Dr Mun Juinn Chow

Biography
Dr Mun Juinn Chow is a Group Leader at A*Star Skin Research Labs. His work focuses on manipulating hair metabolic pathways to modulate hair growth and fall. Since joining A*STAR SRL in 2021, Mun Juinn has led industry-funded projects in compound screening, resulting in the discovery of many bioactive materials that regulate hair growth and fall. Several of these actives are advancing through patent applications and ongoing licensing discussions with industry partners.

Mun Juinn obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) First Class in Chemistry in 2011 and his PhD in 2015, both from the National University Singapore. During his PhD and first Postdoc, he managed several multidisciplinary research projects, working closely with both chemists and molecular biologists in the development of anticancer drug discovery platforms, and the elucidation of drug candidate mode-of-action. He subsequently continued translational anticancer research at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, NUS and worked on medical device development at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS. In 2021, He transitioned to Hair Biology and joined Thomas Dawson’s Lab at A*STAR SRL.

Research Interests
Dr Chow’s lab is interested in investigating energetic preference (OXPHOS vs Aerobic Glycolysis) in hair and skin and understanding how the manipulation of this intricate energetics system can regulate hair growth or mitigate ageing-associated skin phenotypes. Special focus is placed on the actives/drug discovery in collaboration with industry partners.

Selected publications 
Chow, MJ*; Alfiean, M; Pastorin, G; Gaiddon, C; Ang, WH*, Apoptosis-Independent Organoruthenium Anticancer Complexes that Overcome Multidrug Resistance: Self-Assembly and Phenotypic Screening Strategies. Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 3641-3649

Chow, MJ; Licona, C; Pastorin, G; Mellitzer, G; Ang, WH*; Gaiddon, C*, Structural Tuning of Organoruthenium Compounds Allows Oxidative Switch to Control ER Stress Pathways and Bypass Multidrug Resistance. Chem. Sci. 2016, 7, 4117-4124. 

Chow, MJ; Licona, C; Wong, YQD.; Pastorin, G; Gaiddon, C; Ang, WH*, Discovery and Investigation of Anticancer Ruthenium-arene Schiff-base Complexes via Water-promoted Combinatorial Three-component Assembly. J. Med. Chem. 2014, 57 (14), 6043-6059. 

Selected patents 
Joosa, PA; Sridharan, A; Chow, MJ; Dawson, TL Jr (2026). “Hair Fall Reduction”. SG10202600116Q. Patent Pending.

Sridharan, A; Chow, MJ; Dawson, TL Jr (2025). “Methods Of Reducing Hair Growth III”. PCT/SG2025/050810. Patent Pending.

Sridharan, A; Chow, MJ; Dawson, TL Jr (2025). “Methods Of Reducing Hair Growth II”. PCT/SG2025/050809. Patent Pending.

Sridharan, A; Chow, MJ; Dawson, TL Jr (2025) “Methods Of Reducing Hair Growth”. PCT/SG2025/050808. Patent Pending.

Babak, M; Ang, WH; Chow, MJ, (2022). “Ruthenium Arene Schiff-Base Complexes and Uses Thereof”. US11958869B2, issued 16 Apr 2024.

ORCID