Leslie Beh
A.B. in Biology, Harvard University
A.M. in Biology, Princeton University
Ph.D. in Biology, Princeton University
Principal Investigator
Leslie earned an A.B. in Biology at Harvard University as a John Harvard scholar, where he trained with Nicole Francis to uncover sequence features underlying polycomb group protein activity. Under her tutelage, Leslie gained a lasting appreciation for biochemical approaches to understand protein function. He then completed an A.M. and Ph.D. in Biology from Princeton University with Laura Landweber and Tom Muir as a Petrie fellow, where he developed methods for assembling synthetic chromosomes with custom epigenetic modifications. Through genomics and biochemical fractionation approaches, he identified a novel DNA methyltransferase complex that is homologous to the RNA m6A methyltransferase, METTL3/14. Leslie then embarked on a short postdoctoral stint with Sam Sternberg at Columbia University, where he used genomic, structural, and biochemical approaches to study CRISPR-Cas systems that mediate RNA-guided DNA integration. Leslie then pursued a career in industry, joining Illumina to lead a research group for developing novel epigenetics assays.
Leslie will draw upon his experiences from academia and industry to run a productive lab group at A*STAR / IMCB. Having personally benefited from good mentorship, Leslie cares deeply about guiding lab members towards their career goals and personal aspirations.
Liu Pei
B.A. in Biochemistry, Mount Holyoke College
Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
Senior Scientist
Liu Pei graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Biochemistry and worked in Professor Kathryn McMenimen’s lab on biochemical characterization of heat shock protein HSP27. She then spent a year in Dr. Su Seong Lee’s lab at Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, A*STAR, to design and characterize novel scaffolds for glycomimetics. She obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley with Professor Evan Miller, where she developed strategies to genetically target fluorescent dyes to detect membrane potential changes in specific cells of interest. Her undergraduate and graduate studies were supported by the A*STAR NSS-BS/PhD scholarships. She received her postdoctoral training with Professor Katherine Ferrara and Professor Stanley Qi at Stanford University, working on an interdisciplinary project to use CRISPR/Cas for ultrasound-mediated genome engineering.
In the Beh lab, Liu Pei is interested in designing and applying CRISPR/Cas-based tools for precise modifications of mRNA and studying these modifications in vitro and in vivo.
Shirley Chia
B.S. (Honours) in Life Sciences, with specialisation in Biomedical Science (BMS); Highest Distinction; National University of Singapore
Ph.D. student, joint with Soh Boon Seng Lab
Shirley graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Life Sciences (Specialisation in Biomedical Science) and a minor in Public Health. With her passion in the cardiovascular field, she did her final year project under the guidance of Dr. Soh Boon Seng to investigate the effects of nanoplastics pollution on stem-cells derived cardiomyocytes. She was then awarded the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Sciences in NUS. Her current graduate studies involved the use of RNA strategies in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Shirley hopes that her research efforts could uncover novel therapeutics for better management of heart diseases.
William Guo
B.A. in Natural Sciences (Pathology), University of Cambridge
Research Officer
William completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cambridge with a specialization in Pathology. He did his final year research project in Professor Louise Boyle’s lab, where he studied TAPBPR in a mouse background using CRISPR and other molecular biology tools. As an A*STAR NSS (BS-PhD) scholar, he aims to do a PhD in either immunology or RNA biology and hopes that his efforts will contribute to cancer research in the future. Outside of science, William enjoys playing sports, chess and indulging in his newfound appreciation for Asian food.
Bronson Lee
Undergraduate student
Bronson is a final year undergraduate student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Biological Science). As part of NTU Professor Marek Mutwil’s team, he established a bacterial database of common bacterial species with data analysis of gene expression data to construct co-function networks using Python. To further develop his coding skills, he took on the role of a Teaching Assistant for an introductory Python course at NTU, contributing to both his own learning and the education of others. His interest lies in applying bioinformatics and computational biology to research questions. Additionally, he is an avid runner and musician.
Rachel Chan
Intern
Rachel graduated from Raffles Institution under the Integrated Programme in 2023. She participated in the Science Research Programme (SRP) and investigated the role of HDAC7 in promoting GBM proliferation and invasiveness under the guidance of Dr. Ong Sek Tong Derrick from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Rachel also took up the H3 NTU Molecular Biology course taught by various professors from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) including Dr. Melissa Jane Fullwood and Dr. Cheung Ching For Peter. In the future, Rachel hopes to study medicine and pursue a career as a physician-scientist.
Zhan Xiaoyan
Intern
Xiaoyan graduated from Hwa Chong Institution after completing the Integrated Programme in 2023. Under the Science Research Programme organised by National University of Singapore, she investigated the correlation between the staining pattern of pluripotency markers on induced pluripotent stem cells and the quality of cardiomyocytes differentiated from them, and subsequently presented the project in the 35th Science Research Congress. She also took up H3 Molecular Biology at Nanyang Technological University in 2023, learning the mechanisms of various molecular techniques used in biological research. Xiaoyan wishes to study Biomedical Sciences in the future.
Gwyneth Tan
Intern
Gwyneth graduated from Victoria Junior College in 2023. Under the tutelage of Dr Hannah Ee Juen Yong, she examined the association between ABCA6 and ABCA9 lipid transporter expressions with lipid profiles in the placenta, as part of the H3 NAV Research Programme in 2022. Gwyneth is keen on pursuing a course of study in Biology at university.
Liu Shuwen
Intern
Shuwen completed her studies at Hwa Chong Institution in 2023, where she took up H3 Biology and a research attachment at the Nanyang Technological University School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Under the guidance of Dr. Sierin Lim and Dr. Vishnu Vadanan at the BeANs Lab, she worked on a research project on optimising the encapsulation of N-acetylcysteine in PLGA nanoparticles and studied its effectiveness as an antibacterial agent in the treatment of acne vulgaris. The project culminated at the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair, where she presented her findings and clinched the Merit Award. Looking ahead, Shuwen aspires to pursue Biology further and contribute to the advancement of medical therapies.
Alumni
Phoebe Tan
B.S. in Biomedical Sciences, Upper-Second Class Honours, University of Sheffield (2022)
Research Officer
Phoebe completed her undergraduate thesis under the guidance of Dr. Elena Rainero on the link between Extracelullar Matrix degradation and cancer metastasis. Prior to her undergraduate studies, she received her Diploma in Biomedical Sciences from Republic Polytechnic, where she completed a 20-week internship and Final Year Project, with Dr. Juwita Rahmat in the Department of Surgery at the National University of Singapore, on the use of nanoparticles in photodynamic therapy in bladder cancer. She hopes to branch out into the field of oncogenomics further into her research career. Additionally, she is keen on using bioinformatics and software programming to support her research work.
Aye Sandy Bo
B.S. in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Sydney
Research Officer
Sandy did her Bachelor of Medical Sciences with double major in Molecular Biology and Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Sydney. She did her Diploma in Molecular Biotechnology at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Through multiple projects, she developed a passion for genetics. Genetic material is the information centre of life and through extensive research, she hopes to uncover key aspects of genetic modifications that could be used as therapeutics in the future. Outside of science, she enjoys baking and spending time in nature.
Nicole Teo
Intern
In 2022, Nicole completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and graduated from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). As part of the programme, she wrote her Extended Essay in Biology, investigating the antifungal properties of natural dyes extracted from plants. Under the guidance of Dr. Jinhyuk Fred Chung, Chief Scientific Officer at Xylonix.io, she also studied how DNA repair mutations altered blood cancer sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. Nicole hopes to study Medicine at university and eventually become a clinician-scientist, pursuing both clinical practice and scientific research.
Eunice Ho
Intern
Eunice graduated from the National Junior College Integrated Programme in 2022. She took up H3 Research, and generated novel iron and gold DNAzymes under the guidance of Dr. Liu Zhennan from the Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment, A*STAR. Eunice also participated in an international research exchange programme with students from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, Thailand, during which she studied inexpensive methods to extract lipases from various seeds and characterised these lipases. In the future, Eunice endeavours to study Biology, and pursue a career in genetics research.