Current members
QIAO Yuan (PI)
Yuan completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry at Bryn Mawr College (USA) in 2010, where she did synthetic chemistry research with Dr. Bill Malachowski. After spending a year working on antimicrobial polymers in the lab of Dr. Yi-Yan Yang at IBN in Singapore, Yuan became interested in using chemical tools to study biological problem, and joined the Chemical Biology graduate program at Harvard University in 2011. In the labs of Prof. Dan Kahne and Prof. Suzanne Walker at Harvard, Yuan focused on characterizing the enzymes that make bacterial peptidoglycan, an essential component of the bacterial cell wall that is an excellent antibiotic target. Her graduate research solved several key problems in the field and established novel tools for new antibiotic discovery. Since 2017, Yuan joined Prof. Yue Wang's lab in IMCB, Singapore, where she was interested in understanding the role of bacterial peptidoglycan in bacterial-fungal interaction. Yuan was a recipient of the A*STAR National Science Scholarship in Singapore (2007-2016). She started as an Assistant Professor in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Division in SPMS NTU in Nov. 2019.
Allan Ng Wee Ren (Research Fellow)
PhD at Monash University, Malaysia (2021)
Allan completed his PhD in Genetics & Molecular Biology at Monash University, Malaysia in July 2021 where he developed new assays and novel recombinant proteins to address prevailing problems involving the diagnosis and management of Fabry disease. Previously, he completed both his undergraduate studies in Biotechnology (in 2014) and Master's research in Molecular Oncology (in 2017) at UCSI University, Malaysia. During his Master's research, he combined bioinformatic tools and in vitro assays to engineer and validate mimetic peptides that could mount immunological responses for the suppression of colorectal cancer tumor. To further pursue his passion in research and life-long learning, he joined the lab as a Research Fellow in December 2021 where he is involved in unveiling the effect of PGN molecules on host cells and animal models.
Chris completed his Masters training at Simon Fraser University working on carbohydrate chemistry. After two years in pharmaceutical process development at Gilead, Chris completed his Ph.D at The University of Tokyo where his research was focused on catalyst development and chemical biology. In 2022, Chris joined the Qiao lab at NTU, where he is developing chemical probes to elucidate host-microbiome interactions. In his spare time, Chris is an avid reader and enjoys trying spicy foods.
Li Chenyu is now a PhD student in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry at NTU. She received her B. Sc at Fudan University in China. Back in 2018, she started to work as an undergraduate intern in the lab in department of Chemistry, focusing on the application of analytical technologies on detection of antibiotic resistance from bacteria, especially via microfluids-assisted mass spectrometry. Supported by FDUROP fund from Fudan University, she managed to complete the project with a growing interest in analytical method development for biological problems need to be solved. She joined the lab in Aug. 2020.
Yaquan received her B. Sc in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry at NTU. She had intered at A*STAR NanBio Lab by working closely with Prof Jackie Ying's team in developing rapid diagnostic kits for biotechnology and healthcare applications. She accumulated various research experiences during her undergraduate studies in areas such as synthetic chemistry, electrochemistry, and nanomaterials. She then developed a passion for research and is motivated to utilize scientific knowledge in solving real-life problems. She decided to pursue a PhD in furthering her knowledge and skillsets and joined the lab in July 2021.
Lanxin obtained her bachelor degree of Chemical Engineering at Hunan University, China. During her sophomore year, she participated in the SIT Program focusing on designing highly sensitive probes for tumor cells detection. Since then, she developed an interest in chemical biology and in order to absorb more knowledge in this field, she began to work as an undergraduate researcher in ICBN, Hunan University assisting antibiotic drug screening and working on her graduation thesis about vancomycin resistance evolution, mechanism and inhibition. She aspires to further study the application of chemical approaches to solve biomedical problems and joined the lab in Aug 2021.
Jia Li completed her undergraduate studies in NTU, where she obtained her B.Sc in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, with a concentration in Medicinal Chemistry. She has obtained a wide spectrum of skills, in organic and inorganic chemistry, that is beneficial for her future endeavours with the opportunities that she was given and also, chanced upon during her undergraduate studies. In her FYP, she further enhanced her knowledge and skillset in biochemistry in Prof Qiao’s lab where she purified recombinant proteins using a new method. With her aspirations in research, she started her PhD journey in this lab in January 2022.
Jeric completed his B.Sc in Chemistry at the National University of Singapore where he had took part in research projects in organic synthesis and catalysis. He worked as a Research Assistant at NTU before he started pursuing his PhD. Jeric joined QIAO lab in Feb 2022. In his free time, his hobbies are reading, gaming, cycling, and drawing.
Yilin completed her undergraduate studies at Nankai University, and is currently a master student in CBC at NTU. From 2019 to 2020, she conducted research on PCV2 virus invading cells by single-particle tracking under the supervision of Prof. Lehui Xiao. And through this experience, she began to develop an interest in biology-related chemistry issues. With the aspiration of acquiring chemical biology research methods and improving her research abilities, she joined QIAO Lab in Sept 2021.
Shiliu received his bachelor's degree of Polymer Engineering at Fudan University, China. In 2018 he joined the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers in Department of Molecular Science, focusing on organic synthesis of substrates for self-assemble aggregates. In 2020 he began studying as a M.ENG student at School of Material Science and Engineering in NTU. His master’s degree project focused on microbial engineering to degrade plastic wastes. He joined the lab in 2023 and is currently a PhD student.
Yujie completed her B.Sc. at Nanjing University in China, where she interned in a research group focused on developing chemical tools for understanding the biological functions of glycosylation. This experience honed her skills in biological experimentation and ignited her interest in investigating how small molecules interact with biological systems. Later, from 2023 to 2024, she studied a master’s program in Chemical Science and Instrumentation at NTU. With the aspiration to research, Yujie joined QIAO lab in Mar 2024 to pursue her PhD. She enjoys hiking, photography, and exploring new things in her free time.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Northumbria University in 2020. My FYP revolved around discovering a group of bacteria known to have antimicrobial properties and to potentially extract the bioactive secondary metabolites. In 2021, I was working in a diagnostic laboratory for a brief period before switching career path to pursue my interest in the research field. In my free time, I like to read, game and try out new food.
Yu Chengxiao completed his undergraduate study in Zhejiang University at 2019, where he obtained B.E. in Food Science and Technology. Since then, he was pursuing a PhD degree in Food Science at Zhejiang University under the guidance of Prof. Chen Shiguo. Through his experience, he focused on the interaction between dietary fiber and gut microbiota, especially pectin. Meanwhile, he also focused on the protective effect of IBD by dietary fiber. With the aspiration to research, Chengxiao joined QIAO lab in Aug 2024 to start his exchange program.
Undergraduates
URECA: Zexu Wang (Year 2), Eurica Foo (Year 3), Shiyoung Park (Year 3), Ee Rain Chin (Year 4)
FYP: Benedict Bay (Year 4), Brennan Chia (Year 4)