Our People

PROF WILLIAM CHEN | 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫
𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 & 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴

Professor William Chen is the Michael Fam Chair of Food Science and Technology at NTU. He is a leader in the development of sustainable food systems and food security solutions. His current research interests extend across a range of different areas including microbial fermentation, green extraction of nutrients and bioactives in food, foodomics and waste valorisation. Professor Chen leads the Food Science and Technology Programme at NTU and oversees NTU’s teaching and research efforts in food science.

Academic Profile

ASSOC PROF YUSUF ALI | 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫
𝘕𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺

Yusuf Ali is an Associate Professor of Metabolic Disease with tenure at NTU LKCMedicine. He is currently Assistant Dean of External Affairs and the current Director of the Nutrition, Metabolism and Health Research Programme. At FRESH, Yusuf assumes a pivotal role in guiding the R&D agenda with a focus on devising innovative approach methodologies that prioritise both gastrointestinal safety and the nutritional profiles of novel foods. Yusuf is also a spokesperson on various community and media platforms aimed at promoting diabetes awareness.

Academic Profile

DR. ELGIN E L YAP | 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Elgin oversees FRESH business operations and financial management. Elgin finds his mission in public sector services delivering new development in multi-agency R&D programmes in Singapore, bringing his decade of experience in both deep-tech and high-tech startups. He is committed to building a conducive regulatory environment for Singapore and enabling a future-ready food innovation ecosystem walking alongside stakeholders from urban farming to cultivated meat.

SERYNN GUAY | 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Serynn is an experienced professional with a demonstrated ability to drive effective communications strategies and initiatives for FRESH. With over a decade of experience in regional marketing and corporate communications within the media and events sectors, she skilfully leverages her extensive knowledge to develop and execute thought leadership campaigns, engage stakeholders, and effectively utilise social media platforms.

EMILY LAU | 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭

Emily is responsible within the FRESH team for providing consultancy in novel food safety assessment to food industry players. She is a chemistry graduate with industrial experience in quality control and food safety risk assessment in the pharmaceutical and food sectors respectively. Through this role, she aspires to contribute to Singapore's '30 by 30' food security goal, while continuing to develop extensive knowledge through interaction and exposure with food safety experts in Singapore and beyond.

TAYA HUANG | 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭

Taya is responsible for material review and desktop research within the FRESH team. She graduated from the University of Eastern Finland with a MSc. in General Toxicology and Environmental Health Risk Assessment and spent a year as trainee with the Scientific Committee and Emerging Risks Unit of the European Food Safety Authority. Prior to joining FRESH she worked as a chemical product steward.

DR ZHANG JIANHUA | 𝐋𝐚𝐛 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 & 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝

Dr Zhang is responsible for the management of the FRESH lab. He has more than 20 years of research experience involving cell biology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, and omics biology. Prior to joining FRESH, he was a research fellow working on engineering bacterial for cancer therapy, and also in charge of GCMS LCMS usage at NTU. 

DR LIM HUI KHENG | 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭

Dr Lim is the project lead of FRESH’s in vitro (gut) toxicology platform with expertise in epithelial biology, genetic toxicology and molecular biotechnology. She has years of experience in both translational and basic research with CRO. Her main duties in FRESH involve developing assays, proposing, and implementing new project ideas (New Approach Methodologies, NAM) to aid in the framework/guideline development for toxicological evaluations of novel food proteins. She is also actively participating in research collaboration with cross-functional R&D teams and regulatory agencies in the space of food safety science.  

CHRISTOPHER HUGHES | 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

Chris is a scientist with a strong background in genetic toxicology, safety assessment, as well as assay development and validation with nearly 20 years of experience. With prior roles as a scientist and study director at CRO’s performing and overseeing regulatory and novel gentox assays for clients.  At FRESH, the mainstay of his work focuses on the use of alternative in vitro models and methods to better predict adverse outcomes and risks to human health from consumed materials such as novel foods and their components.

JOSEPH TAN | 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫

Joseph is mainly responsible for working on FRESH’s in-vitro (gut) toxicology platform assays. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Major in Chemistry with two years of experience working in metabolomics and biochemistry. Joseph hopes to be able to constantly learn new methods and techniques through his role in FRESH to be able to contribute to the development of novel food safety science for Singapore's 30 by 30 vision.

SRISHTI GUPTA | 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫

Srishti brings to FRESH a strong skill set in computational chemistry and machine learning. Her research is focused on the pairing of high resolution mass spectrometry data with in-silico models for toxicity to improve the chemical characterisation of complex biological mixtures. She also has experience in the lab with wet chemistry techniques and is building out new skill sets in in-vitro toxicology.

NG YUNQIAN | 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫

Yunqian is currently engaged in the research and chemical examination of FRESH's antifungal crop protectants through in-vitro digestion. Holding a degree in Chemistry, she brings a background as a former chemist, specialising in analytical instruments and wet chemistry techniques. Committed to expanding her skill set, Yunqian endeavors to contribute to the FRESH team by acquiring new capabilities.

Prof. May Oo Lwin | 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 & 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝗪𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝗪𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝗪𝐊𝗪𝐒𝐂𝐈)
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝗪𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝗪𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝗪𝐊𝗪𝐒𝐂𝐈)

May O. Lwin, President's Chair Professor of Communication Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication (WKWSCI), College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is the Chair of WKWSCI and also serves as the Director of NTU University Scholars Programme.

Professor Lwin’s expertise lies in strategic and health communication. Her work in digitally mediated health communication systems to improve public health has been piloted in various communities, schools and hospitals. On the infectious disease research front, her research portfolio has covered diseases like Zika, Dengue, Influenza and COVID-19.  She is also an expert on food and nutrition communication and behaviours.  A Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA), she has received many awards such as the Fulbright ASEAN Scholar Award, Ogilvy Foundation International Award for Academic Leadership and the Outstanding Applied Researcher Award from the ICA.

Professor Lwin serves on Women@NTU Advisory Board.

Academic Profile

Assoc. Prof. Ng Wee Keong | 𝘈.𝘐. & 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐒𝐂𝐒𝐄)

Dr. W. K. NG works in machine learning, privacy-preserving techniques, query-permissible encrypted databases, enterprise blockchain systems, data security, and blockchain security. His work is motivated by the need to harness the power of data for the betterment of stakeholders, where the data has confidentiality and privacy issues; where the data may be owned and held by different stakeholders, and where the data is so large that it must be hosted in cloud servers that are never completely secured (susceptible to insider and cyber attacks). He contributes to companies and industries as a technology consultant on projects involving data analytics, artificial intelligence, data privacy and security, and blockchain. In recent years, his involvement in conferences and workshops can be found here. His work is supported by various research grants, which can be found here. He is an Associate Editor and Member of Editorial Boards of five journals. Over the years, he has worked with many talented students on their PhD and Master theses. Dr. Ng writes for online magazines and newspapers and contributes to social causes.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Chen Lin | 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 (𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐁)

Dr. CHEN Lin became a member of the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology at Nanyang Technological University in 2023. Prior to this, he held a postdoctoral fellowship position at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia. He earned his Bachelor and Master degrees in Food Science and Engineering from China Agricultural University. Subsequently, he completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the National University of Singapore in 2021. Currently, Dr. CHEN's primary research focuses on advancing phage products to enhance food safety and comprehending the molecular mechanisms underlying phage-host interactions. He has served as an author or co-author in more than 30 publications, which collectively have garnered over 2400 citations. Notably, he was honored with the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) Young Scientist Award in 2022, which recognizes individuals with outstanding scientific contributions and the potential for future scientific leadership.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Ye Hui | 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 (𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐁)

Ye Hui holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Before joining NTU, Ye Hui served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Ye Hui's research interests revolve around the development of functional foods tailored to specific gender and age requirements. This includes exploring the regulatory roles of food chemicals in energy homeostasis, and their potential structural activity relationship. His research aims to develop food functionality for a specific purpose with foods “designed” to contain specific functional components for a desired positive health outcome.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Xunyuan Yin | 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 (𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐁)

Xunyuan Yin received the Ph.D. degree in process control from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, in August 2018. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2010 and 2012, respectively. He was a visiting student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 2014. Between August 2018 and November 2021, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta. His research interests include state estimation, optimal process control, fault diagnosis, learning-based process monitoring and operation, and their applications to manufacturing processes.

Academic Profile

Assoc. Prof. Miao Yansong | 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘴
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 (𝐒𝐁𝐒)

Miao Lab research mainly focuses on studying the mechanisms of actin assembly in polarized fungal growth and plant immunity. Miao Lab interested in how diverse extracellular and intracellular signals regulate actin assembly underlying diverse physiological and pathological processes in eukaryotic cells. Actin filament assembly contributes to the multiple cellular pathways pleiotropically, by its dynamic assembly and disassembly upon cellular needs and specific stimuli, such as the activation of polarized cell growth or the host immune responses during defense mechanisms against pathogenic attack. In the much crowd intracellular environment, actin-binding proteins (ABPs) precisely regulate the dynamics assembly and re-organization of actin networks, in cooperative and competitive manners. We are particularly interested in how the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of ABPs perceive the signals to trigger the re-organisation of actin assembly, by regulating the protein dynamics, protein conformation, and protein-protein interactions, via interdisciplinary approaches, such as biochemical assay, advanced cell imaging, genetic approaches.

Academic Profile