Beh Lab - Team

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.

Dawn Lok
B.S. in Chemistry, Imperial College London

Research Officer

Dawn graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) from Imperial College London, funded by the NSS(BS) scholarship. In Imperial, she completed her summer research in peptide chemistry under Dr Louise Walport and in metallo-antimicrobials under Dr Jeannine Hess from the Francis Crick Institute. For her final year project, she investigated the influence of G-quadruplexes on cisplatin resistance within high grade serous ovarian carcinoma in Dr Marco di Antonio's lab. Dawn enjoys dancing and travelling in her free time.

Lam Wei
Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture, Republic Polytechnic

Laboratory Officer

Lam Wei graduated from Republic Polytechnic with a diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture. Most recently, he worked on understanding how various genes can affect pluripotency on human mesenchymal stem cells under Dr Liu Tong Ming. In addition, he helped characterised human mesenchymal stem cell derived extracellular vesicles in the early stages of the EVANTICA project. Lam Wei’s interest lies in the field of DNA metabarcoding and aims to pursue a career as a research scientist.

Xia Suiyuan

B.S. in Life Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

M.Eng. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore

Research Officer

Suiyuan graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Life Sciences from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. He spent two years in Prof. Tong Yen Wah’s lab at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, where he focused on investigating synthetic self-assembling peptide amphiphiles and their applications for 3D bioprinting. Then he joined Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), working on DNA sequencing pipeline development for the identification of adventitious agents in cell therapy cultures. Currently, his research centers on DNA and RNA modifications using TadA (tRNA-specific adenosine deaminase) and other CRISPR/Cas-based tools for gene therapy applications. In his free time, Suiyuan enjoys traveling and playing badminton with friends.

Lim Zhi Fei
Intern

Zhi Fei graduated from Hwa Chong Institution under the Integrated Programme in 2024. She undertook a project developing novel prime editors for precision genome engineering under the Nanyang Research Programme (NRP), attached to Assoc. Prof. Tan Meng How’s Lab at the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She also took up a research attachment at the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and studied H3 Biology in Hwa Chong. Zhi Fei hopes to study biology in university and pursue a career in research.

Qiu Ruolin
Intern

Ruolin graduated from Hwa Chong Institution after completing the Integrated Programme in 2024. Under the school’s science research programme, she was attached to A*STAR completed a project investigating the immunological impact of PARP inhibitors on cancer cells and PARP inhibitor resistant cancer cells under the guidance of Dr Ko Huiling. She presented the project at the Singapore Science and Engineering fair and Global Link Singapore Competition in 2024. She hopes to pursue medicine or biomedical science in the future.

Alumni

Gabriel Ong

B.S. In Life Sciences, with specialisation in Biomedical Science, National University of Singapore

Research Officer

Gabriel graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Life Sciences, specializing in Biomedical Science. He undertook a final year project under the supervision of Professor Roger Foo, where they investigated unique biomarkers that regulate cardiac regeneration in mice. With a passion for metabolism, Gabriel hopes to contribute an Asian perspective to the study of metabolic disorders, striving to make meaningful advances in the field. Outside of the lab, Gabriel enjoys exploring nature, as well as spending time indoors indulging in good food.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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