EI Researchers | SingHealth Duke-NUS

Antonio Bertoletti

Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Secondary Appointments:

• Research Director Viral Hepatitis Unit; Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (A*STAR)
• Honorary Professor; School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Science, University of Birmingham, UK

Research Interests:

• Immunopathogenesis of HBV infection
• T-cell immunotherapy in HBV related HCC and HBV infection

Email: antonio@duke-nus.edu.sg

Ashley Lauren St. John

Associate Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Innate and adaptive immune responses to dengue
• Mast cell responses to viral pathogens
• Flavivirus-induced vascular pathology
• Vertical transmission of Zika virus infection
• Developing novel vaccination strategies, diagnostics, and therapeutics for infectious diseases

Email: ashley.st.john@duke-nus.edu.sg

Chan Kuan Rong

Senior Principal Research Scientist, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Characterization of host responses following dengue virus infection
• Improving vaccine responsiveness in the elderly
• Machine learning and AI approaches for omics data analysis

Email: kuanrong.chan@duke-nus.edu.sg

Chan Wing Ki Kitti

Principal Research Scientist, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Structural and molecular virology of emerging pathogens
• Drug discovery targeting viral proteins
• Host–virus interaction mechanisms
• Development of antiviral therapeutics
• Animal models for studying flaviviral infections

Email: kitti.chan@duke-nus.edu.sg

Chong Chia Yin

Senior Consultant, Paediatric Infectious Diseases, KKH

Secondary Appointments:

• Director, Clinical Quality & Patient Safety, Medicine - Paediatrics ACP
• Adjunct Associate Professor in Pediatrics ,Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS
• Adjunct Associate Professor, Duke- NUS, Medical School
• Clinical Teacher, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University
• Physician Faculty, SingHealth Paediatrics Residency programme

Research Interests:

• Invasive Pneumococcal Disease
• Entervirus Diseases
• Meningitis
• Tuberculosis
• HIV
• Vaccine Complications
• Employee Health and Staff Vaccination

Email: chong.chia.yin@singhealth.com.sg

De Alwis Adamberage Ruklanthi

Assistant Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Antibody responses to viral infections and vaccination
• Serological surveillance of emerging infectious diseases
• Monoclonal antibody discovery and immune profiling
• Vaccine development for arboviruses and respiratory viruses
• Pathogen genomics and outbreak preparedness initiatives

Email: rukie.dealwis@duke-nus.edu.sg

Gavin James Smith

Professor, Programme Director, Duke-NUS Medical School

Secondary Appointment:

• Lead, Research Core, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute
• Associate Research Professor, Duke Global Health Institute

Research Interests:

• Influenza
• Respiratory viruses
• Emerging infectious diseases
• Evolution
• Molecular epidemiology

Email: gavin.smith@duke-nus.edu.sg

Guntur Fibriansah

Principal Research Scientist, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Structural biology of viral proteins
• Mechanisms of virus–antibody interactions
• Structure-guided vaccine and therapeutic design
• Structural determinants of viral infectivity and immune recognition
• Flavivirus structural immunology

Email: gfibriansah@duke-nus.edu.sg

Hsu Alan Chen-Yu

Principal Research Scientist, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Virus–host interactions in influenza and coronaviruses and their role in respiratory disease
• Innate immune and inflammatory responses driving severe viral infections
• Host immune factors regulating viral replication and disease severity
• Development of host-targeting, broad-spectrum therapeutics effective against current and emerging respiratory viruses

Email: alan.hsu@duke-nus.edu.sg

Kalimuddin Shirin

Senior Consultant, Dept. Infectious Diseases, SGH

Secondary Appointment:

• Assistant Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School
• Assistant Professor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Medicine Academic Clinical Programme

Research Interests:

• Viral infections, in particular Dengue virus
• Vaccine and therapeutics in Infectious Disease – both early and late phase clinical trials
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Outbreaks

Email: shirin.kalimuddin@singhealth.com.sg

Lamers Mart Matthias

Assistant Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Virus–host interactions underlying zoonotic coronavirus infections
• Identification of animal coronaviruses with human infection potential
• Mechanisms enabling viral entry and replication in human cells
• Organoid models to study emerging viral pathogens
• Predicting pandemic risk and developing diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics

Email: mart@duke-nus.edu.sg

Limin Wijaya

Head & Senior Consultant, Dept. Infectious Diseases, SGH

Research Interests:

• Vaccines, CNS infections, emerging infections and re-emerging infections

Email: limin.wijaya@singhealth.com.sg

Low Guek Hong Jenny

Senior Consultant, Dept. Infectious Diseases, SGH

Secondary Appointments:

• Professor, Centre for Clinician-Scientist Plus Development
• Academic Vice Chair (Research), SingHealth Duke-NUS Medicine Academic Clinical Programme
• Co-Director, Viral Research And Experimental Medicine Centre @SingHealth Duke-NUS (ViREMiCS)

Research Interests:

• Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases in particular dengue and viruses
• Viral therapeutics and vaccine discovery particularly host immune responses to viruses and vaccines and role of innate immune response in modulating the outcome of infections or vaccination

Email: jenny.low@duke-nus.edu.sg / jenny.low@singhealth.com.sg

Martin Linster

Assistant Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Evolution and population dynamics of RNA respiratory viruses, including influenza, coronaviruses, and novel emerging pathogens
• Molecular determinants of viral adaptation, fitness, and cross-species transmission
• Field-based zoonotic disease surveillance across wildlife reservoirs, including bats, shrews, and swine, using a One Health framework
• Metagenomic and genomic approaches to discover, characterise, and track emerging viruses at the animal–human interface
• Reverse genetics and experimental approaches to investigate virus phenotype, host tropism, and antiviral targets

Email: martin.linster@duke-nus.edu.sg

Nina Le Bert

Assistant Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• T-cell immunity in viral infections
• Long-term immune memory to emerging pathogens
• Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses
• Cellular immune correlates of protection
• Immunological profiling in infectious diseases

Email: nina@duke-nus.edu.sg

Ong Ziying Eugenia

Principal Research Scientist, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases
Laboratory Director, Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre @ SingHealth Duke-NUS (ViREMiCS)

Research Interests:

• Systems immunology and multi-omics approaches to study host responses to viral infections
• Identification of molecular and immune signatures associated with infection outcomes and vaccine responses
• Development of molecular tools to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccines and antiviral therapeutics
• Translational analysis of host immune responses to guide vaccine and therapeutic development

Email: eugenia.ong@duke-nus.edu.sg

Ooi Eng Eong

Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Secondary Appointments:
• Co-Director, Viral Research And Experimental Medicine Centre @SingHealth Duke-NUS (ViREMiCS)
• Professor, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, NUS
• Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS

Research Interests:

• Mechanisms that govern the clinical and epidemiological fitness of flaviviruses
• Immune responses necessary for flaviviral immunity and infection enhancement
• Molecular correlates of clinical outcome of flaviviral infection
Email: engeong.ooi@duke-nus.edu.sg

Ooi Yaw Shin

Assistant Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:
• Defining core sets of human host factors that are critically required by clinically important RNA viruses, in particular, arthropod-borne and bat-borne RNA viruses
• Identification and elucidation of the molecular details underlying the interplay between viruses and host cells
• Identifying promising targets for the development of host-directed antiviral therapeutics　
Email: yawshin.ooi@duke-nus.edu.sg

Satoru Watanabe

Assistant Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Investigating the pathological mechanisms that lead to severe dengue diseases in mice
• Discovering the factors that permit maternal-fetal transmission of ZIKV through the placental barrier
• Developing the therapeutics against DENV and ZIKV infection

Email: satoru.watanabe@duke-nus.edu.sg

Sheemei Lok

Professor, Office of Research
Interim Vice-Dean, Office of Research

Research Interests:

• Pathology of dengue virus infection and the mechanism of neutralization by antibodies and other molecules
• Vaccines and therapeutics development

Email: sheemei.lok@duke-nus.edu.sg

Soman Ninan Abraham

Adjunct Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Host-pathogen crosstalk
• Role of Mast cell in modulating innate and adaptive immune responses
• Vaccine development against emerging infectious agents
• Urinary tract infections and the development of novel strategies to combat these infections

Email: soman.abraham@duke-nus.edu.sg

Su Chuan Fang Yvonne

Associate Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Evolutionary drivers of seasonal emergence and global migration patterns of influenza viruses: understanding the complex interplays of viral genomics, antigenic and genetic evolution, natural selection, population genetics and spatial transmission in driving viral evolution through time
• Using extensive phylogenetic analyses and NGS methods for unravelling evolutionary dynamics and detecting novel viral variants
• Investigation of the adaptive mechanisms of inter-species transmission (e.g. from swine to humans) to identify important molecular determinants in viral genomes contributing to host-jump events

Email: yvonne.su@duke-nus.edu.sg

Tan Anthony Tonoto

Assistant Professor, Signature Research Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research Interests:

• Virus-specific T-cell immunology in chronic viral infections, particularly Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
• T-cell–based immunotherapeutic strategies for HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma
• Translational immunology for clinical development of antiviral immunotherapies
• Cellular immune responses to emerging viral pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2

Email: anthony.tan@duke-nus.edu.sg

Vasudevan Subhash

Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Viral protein structure and function;
• Drug discovery and development for emerging infectious diseases;
• Animal models for flaviviral infection and therapeutics studies

Email: subhash.vasudevan@duke-nus.edu.sg

Wang Linfa

Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School

Research Interests:

• Emerging zoonotic viruses and virus-host interaction, specialising in bat-borne viruses
• Pathogen identification, development of novel diagnostic platforms and better preparedness for EID responses

Email: linfa.wang@duke-nus.edu.sg