skin Centre Singapore.

Dr Lim’s research focuses on mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) exosomes, which she and her PhD student discovered 10 years ago, and are now translating these exosomes into new treatments for diseases such as osteoarthritis, psoriasis ophthalmic disorders and cardiovascular diseases. She believes that MSC exosomes have the potential to be both a therapeutic agent and a drug delivery vehicle.

Dr Lim is also the founder of two A*STAR spin-offs, focusing on exosomes for regenerative medicine and liposomes for skincare.

Dr Lim is also very active in the global exosome community, and is frequently invited as a plenary and keynote speaker to major scientific meetings to share her knowledge and passion. She also organises workshops, forums, and discussion panels to promote international collaboration.

“I’ve been very involved in getting the global exosome community to agree on international manufacturing standards. The process must be rigorous, and we meet to identify problems, take stock and work on the next steps.”

Read more about Dr Lim’s research journey

“Lithium-ion batteries today are reaching their theoretical energy limits. To overcome these limits, my team works on next-generation sodium-, magnesium- and aluminum-ion batteries, which can offer higher energy density and/or lower cost due to the different material chemistries. For example, a magnesium ion carries twice the charge of a lithium ion, which means that a magnesium battery has twice the charge capacity of its lithium counterpart and can last twice as long on a single charge. By combining experiment and theory, we design novel battery materials (cathode, anode, electrolyte), understand structure-property relationships, and construct battery prototypes. These advanced batteries can be used to power both stationary and electromobile applications for a sustainable energy future.”

Dr Seh Zhi Wei is a Senior Scientist at IMRE. Dr Seh’s research interests lie in the design of new materials for energy storage and conversion, and he is widely recognized for designing the first yolk-shell nanostructure in lithium-sulfur batteries, which is currently a licensed technology. Dr Seh has published in many top journals such as Science, Science Advances, Nature Energy, Nature Materials, Nature Reviews Materials, Nature Catalysis, Nature Machine Intelligence, Nature Synthesis, and Nature Communications. For his research achievements, he also received awards including Highly Cited Researchers, World’s Top 2% Scientists, Central Research Fund Award, Vebleo Fellow Award, Ten Outstanding Young Persons, Emerging Investigators, Singapore NRF Fellowship, Innovators under 35 Asia, MRS Graduate Student Award, and National Science Scholarship.

“My research at A*STAR focuses on a class of cells (called Monocytes and Macrophages) that forms the first line of defence of our immune system, helps in wound healing and other key physiological activities. Any defects in these cells can contribute to diseases such as uncontrolled infection, cancer or obesity/diabetes. Through our work, we identify the mechanisms that drive these defects so as to find ways to 're-program’ these cells to check disease progression.

Typically, we use a combination of deep immunoprofiling, mechanistic studies in ex vivo human disease cohorts and in vivo in preclinical mouse models to identify dysregulated immune-signatures related to the disease (biomarkers) and discovery of potential targets thereof to modulate disease progression.”

Dr Subhra K. Biswas first joined A*STAR in 2005 as the Research Scientist (In-Charge) of the Cell Interaction group in the Bioinformatics Institute. In 2007, he moved to the SIgN as a Principal Investigator, where he still heads the Human Innate Immunity Lab. Dr Biswas has held adjunct associate professor positions at the Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore and LKC School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Visiting Professor at Humanitas University, Milan, Italy. He holds a joint research position at National Cancer Centre Singapore.

Energy, environment and sustainability are among the most urgent issues faced by human civilization in the 21st century. We are taking the “Materials-enabling” approaches to address them. For energy storage, we are developing batteries going much beyond lithium ion batteries in terms of much better performance, lower cost and higher recyclability. In various energy conversion processes, advanced catalysts are the keys to their success. For water and clean environment, we are working on the new-generation membranes and technologies for both liquid and gas separations.

Professor John Wang holds joint appointment (25%) as Principal Scientist II in the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, (IMRE), A*Star. He is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He served as the Head of Department of Materials Science and Engineering at NUS for two terms. Professor John Wang has published >500 papers in prestigious, top international refereed journals, and citations received is >34,000 (H-index = 95). He has been Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for the past two consecutive years (2020 and 2021). Professor John Wang is elected Academician of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials (APAM), Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3, UK), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore, and Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS).

Prof Zhang's research focuses on developing/deploying multiscale modelling and simulation methods in combination with artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the processing-structure-property relationship of materials. Prof Zhang's work is at the forefronts of scientific discovery and Industry 4.0, where he leverages computation, big data and AI to transform materials discovery, design and manufacturing, be faster, more efficient and greener.

He also champions green energy research, which includes exploring ways to convert carbon dioxide into fuels and useful products and collaborating with NUS to develop safer and greener solid-state electrolyte lithium batteries to power EVs, smartphones, and aeroplanes.

Prof Zhang believes that curiosity is the key to success in every scientist.

"My work has always been driven by passion and curiosity. It is important for scientists to stay curious as this keeps us going to learn and uncover new things," Prof Zhang says.

Read more about Prof Zhang's research journey.

“Infectious diseases represent a never-ending threat to Singapore and the rest of the world with the recent epidemics/outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, vector-borne diseases (Chikungunya, Dengue, Zika, malaria) and the spread of bacteria resistant to all known antibiotics. They have serious consequences on population health and economy, and for most, there are no licensed vaccines for protection, and either no new drugs or a limited number of drugs for treatment. My scientific interests cover the immunology of infectious diseases, in particular mosquito-borne diseases and newly emerging viruses like (SARS-CoV-2). My research focuses on the development of new immunological, assays and concepts, as well as animal models, that can be used to study communicable and non-communicable diseases, such as cancer.”

Prof Laurent Rénia first joined A*STAR as a Senior Principal Investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) in 2007. He was its Executive Director from 2013 to 2020. In 2020, he founded the A*STAR Infectious Disease Labs as its Executive Director from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, he is now an A*STAR Senior Fellow and has taken a joint position as Professor of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Respiratory and Infectious Diseases Programme at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and in the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University.

Dr Gan’s research focuses on developing probiotics and functional food ingredients to promote better health of people. His work identifies probiotic candidate strains from fermented foods and gut microbiota to investigate their potential. While the 30 by 30 goal aims to produce 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030, the Singapore Food Story (SFS) programme has an expanded scope to improve the nutritional quality of our food, including development of future foods.

With the rise in consumer awareness of healthier food choices, his research has become more exciting, especially in making functional food more accessible and affordable.

Dr Gan believes that genuine interest and a passion to understand the science of food play an important role in achieving his goal.

“When you encounter roadblocks in your research journey, be confident, be true to yourself, and keep persevering.”

Read more about Dr Gan’s research journey