Our 2023 Highly Cited Researchers

Prof Lisa Ng is an infectious diseases expert and Executive Director at A*STAR’s Infectious Diseases Lab (ID Labs) where the institute focuses on three key pillars of diseases: vector-borne diseases; respiratory diseases; antimicrobial resistance.

At her own lab, she leads a team of eight researchers, where she focuses on mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue and Chikungunya.

During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Singapore, Prof Ng was part of a team that partnered Roche Diagnostics to develop the PCR diagnostic kit for the SARS-CoV virus.

When COVID-19 struck, Prof Ng and her team worked around the clock to help clinicians understand the severity of the new disease.

Besides her role in ID Labs, Prof Ng is also the Executive Director of A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council, where she is responsible for mentoring talent for biomedical research.

Read more about Prof Lisa's research journey

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.

Dr Lai Ruenn Chai, a Principal Scientist at A*STAR’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), is also the CEO of two A*STAR spinoffs.

His research focuses on mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) exosomes and their potential impact as the next generation of regenerative medicine for several diseases, including psoriasis, liver, osteoarthritis, and cardiac and lung diseases.

Dr Lai is part of a team that was the first in the world to discover MSC exosomes. He also leads a team in developing proprietary technology to commercialise best-in-class liposome-based skincare products for people with sensitive skin, ageing skin, and conditions like psoriasis.

Dr Lai’s curiosity about the human body led him to a career in science, and he is driven by passion and a keen desire to make an impact on human health.

Read more about Dr Lai’s research journey.

Professor Chen Xiaodong specialises in mechano-materials science and engineering, developing soft materials for potential wide-ranging applications in flexible wearable technology, soft robotics, and biomedical devices.

Trained in physical chemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Münster, Germany, Prof Chen has nearly 400 high-profile publications and over 50 patents to his name. He is currently the President’s Chair Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, and Professor of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He also holds joint appointments as the Director of Innovative Centre for Flexible Devices (iFLEX) at NTU and as the Director of Max Planck-NTU Joint Lab for Artificial Senses.

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.

Read more about Dr Seh’s research journey

Dr Subhra K Biwas is the Principal Investigator at A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) and head of SIgN's Human Innate Immunity Lab.

He focuses on immunology and its impact on cancer patients. One area of his work includes developing a Cancer Immunogram (Cig), which shows a multi-parametric score of interactions between cancer patients’ immune system and their tumours.

Studies have shown that about 30% of cancer patients respond to immunotherapy. Because treatment is typically costly, it is useful for oncologists to know if patients are likely to benefit from immunotherapy even before starting a treatment plan.

The CIg correlates patients’ response to immunotherapy based on various markers, and could eventually help cancer patients receive more targeted therapy.

Besides his work on CIg, Dr Biswas also studies macrophages, immune cells that fight tumour cells. As microphages have the potential to promote cancer growth as well, he is investigating ways to re-programme such cells, known as tumour-associated microphages, to fight cancer instead.

Read more about Dr Biswas' research journey

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 Laurent Rénia is a man who believes that science is 95% frustration and 5% pleasure. He lives for the moment of discovery, which makes it all worth it. It was fate that got Prof Rénia into tropical diseases research, and it ended up as a lifelong calling for him. A malaria specialist, he was drawn to immunology due to his fascination with infectious diseases and cell biology. He was also a member of Singapore’s COVID-19 task force during the pandemic period, lending his expertise to the nation’s fight against the virus.

As the former Executive Director of Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), and founding Executive Director of the A*STAR ID Labs, Prof Rénia pushes the boundaries of knowledge in infectious disease and immunology, specialising in tropical diseases like malaria, chikungunya, Zika, and dengue, and in recent years, newly emerging viruses like SARS-CoV-2. He remains a Senior Fellow and Principal Investigator at A*STAR ID Labs while holding concurrent Professorship positions at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and the University of Malaya.

Read more about Prof Laurent's research journey

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

“Various assistive technologies such as voice recognition, eye tracking and brain-computer interfaces have been developed in recent years to help people – especially those with limited dexterity or neurological disorders – control electronic devices. However, these technologies have limitations associated with environmental interference, control accuracy, cost and maintenance.

We are currently developing a smart mouthguard containing integrated pressure sensors to detect occlusal patterns. These patterns are translated into data inputs with 98% accuracy, and can be used to control computers, smartphones and wheelchairs.”

Dr Xi’s research focuses on developing new catalysts for renewable energy production to help combat global warming. His work involves characterising materials at the atomic level, which helps scientists understand how materials work together to produce chemical reactions. These catalysts improve the efficiency of industrial processes and help industries move closer to achieving net zero. More recently, he collaborated with scientists from NUS to extract hydrogen from water more efficiently to provide an affordable source of clean energy.

Dr Xi believes continuous innovation and collaboration is key to achieving improved outcomes for sustainability in Singapore and globally.

“To be a great scientist, you have to be passionate about your field of study. Read widely, network and collaborate.”

Read more about Dr Xi’s research journey

Dr Peter See, a Senior Scientist at SIgN, focuses on the role of brain tissue-resident macrophages in early life development and inflammation. Dr See hopes to demystify the workings of these cells and their effect on the brain so that more effective treatments to improve brain health and function can be found. He also explores the use of RNA therapeutics to modulate immune cell functions.

Dr See’s prolific early work on the development and ontogeny of dendritic cells and macrophages has contributed to his current standing as a Highly Cited Researcher. He continues to collaborate with fellow researchers across disciplines to further knowledge in the field of Immunology. His interest in brain development has led him into the field of learning sciences where he seeks to create tools to facilitate active learning of Biology concepts for students.

A Senior Principal Scientist at A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Dr Zhang Gang has been pioneering research in the field of nanoscale heat conduction for over two decades. The veteran scientist and Tsinghua University alumni found his niche in the promising new area of thermoelectric materials and nano-electronics where he hopes to develop new materials for renewable energy applications.

An author or co-author of more than 340 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, Dr Zhang is a fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the American Physical Society (APS), and an influential researcher and keynote speaker in his field.

Read more about Dr Zhang Gang's research journey