Our Scientists

Adeline CHUA 

Education: University of Otago, New Zealand
Contact: Adeline_Chua@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases; Drug Discovery
Research Interest: My keen interest in “bench to bedside” research stems from my drug discovery experience in diverse diseases like cancer (e.g. NSCLC, pancreatic) and infectious diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, dengue, malaria). Currently, I am exploring physiologically relevant in vitro platforms to better understand the biology of diseases to facilitate the design of better diagnostics and therapeutics.

Angeline ROUERS

Education: Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne; Université, Paris, France 
Contact: Angeline_Rouers@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology; Virology; Cell Biology
Research Interest: During my PhD, I studied the impact of HIV infection on follicular helper T cells and memory B cell responses. I joined A*STAR in 2017 to pursue my research about B cells and antibody responses in dengue-infected patients. My current focus is on COVID-19 and mosquito-borne diseases as dengue and malaria.

David M Costa

Education: University of Porto, Portugal
Contact: David_m_costa@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases, Microbiology; Immunology
Research Interest: My main research interests lie in studying host-pathogen interactions using animal models. During my PhD, I explored the molecular determinants of malaria sporozoite infectivity. Now at A*STAR ID Labs, I am tackling mycobacterial infections using the zebrafish model, with particular focus on the host.

Eve CHOW

Education: University of Queensland 
Contact: Eve_Chow@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field:Fungal pathogenesis, Antifungal Resistance
Research Interest:My interests lie in understanding how fungal pathogens adapt to the stresses of a human host and subsequently cause disease. This includes asking questions about host-pathogen interactions and the selective pressures driving antifungal resistance. I am using functional genomic screens to provide new insight into fungal pathogenesis and antifungal resistance.

Fadi ALNAJI

Education: University of Warwick, United Kingdom 
Contact: fadi_alnaji@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Virology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology
Research Interest: The high mutation rate and the capacity to exchange genetic materials with one another (recombination) render RNA viruses incredibly efficient evolvers. Although these evolutionary aspects are the major drivers of the emergence of the pandemic and epidemic viruses, they are the exploitable ‘chink of the armor’ in fighting against the virus. I work on developing antiviral approaches based on dissecting the evolutionary dynamics of RNA viruses using Next generation Segueing and a mixture of computational and experimental approaches.  

Guisheng ZENG 

Education: National University of Singapore, Singapore
Contact: Zeng_Guisheng@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases; Fungal biology
Research Interest: After studying the organization of actin cytoskeleton in budding yeast for about 10 years, I switched my research interest to the most prevalent fungal pathogen − Candida albicans. My current focus is to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the hyphal morphogenesis (a key virulence factor of C. albicans) and the development of antifungal drug resistance.

Ken LOH 

Education: University of Queensland, Australia
Contact: Ken_Loh_Zhixuan@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Fish Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Drug Discovery
Research Interest: Fishes and shellfish have been increasing in demands lately, with projected global consumption to be doubled in the next three decades. However, emerging infectious diseases are causing significant production losses, which in turn threaten food sustainability. My research interest focuses on developing vaccines against marine pathogens to combat economic impact on aquaculture farmers and to strengthen Singapore’s food security.

Li Mei PANG

Education: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Doctor of Philosophy, Biological Sciences
Contact: Pang_li_mei@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry
Research Interest: My research interests include understanding the underlying mechanisms that govern the Candida biofilm formation and morphogenesis (key virulence traits). Genome-wide genetic screens are conducted to identify novel genes and mechanisms involved in these key virulence traits and antifungal drug resistance.

Ning LI 

Education: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Contact: li_ning@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interest: My research interest lies at the interface between biology and chemistry, focusing on the development of antimicrobial materials and understanding their action mechanism. The research outcomes would be helpful to enhance our preparedness toward future infectious disease outbreaks.  

Quang-Dinh TRAN

Education: Université Paris Cité, France 
Contact: tran_quang-dinh@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Virology; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Research Interest: I am interested in the mechanisms and determinants of arbovirus molecular evolution. I use experimental evolution, molecular virology and high-throughput sequencing to understand how arboviruses adapt to new challenges in their dual-host life cycle. Particularly, I focus on genetic recombination as a key motor for social interactions in viral populations.

Sakshi AGARWAL

Education: Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Contact: Agarwal_Sakshi@IDLabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Research Interest: I am interested to find novel targets that can used as host directed therapy against respiratory pathogens.

Samuel TONG

Education: University of Queensland, Australia
Contact: Samuel_Tong@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Infectious Diseases, Virology, Host-pathogen Interactions
Research Interest: My professional goal is to utilise my training in cell biology and immunology to drive clinical research that benefits society. A key step before developing any therapeutic is to first identify a draggable clinical target. Thus, I hope to channel my energies into research that uncovers novel molecular mechanisms behind host-pathogen interactions to identify these targets.

Shivankari KRISHNANANTHASIVA  

Education: National University of Singapore, Singapore
Contact: Shivankari_Krishnananthasivam@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology and Microbiology, Virology
Research Interest: I am interested in the development of monoclonal antibodies by B cell screening and their characterization for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. I am also interested in antibody epitope mapping studies and identifying key immune determinants in infectious diseases for vaccine/biologics development.

Siew Wai FONG

Education: Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia 
Contact: Fong_Siew_Wai@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology; Microbiology; Clinical biochemistry 
Research Interest: My research interests focus on characterizing human immune responses to virus infections. In particular, I am interested in bridging the knowledge gap of vector–pathogen−host interactions in arbovirus transmission, which focuses on a new approach to target mosquito saliva. I believe with substantial understanding on the immunopathogenesis, it will permit development of intervention and therapeutics to tackle viral infections.  

Stacey-Ann LEE 

Education: University College London/The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom
Contact: staceyann_lee@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Microbiology, Drug Discovery, Immunology
Research Interest: Postdoctoral research fellow in Pablo Bifani’s lab. I have extensive infection and immunology lab experience, particularly in TB work, in vitro tissue models and single-cell RNA-Seq. In my current role, I focus on industry-oriented research, developing high-quality and novel assays for antibiotic drug discovery.

Wenning FANG 

Education: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Contact: Fang_Wenning@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Molecular Biology; immunology; infectious diseases
Research Interest: Study the role of long non-coding RNA in Mtb infection and nucleic acid therapies.
Metabolic reprograming and epigenetic modification in Tuberculosis pathogenesis; Develop Host-targeted Therapeutic strategies for TB.

Yao CHEN

Education: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Contact: Chen_Yao@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Genetics; Immunology; Infectious Diseases
Research Interest: My research interests focus on the effect of Covid infection on the epigenetic profiles of the offspring as well as the epigenetic changes followed by BCG vaccination in newborns.

Yi Hao CHAN 

Education: National University of Singapore, Singapore
Contact: Chan_Yi_Hao@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology and Microbiology; Infectious Diseases: Genetics (clinical)
Research Interest: My research interest focuses on identifying and understanding key immune pathways involved in the protection and pathogenesis of infectious diseases through genetics. Identification of human genetic predispositions to severe illness can accelerate the development of mechanism-based therapeutic interventions against infectious diseases.

Yun Shan GOH 

Education: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Contact: Goh_Yun_Shan@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology; Parasitology; Virology
Research Interest: The humoral immunity has a crucial role in the containment and the eventual clearance of an infection. By studying the immune responses following either natural infection or vaccination, we identify targets and potential correlates of protection. We also develop assays based on the targets for diagnostics or clinical investigation.

Zi Wei CHANG 

Education: National University of Singapore, Singapore
Contact: Chang_Zi_Wei@idlabs.a-star.edu.sg
Research Field: Immunology; Infectious disease; Drug discovery 
Research Interest: The complex relationship between therapeutics, host immune system and infectious agent can hinder the success in combating infectious disease. My research interest includes the investigation on how the host immune system coordinate with therapeutics in infectious disease elimination and prevention.