Biography
Associate Professor Ren is a Principal Investigator at SIgN and concurrently holds a second associate professorship at the Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore. He has an administrative appointment as Director of the Graduate Affairs Office of the Biomedical Research Council, A*STAR, Singapore.
Prior to joining SIgN, Assoc Prof Ren was instrumental in setting up the Genome Institute of Singapore and was its Deputy Director from 2001 to 2007. He also established the Biopolis Shared Facility and managed its operations as Director from 2004 -2007.
Assoc Prof Ren received his undergraduate degree in Genetics from the University of Malaya and PhD from the National University of Singapore. He has held a number of visiting scientist and fellowship appointments at Harvard University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Kyoto University and Osaka University.
He received the 1997 National Science Award - Ministerial Citation and the 1996 Boehringer Mannheim Award for Scientific Achievement.
Adjunct Positions
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, NUS, Singapore
- Adjunct Assistant Professor, NTU, Singapore
Research Focus
Theme 1: Immunotoxicology
Marketed drugs generally have good efficacy and safety records. However certain individuals develop adverse drug reactions (ADR), with occasional severe sequelae such as Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). Our lab works on understanding the role of the immune system in response to drugs such as carbamazepine, allopurinol, phenytoin which are widely prescribed medications. We are interested in finding out the mechanistic basis of ADR and develop detection assays and diagnostics to improve drug safety.
Theme 2: Hepatitis B Virus and Liver Cancer
Our work focuses on how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) interacts with the host tissue. HBV is able to subvert the host immune system so as to establish a chronic infected state. Patients with chronic hepatitis B infection have a very high risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. We are interested in understanding how the virus and host affect each other’s genome and its functions.
Lab Members
| Postdocs (Ph.D) | Research Officers |
Laboratory Officers
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| Xuelu HUAN | Nicole ZHUO |
Gladys ANG |
| Hui Ling KO |
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Joey LIM |
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Publications
Publications_Ee Chee Ren (last updated 16 November 2023)