Winner of MOE AcRF Tier 3 Grant – Associate Professor Ali Miserez

We are pleased to announce that Associate Professor Ali Miserez has been awarded the MOE Academic Research Funding (AcRF) Tier 3 grant for his research programme titled “Phase Separation Regulated Life, In and Outside of Cells”. Prof Miserez is the lead Principal Investigator of this programme, in collaboration with the School of Biological Sciences, NTU. 

This Tier 3 research programme aims to closely integrate the tools of cell biology and colloidal biochemistry with the framework developed in the materials science of polymer science, soft matter, and complex fluids, with the aim of unraveling  Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS)-mediated functional organization across multiple biological length scales. By concentrating specific biomolecules, while excluding others, without erecting a physical barrier, LLPS gives rise to fluidic droplets, which are found across multiple lengths scales of the biological media, from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and from the cell membrane to the extra-cellular environment. The program also seeks to exploit the unique physico-chemical characteristics of complex droplets formed by LLPS into translational applications, including as stimuli-responsive carriers in therapeutic treatments, wet adhesives for tissue repair, micro-droplets for cell-free gene expression, or sustainable bio-based composite materials.

About the MOE AcRF Tier 3
The MOE AcRF Tier 3 funding supports high impact, multidisciplinary research programmes in Singapore’s research-intensive Autonomous Universities (AUs) that has academic significance and potential to create new knowledge that benefits Singapore and the larger academic community.

Our heartiest congratulations to Prof Miserez on winning this grant!