Shi Yan NG

Dr. Shi-Yan Ng is Director of Research and Group Leader of the Laboratory of Neural Organoids and Precision Neurobiology at the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS). She is also a Joint Investigator at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (A*STAR IMCB), as well as adjunct faculty at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, and the National Neuroscience Institute.  

 

After completing her postdoctoral training at Professor Lee Rubin’s laboratory at Harvard University, Shi Yan joined IMCB in 2015 to launch her independent research career, where she studied mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. 

 

Shi Yan completed her Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and her PhD with Lawrence Stanton at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), A*STAR, under the NUS Graduate School (NGSS) Scholarship.

 

Shi Yan has won several fellowships and awards for her work, including the L’Oréal for Women in Science National Fellowship (2019), the National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellowship (Class of 2018), the A*STAR International Fellowship (2012), and the Merck Millipore Young Scientist Award (2011).  

 

In developed nations including Singapore, neurological diseases represent one of the top leading causes of death, and the socio-economic burden of these diseases is extremely high. In particular, neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and dementia have no effective treatments and no cures. My lab's research aims to address these unmet medical needs by:
1) Building disease-relevant cell-based models, including organoids
2) Understanding the molecular and metabolic underpinnings of neurological diseases
3) Discovering and evaluating novel drug targets and therapeutic modalities.

 Current research projects:
1) Investigating the relationship between lipid metabolism defects and astrocyte-mediated toxicity in neurodegeneration
2) Uncovering changes in protein lactylation and its contribution to ALS pathogenesis 
3) Identifying novel microglia-based targets for neurodegeneration using immuno-competent organoids

• BLOC1S1 depletion via splice-switching oligonucleotides improves mitochondrial respiration and rescues ALS phenotypes.
  Jin-Hui Hor, Jin Rong Ow, Winanto Ng, Boominathan Ramasamy, Tommaso Tabaglio, Kimberly Ngee Hui Lim, Muhammad Ikhsan Bin Muzakar, Valerie Jing Wen Lim, Rajasekhar Reddy Gurrampati, Ravisankar Rajarethinam, Shyuan T. Ngo, Venkataramanan Ramadass, Shuo-Chien Ling, Manikandan Lakshmanan, Keng Boon Wee*, Shi-Yan Ng* (2026)
  Emerg Microbes Infect. 13(1):2382235
  *corresponding authors
  
  
• iPSC-derived human sensory neurons reveal a subset of TRPV1 antagonists as anti-pruritic compounds.
  Shermaine Huiping Tay, Jeremy Kah Sheng Pang, Winanto Ng, Chong Yi Ng, Zi Jian Khong, Zheng-Shan Chong, Boon Seng Soh, Shi-Yan Ng* (2024)
  Scientific Reports. 14: 31182
  *corresponding authors
• Enterovirus-A71 preferentially infects and replicates in human motor neurons, inducing neurodegeneration by ferroptosis.
  Wai Hon Chooi, Winanto, Yingying Zeng, Cheryl Y Lee, Ze Qin Lim, Pradeep Gautam, Justin JH Chu, Yuin-Han Loh, Sylvie Alonso*, Shi-Yan Ng* (2024)
  Emerg Microbes Infect. 13(1):2382235
  *corresponding authors
• Metabolic contributions to neuronal deficits caused by genomic disruption of schizophrenia risk gene SETD1A.
  Zheng-Shan Chong, Zi Jian Khong, Shermaine Huiping Tay, Shi-Yan Ng* (2022)
  Schizophrenia. 8(1): 115
  *Corresponding author

• ALS motor neurons exhibit hallmark metabolic defects that are rescued by SIRT3 activation.
  Jin Hui Hor, Munirah M Santosa, Valerie JW Lim, Beatrice X Ho, Amy Taylor, Zi Jian Khong, John Ravits, Yong Fan, Yih-Cherng Liou, Boon-Seng Soh*, Shi-Yan Ng* (2021)
  Cell Death Differ. 28(4): 1379-1397
  *Corresponding authors

• Organoid cultures of MELAS neural cells reveal hyperactive Notch signaling that impacts neurodevelopment.
  Winanto, Zi Jian Khong, Boon Seng Soh*, Yong Fan*, Shi-Yan Ng* (2020)
  Cell Death Dis. 11: 182
  *Corresponding authors

• Cell cycle inhibitors protect motor neurons in an organoid model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
  Jin-Hui Hor, Eunice Shi-Yi Soh, Li Yi Tan, Valerie Jing-Wen Lim, Munirah M Santosa, Winanto, Boon-Seng Soh*, Shi-Yan Ng* (2018)
  Cell Death Dis. 9:1100
  *Corresponding authors