3

Beating tuberculosis and malaria

Unlocking the secrets of airborne pathogens

Tackling heart disease and stroke

Redefining MedicineHarnessing science, engineering and technology to transform healthcare

ISSU

E 5

201

4.

Uncovering the molecular basis of ageing and cancer

In this issue1 Upfront

Deciphering life in the air

2 Discoveries

10 Cover story

Translating medical research into human health

14 Features

A microscopic look at life: Uncovering the molecular basis of ageing and cancer

Lighting up the future with semiconductor lights and displays

New nanophotonics: Solutions for sustainability and data processing in the information era

20 From the researcher’s desk

Tuberculosis: New drug targets to battle a major scourge of mankind

Tectonics research: Studying the faults that raise the roof of the world

Perovskite solar cells: Efficiently harnessing the power of the sun

Killing three birds with one stone: Discovering common molecular pathophysiologies in cancer, heart disease and stroke

28 Conversations

Driving the journey from research to innovation: Professor Lam Khin Yong

30 Faces

Harnessing the powers of biofilms at the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering

32 Global dialogue

The world’s brightest minds gather at NTU

Events

34 At a glance

The honour roll

New centres, collaborations and programmes

1

Upfront

Every day, we inhale millions of microorganisms (fungi, bacteria and viruses), representing a largely unexplored ecosystem. Microorganisms are found everywhere, but not much is known about the diversity and numbers of microbes in the surrounding air, including those that are potentially harmful to humans. This will soon change, thanks to a large multidisciplinary research programme by scientists from the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at NTU.

Jumpstarted by a substantial grant of almost S$25 million (US$19 million) from Singapore’s Ministry of Education – the biggest grant ever awarded to a single research programme in Singapore – an interdisciplinary team of genomicists, ecologists, microbiologists, physicists and bioinformaticians from the Centre is identifying and characterising the microbial world in Singapore’s air.

Titled “Missing ecosystems, sources, function and ecology of urban air microbiomes”, the comprehensive programme aims to reveal the composition, sources, function and ecology of the microbial cosmos in Singapore’s air and to provide fundamental knowledge about the dissemination of airborne microorganisms.

“We are all concerned with food safety, and with the microbial intake to our digestive

systems and bodies, but no one asks what we are breathing,” said world-renowned genomicist Prof Stephan Schuster, the study’s principal investigator.

Deciphering life in the air

Researchers at the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering are attempting an ambitious project to decode airborne microbial inhabitants. This project is supported by the largest education ministry grant ever awarded to a research programme in Singapore.

Crossing disciplines such as systems biology, aerosol physics, environmental sequencing, bioinformatics as well as microbial biology and imaging, the study aims to decipher the microbial communities in both ambient and indoor air environments.

Using state-of-the-art technologies, the researchers – led by the second principal investigator of the research programme, SCELSE's Deputy Director Prof Yehuda Cohen – will study the dynamics of airborne microbes – both indoor and outdoor – across Singapore's urban tropical landscape. In particular, they will investigate how the interchange between warm and humid ambient air, and cool and dry air-conditioned indoor air, affects the composition of the microbial communities and the expression of their activities.

Advanced technologies such as single-molecule sequencing will “put the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life

Sciences Engineering at the forefront of attempts to analyse these tiny amounts of biomass,” said Prof Cohen.

“Drawing on the Centre’s expertise in microbial genomics and bioinformatics, we are going to study the air

microbiome on a scale of integration and interdisciplinary collaboration never attempted before,” said Assoc Prof Federico Lauro, co-leader and the third principal investigator of the project.

“In order to better understand how microbes live and travel through the air, we will study the delicate interplay

between genes and microbial species and the physical and chemical conditions of the environment,” added Assoc Prof Lauro, who is a global expert in oceanic, deep-sea and Antarctic microbiology.

Programme lead Prof Schuster is hopeful that the study will not only help to “sequence entire microbial

communities, but also complete genomes within these communities”, so we can better understand our immediate environments and the potential microbial threats to human health.

Different types of air samplers (pictured) will be used to decipher what’s in the air we breathe. Photo credit: Martin Tay.

3PUSHING FRONTIERS

2

Nature’s blueprints for high-performance materials

Self-healing membranes, natural adhesives and extremely robust or elastic polymers – nature has invented

many materials with phenomenal structures and functions that, once discovered and characterised, can be

used as templates for the design of biomimetic materials with superior qualities to man-made materials.

The team of Asst Prof Ali Miserez, Dr Paul Guerette and Adjunct Asst Prof Shawn Hoon from the Biological &

Biomimetic Material Laboratory @ NTU has developed a novel approach to determining the primary protein

sequences and natural processing pathways of natural materials, a crucial step in biomimetic engineering.

Integrating high-throughput RNA sequencing and transcriptomics with proteomics tools and advanced

computational simulations, the scientists rapidly identified and characterised a range of high-performance

biomaterials and successfully engineered them. Examples include proteins that confer unique shock-absorbing

and elasticity properties to marine snail egg-cases or tremendous strength to the sucker ring teeth on the

tentacles of predatory jumbo squids, or those that enable mussels to strongly adhere to surfaces.

In a separate study, Asst Prof Miserez, together with PhD student Shahrouz Amini, set out to unravel the

microstructural and physicochemical characteristics behind some impressive anatomical properties of

other marine predators. Stomatopods like mantis shrimps – marine crustaceans found in shallow tropical

waters around the Asia-Pacific – are able to crack the shells of their prey (molluscs, snails and crabs)

with powerful blows using their dactyl appendages. These hammer- or spear-like “claws” are able to inflict

substantial impact on surfaces whilst being highly-resistant to wear and internal fracturing.

Using field emission scanning electron microscopy and nanomechanical characterisation, as well as Raman

spectroscopy techniques, the researchers discovered distinct compositions and properties of materials in

those segments of the shrimps’ dactyl appendages, which are at the core of the impact.

In particular, they identified highly-crystalline fluorapatite (a mineral that also adds to the strength of sharks’

teeth) co-localised with calcium sulphate in the impact region. Ab initio computer simulations, led by

Assoc Prof Su Haibin from NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, suggest that the presence

of calcium sulphate is instrumental in promoting this high degree of fluorapatite crystallisation, which

increases the stiffness and strength of the biomineralised structures near the outer impact surface.

The scientists aim to use their findings to develop new apatite biomaterials with high wear- and fracture-

resistance, potentially paving the way for advanced materials and coatings used in medical implants,

prosthetics and drug-delivery devices.

The studies “Accelerating the design of biomimetic materials by integrating RNA-seq with proteomics and materials

science” and “Textured fluorapatite bonded to calcium sulphate strengthen stomatopod raptorial appendages” were

published in Nature Biotechnology (2013), DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2671 and Nature Communications (2014) 5: 3187; DOI:

10.1038/ncomms4187, respectively.

Discoveries

New targets in the battle against malaria

Every year, 200 to 300 million people become infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium, leading to

about 800,000 deaths, most of them children. Efforts to develop effective vaccines and anti-malaria drugs

have been hampered largely because of the high versatility of Plasmodium falciparum – the parasite strain

that causes the most malignant form of malaria – and recurring anti-drug resistances.

A study led by Prof Peter Preiser from NTU’s School of Biological Sciences has detected new molecular

targets for the development of anti-malaria antibodies and drugs. The research team elucidated the signalling

pathway needed for P. falciparum to invade human red blood cells,

and successfully blocked both the pathway and invasion. Monoclonal

antibodies generated against a specific protein region of a member of

the reticulocyte-binding protein homologue family (PfRH1) specifically

inhibited calcium signalling in the parasite. As a result, the protein

EBA175 – a member of the erythrocyte-binding-like protein family,

which is essential to stimulate the formation of junctions between the

parasite and the host cell – was not released. Consequently, P. falciparum

parasites were unable to form junctions and engage their motor

machinery needed for invasion, leaving the parasites outside the cells

where they are prone to rapid elimination by the host immune system.

The study “Triggers of key calcium signals during erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum” was published in

Nature Communications (2013), DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3862.

Humanised mouse model to study human-specific malaria

Modelling human parasite infections – including interactions with the human immune system –

in laboratory animals is difficult because of the high host-specificity of the different Plasmodium

species. In a recent study co-led by Prof Peter Preiser from NTU’s School of Biological Sciences,

scientists from NTU, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, KK Women’s &

Children’s Hospital in Singapore and Carnegie Mellon University developed a humanised mouse

model to study human-specific malaria.

Humanised mice expressing elements of the human immune system, including human natural killer

(NK) cells, were supplemented with high levels of human red blood cells (RBCs) and infected with the

human-specific parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The infected mice developed extensive parasitemia,

which was further increased by depletion of human NK cells in the mice, indicating that human NK

cells play a significant role in the immediate control of P. falciparum infection – a finding that was confirmed in in vitro

studies where NK cells bound to and killed infected RBCs while leaving uninfected RBCs unharmed.

The humanised mouse model can be used to dissect human immune responses in different stages of

P. falciparum infection and will facilitate the evaluation of vaccines and therapeutics.

The article “Human natural killer cells control Plasmodium falciparum infection by eliminating infected red blood cells”

can be found in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (2013); DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1323318111.

Sucker ring teeth on the tentacles of jumbo squids, NTU research that made the cover of

Nature Biotechnology in October 2013 (Vol. 31, No. 10).

NTU’s research on the spear-like appendage of mantis shrimps was featured in Nature Communications

(nature.com/ncomms/archive/date/2014/01).

“Mosquito”by Eli Christman (CC BY 2.0)

Prof Peter Preiser and Research Fellow Dr Annie Gao studied protein pathways in the malaria parasite.

5PUSHING FRONTIERS

4PUSHING FRONTIERS

4

Ultrathin capacitors for powerful flashes in mobile phones

Low-light conditions will no longer be a problem for photos taken on mobile phones, thanks to a new

high-power polymer capacitor invented by Assoc Prof Lee Pooi See from NTU's School of Materials

Science and Engineering. Unlike conventional multilayer ceramic or electrolytic capacitors, the new

capacitor is a multilayer construct of a co-polymer that is flexible and small enough to fit into slim

mobile devices. Despite its small size, the

new capacitor can operate at high voltages

and store enough energy to fire powerful

xenon flashes matching the brightness of

flashes in digital cameras. In collaboration

with Xenon Technologies, a working

commercial prototype of the novel polymer

capacitor is being developed.

Cancer-detecting bra

Dense breast tissue presents a higher risk of breast cancer developing than breast tissue with

low density. Moreover, denser breast tissue is also related to higher rates of false positive and

false negative results from mammography or ultrasound, leading to unnecessary breast biopsy

surgeries or failure to detect abnormal tissue. Furthermore, millions of women from rural areas

of countries such as India have limited or no access to these early diagnostic tools.

A research team from NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, led by Assoc

Prof Eddie Ng Yin Kwee, together with US medical technology company Lifeline Biotechnologies

Inc., has developed a new tool to provide early diagnosis of breast cancer and validation of

the diagnosis. The “First Warning Systems” (FWS) intelligent wearable biofeedback device

is non-invasive, non-compressive and non-radiogenic, and projected to raise the accuracy

of breast cancer assessment to over 75%. Integrated into a comfortable bra that needs to be

worn for up to 48 hours, the FWS Circadian Biometric Recorder (CBR™) dynamically monitors

thermal metabolic changes that reflect circadian changes in breast tissue cells. Wireless transfer

of the patient’s biometric data to FWS’s exclusive Breast Cancer Core Lab for comparison

with databases and cancer “fingerprint” data allows the technology to be used even in

geographically-remote places. This means many more women can benefit from access to early

cancer diagnosis.

The device was granted three patents in 2012 for analytics and tested positively in proof-of-concept clinical

trials with 650 patients, achieving clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An ongoing

trial with 173 patients towards a design featuring Bluetooth support complies with the FDA’s investigational

device exemption process for commercialisation, and the product is slated for release in 2015.

Discoveries

Predicting climate warming effects on Antarctica

The earth has seen repeated cycles of ice ages – glacial periods interspersed with warmer, interglacial

periods. Finding out what causes the change from one period to the next may facilitate predictions of future

climate changes and their effects on different geographical areas.

A recent study by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Project, a consortium of scientists from 24

institutions worldwide including Asst Prof Wang Xianfeng from the Earth Observatory of Singapore at

NTU, investigated ice cores drilled from the West Antarctic ice sheet. The annually resolved ice core record

showed that deglacial warming started at least 20,000 years ago and thus at least 2,000 years earlier than

previously deduced from studies in East Antarctica. Hence, as suggested by the study, the last warming

period in Antarctica did not start in response to climate change in the Northern Hemisphere approximately

18,000 years ago, but in response to earlier changes in the Southern Ocean, such as the warming of ocean

water due to local solar radiation changes.

The findings also confirm earlier hypotheses that West Antarctica is more vulnerable than East Antarctica to

changes in the surrounding ocean conditions. They also predict increased changes to the entire continent

due to the warming climate.

The article “Onset of deglacial warming in West Antarctica driven by local orbital forcing” was published in Nature

(2013), DOI: 10.1038/nature12376.

Targeted drug delivery system to stop the growth of breast tumours

Chemotherapeutic cancer treatment usually comes with many adverse side effects, with only small amounts

of treatment drugs actually reaching the tumours. Researchers from NTU’s Schools of Physical and

Mathematical Sciences and Biological Sciences, led by Asst Prof Zhao Yanli and Asst Prof Tan Nguan Soon,

have developed a targeted drug delivery system that is able to stop the growth of breast tumours in mice.

The scientists engineered nanoparticles with pores that can be loaded with anti-cancer drugs and surface

structures that specifically recognise and facilitate entry into cancer cells. Upon entering cancer cells,

the drugs inside the pores are released due to the changed intracellular chemical environment. The drugs

are not only delivered in high concentration to the cancer cells, but also released in controlled ways to

act on site in destroying the tumour. Treated with this new targeted drug delivery system, the tumours in

the mice not only stopped growing further but actually shrank in size. After successful drug delivery,

the nanoparticles are excreted without harming healthy cells and without any visible side effects.

The study “Biocompatible, uniform, and redispersible mesoporous silica nanoparticles for cancer-targeted drug delivery

in vivo” was published in Advanced Functional Materials (2013), DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201302988.

“Antarctica Sailing Trip” by 23am.com (CC BY 2.0)

Annual ice banding patterns in the West Antarctic ice sheet.

7PUSHING FRONTIERS

6

Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Solving an old paradox

Why does hot water freeze faster than cold water? Scientists at NTU have found a solution to a phenomenon

that has puzzled inquiring minds since the time of Aristotle. A team of researchers, led by Prof Sun

Changqing and Dr Xi Zhang from NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, have elucidated

the molecular basis of the so-called Mpemba effect, which describes the observation that water, unlike other

liquids, freezes into a solid much more rapidly from a heated state than from cooler temperatures.

Cooling materials requires the release of energy. As described by the scientists, the way water molecules

store and release energy is determined by the interaction of the hydrogen bonds between water molecules

with the covalent bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms that form the water molecules. In contrast

to other liquids, in which covalent bonds lengthen and soften to store energy when heated, the hydrogen

bonds cause the covalent bonds to shorten and stiffen to store energy. When cooled in a freezer, shorter

(higher energetic) covalent bonds release energy at a higher rate than longer covalent bonds, with an

exponential relationship between energy storage level and rate of release. Thus, heated water releases its

energy faster, leading to the observed Mpemba effect.

The article “O:H-O Bond Anomalous Relaxation Resolving Mpemba Paradox” was published in arXiv:1312.1014v2

[physics.chem-ph] and highlighted in The New York Times, The Telegraph, Physics Today, IOP Physics, Chem World

(RSC), Chemistry Views (John Wiley), (e) Science News and other science media.

New photodetectors with high light sensitivity

Led by Asst Prof Wang Qijie from the Schools of Electrical and Electronic

Engineering and Physical and Mathematical Sciences, a team of NTU researchers

has developed a new low-cost photo sensor with many potential applications in

consumer imaging products, satellite imaging and communication technologies.

Fabricated out of pure monolayer graphene, the new photodetector demonstrates

a much higher photoresponsivity than existing graphene-based photodetectors.

Moreover, the photodetector exhibits high broadband photoresponsivity from

visible (532 nm) to mid-infrared (~10 µm) wavelengths.

The scientists achieved high photoresponse through band structure engineering

that creates a bandgap in graphene. Introduction of nanostructures also allows

the trapping of light-generated electrons, generating an intensified electrical

signal, which is key to the observed high photoresponsivity. The graphene photodetectors potentially use

less energy than current photo sensors and are compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

(CMOS) technologies widely used in electronics manufacturing processes.

The study “Broadband high photoresponse from pure monolayer graphene photodetector” was published in Nature

Communications (2013), DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2830.

Discoveries

Invisibility – realising science fiction fantasies

Cloaking objects and even entire living beings from the eye, once science fiction, is fast becoming a reality

through an invention by Asst Prof Zhang Baile from NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences

and researchers from China, UK and the US. The team developed polarisation-insensitive cloaks made of

optical glass that were able to hide large objects such as a fish in a fish tank and a cat in an ambient air

environment of natural light.

Through the use of four- and six-directional square and hexagonal cloaking devices, large objects

“disappeared” from multiple observation angles. The devices guide the light rays around the object and

back to their original paths. Since natural light in essence does not carry information on how long it has

travelled, humans cannot sense the change in the phase of light, that is, the longer physical paths of rays

going around the hidden object in comparison to those passing by. Thus, the object inside the cloaking

device becomes effectively invisible while everything in its background remains visible.

The article “Ray-optics cloaking devices for large objects in incoherent natural light” was published in Nature

Communications (2013), 4:2652, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3652, and highlighted in Nature “Breaking News” (2013),

DOI: 10.1038/nature.2013.13184, The Guardian (10 June 2013) and other media.

Disinfecting contaminated drinking water

Bacteria-contaminated water is a major source of infectious and diarrheal diseases and a leading cause

of child mortality in developing countries. A research team from NTU’s Singapore Membrane Technology

Centre and the Schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering,

led by Prof Hu Xiao, together with a visiting scientist from the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, has

developed a simple, rapid and effective method to disinfect bacteria-contaminated water.

The researchers developed poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA) cryogels decorated with silver nanoparticles

(AgNPs) that efficiently reduced viable bacteria in absorbed water by a factor of nearly 1,000 in a contact

time of just 15 seconds. The PSA/AgNP cryogels exhibit their biocidal activity through surface-controlled

mechanisms during direct contact with bacterial cells. After disinfection, the water can be easily released

by application of mild pressure.

The cryogels were shown to be highly reusable over multiple cycles of

operation without any decrease in disinfection efficacies. Furthermore,

the new technology does not produce any harmful by-products, a

major limitation of conventional disinfection methods. Thus, PSA/

AgNP cryogels are an improved method of drinking water disinfection

with high usability in disaster relief scenarios. In collaboration with

the philanthropic Singapore-based Lien Foundation, the team aims to

conduct field tests in Myanmar and Laos.

The study “Superabsorbent cryogels decorated with silver nanoparticles as a novel water technology for point-of-use

disinfection” was published in Environmental Science & Technology (2013), DOI: 10.1021/es401219s, and highlighted

in Nature (DOI:10.1038/502145f) as the “most viewed paper in science” as well as in other media.

Disappearing act: A cat vanishes from sight with the aid of NTU's cloaking device.

“Life-saving drinking water” by Julien Harneis (CC BY 2.0)

“Ice Cubes” by Liz West (CC BY 2.0)

9PUSHING FRONTIERS

8

Getting ahead of counterfeiters

Counterfeiting of products and currencies entails immense economic costs

worldwide and poses security threats to everyone. New security labels

with increased levels of security are needed to stay ahead of counterfeiters’

increasing ability to copy conventional security labels such as security

inks, watermarks and holograms.

A research team led by Asst Prof Ling Xing Yi from NTU’s School

of Physical and Mathematical Sciences has developed a new anti-

counterfeiting technology, creating a covert security feature that can only

be authenticated by a sophisticated analytical system. The researchers

developed covert plasmonic security labels based on silver (Ag) nanowire

structures. The Ag nanowires are fabricated by two-photon lithography and thermal evaporation, depositing

molecular probes of choice on product surfaces in order to “inscribe” features.

The new counterfeiting method is based on the ability of incident light – to an extent that is dependent on

its polarisation – to generate vibrations of the deposited molecules. These polarisation-dependent

vibrations create a specific molecular fingerprint that can only be read with specific polarisation-dependent

surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology. Due to the sensitivity of SERS to polarisation,

molecular information can be encrypted selectively at different polarisations, creating an advanced security

solution for many anti-counterfeiting applications.

The research study “Encoding molecular information in plasmonic nanostructures for anti-counterfeiting applications”

was published in Nanoscale (2014), DOI: 10.1039/C3NR04375D.

Superelastic ceramics with shape memory

Ceramics are superior to metal alloys and polymers in many applications because of their strength and

ability to sustain high temperatures of up to 1,200˚C. However, ceramics are generally brittle and crack

easily when subjected to stress and strain.

A joint research team led by Assoc Prof Gan Chee Lip from NTU’s Temasek Laboratories and Prof

Christopher Schuh from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has invented a new class of ceramics

based on zirconia crystals that can bend without cracking and regain their original shape and size when

heated to higher temperatures. The ductile ceramics can be compressed by up to 8% and damp energy of

up to 100 MJ/m3 – much higher values than those previously obtained in titanium nickel alloys.

The superelasticity and shape memory effects seen in the zirconia

ceramics – even after 50 cycles of testing – are made possible by reducing

the size and number of crystals within the volume of a ceramics specimen,

thereby decreasing the occurrence of crack sites. Ductile shape memory

ceramics have many potential applications such as in energy-damping,

high-temperature actuators, energy harvesting and MEMS devices.

The study “Shape memory and superelastic ceramics at small scales” can be found in Science (2013) Vol. 341: 1505;

DOI: 10.1126/science.1239745.

Discoveries

Targeted strategies to kill cancer cells

While chemotherapeutics are often highly effective against certain primary cancers, they

also cause severe side effects due to non-specific cytotoxicity. Moreover, drug-resistant

subpopulations of cancer cells – the so-called cancer stem cells – have a strong potential

to become metastatic, accounting for the high rate of relapse in treated patients.

Two research groups from NTU’s School of Biological Sciences are working to develop new,

efficient drugs that selectively target cancer cells at different stages of cancer development.

One of the teams, led by Assoc Prof Curtis Davey, is analysing the structure-function

relationship of two potential drug compounds – both chemically highly similar and based on

the metal ruthenium – and has found surprisingly different properties, activities and binding

preferences of the two compounds in cancer cells.

The first compound, RAED-C, preferentially binds to DNA and displays anti-primary tumour

activity and high cytotoxicity. Quite differently, the second agent, RAPTA-C, mainly binds to

histone proteins, which are associated with nuclear DNA, and shows specific activity against

metastatic cells as well as anti-angiogenic properties, while exhibiting remarkably low cytotoxicity.

The big difference in binding preferences is caused by small steric differences in the compounds’

structures. The structure-function analysis allows for the design of improved compounds that

exhibit specific activities and efficacies towards distinct cancers and cancer stages.

In another study, the team of Assoc Prof Peter Dröge is shedding light on the function of

a human chromatin protein factor – high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2). Normally,

HMGA2 is only expressed in embryonic stem cells and is absent from body cells. However,

HMGA2 also appears to be expressed in most malignant human cancers, with levels of

expression that strongly correlate with tumour malignancy, progression into metastatic stages

and the patients’ prognostic index.

The team’s study indicates that HMGA2 binds to and protects regions

of single-stranded DNA from DNA breaks during replication processes.

Apparently, cancer cells “hijack” this DNA preservation mechanism of

embryonic stem cells to evade DNA and cell destruction when exposed

to chemotherapeutics. To target this specific feature of cancer cells,

the researchers, in collaboration with industry partners, are identifying

chemical compounds that interfere with HMGA2’s binding ability.

Synergising their individual research strengths, the two teams aim

to develop a strategy to specifically and efficiently kill cancerous

cells by combining inhibition of HMGA2 with destruction of the cells

through DNA damage, using ruthenium-based and other functionally

equivalent compounds.

Details of the two studies can be found in Nature Communications (2014), DOI: 10.38/ncomms4462, and Cell Reports

(2014), DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.01.014, respectively.

Structural models of two compounds – RAED-C, bound to a DNA double helix (top), and RAPTA-C, bound to histone proteins (bottom).

Embryonic stem cells expressing HMGA2, visualised by immune fluorescence.

11PUSHING FRONTIERS

10

Just four years old, the Lee Kong Chian School of

Medicine at NTU already has in place a solid

long-term research strategy and attracted

key investments in education, manpower and

infrastructure, supported by more than S$260

million (US$200 million) in public and private

funding. With these, the medical school aims to

address emerging healthcare needs as it trains the

future doctors of Singapore.

The School’s ambitious integrated research

programme draws on NTU’s and Imperial’s excellent

track record of reaping synergies between medicine,

science and technology, and focuses on four main

areas: infection and immunity, metabolic disorders,

neuroscience and mental health, and dermatology

and skin biology. Over the next decade, it aims

to find solutions for these diseases and pioneer

therapeutic and preventative approaches.

Life sciences for the future

Renowned developmental geneticist Prof Philip Ingham FRS,

Vice-Dean (Research) at the School, said that a holistic systems

medicine approach will be a defining feature of the School as it aims

to maximise its impact in a competitive global environment.

“Research at the medical school will transcend traditional boundaries and disciplines, delivering discoveries and innovations that will translate into better therapeutic outcomes and improved quality of care for individual patients as well as healthier and longer lives for the population as a whole,” he said.

Internationally recognised for elucidating the signalling pathways

underlying human development and cancer, he is one of several

leading researchers and clinicians at the Lee Kong Chian School

of Medicine.

Other eminent scientists at the School include Prof Walter Wahli,

a specialist in metabolic disease; Prof Balázs Gulyás, an expert

in translational neuroscience; Prof Bernhard Boehm FRCP, who

specialises in metabolic medicine; and Prof Michael Ferenczi, Head

of the School’s Muscle and Cardiac Biophysics Lab.

With a growing pool of stellar faculty at the School, NTU now

has “a formidable life sciences cluster, bringing together the new medical school, the School of Biological Sciences, the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and a new

Translating medical research into human health

As with other advanced societies, Singapore’s healthcare system faces

formidable challenges: the rapid rise in chronic medical conditions,

escalating healthcare costs and growing manpower shortage.

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine – a partnership between

NTU Singapore and Imperial College London – is at the forefront of

addressing these challenges with its blend of innovative medical

education and cutting-edge clinical and translational research geared

towards developing new treatments and better diagnostics.

structural biology research centre headed by distinguished molecular biologist Prof Daniela Rhodes FRS,” said NTU

President Prof Bertil Andersson.

“Promising interdisciplinary research between our new medical school and other NTU schools is well underway. With Prof Philip Ingham FRS leading a team of global experts and a research strategy focused on Singapore’s needs, we can expect NTU’s research in healthcare to serve the population well into the future,” added Prof Andersson.

Cover story

“I am joining a School that has a highly-skilled and dedicated team from NTU, Imperial College London and partner health organisations – I hope to build on the strengths of these institutions as the School moves towards fulfilling its ambitious goals of redefining medicine and transforming healthcare.” –

Prof James Best, renowned

endocrinologist and Dean of

the Lee Kong Chian School of

Medicine in Singapore

The NTU medical school’s integrated research strategy for a healthy society.

Medical students at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine are plugged into an ultramodern medical learning environment complete with iPads and extensive use of simulation and interactive learning applications.

Top research faculty at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (from left): Prof David Becker, Prof Bernhard Boehm and Prof Philip Ingham FRS.

13PUSHING FRONTIERS

12

Cover story

Tackling infectious diseases head on

With the sizeable threat from emerging and drug-resistant infectious

diseases, the medical school’s infectious diseases research focuses

on tackling drug-resistant bacterial infections such as pulmonary

tuberculosis, as well as studying the epidemiology and intervention

of infectious diseases such as typhoid fever and dengue.

Infectious diseases specialist Prof Annelies Wilder-Smith, who is

also the coordinator of the international dengue research consortium

DengueTools, investigates emerging infectious diseases and vaccines

and will lead a new initiative on controlled human infection studies.

The medical school is also developing a strategic programme in

malaria, bringing in pioneering experts from NTU’s School of

Biological Sciences.

A holistic approach to Singapore’s top disease

Metabolic diseases such as diabetes are a high priority for the medical

school. Led by Prof Bernhard Boehm, an international authority on

clinical and experimental diabetes, the School’s metabolic disease

programme takes an integrated systems-based approach to tackle the

rapid rise in diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

“Metabolic diseases have a knock-on effect on other illnesses such as pneumonia and leukaemia,” said Prof Boehm.

“By working with researchers from different fields, we can identify correlations with wider implications,” he said.

He is joined by Prof Sven Pettersson, an international expert

on host-microbe interaction, and by Prof Walter Wahli, one of

the pioneers who discovered protein receptors relevant to the

regulation of metabolism, inflammation and wound healing.

They seek to uncover the mechanics of pre- and post-natal

host-microbe interaction and metabolism and their impact on

an individual’s health.

Improving wound healing and skin health

Dovetailing with its strategic focus on dermatology and skin

biology, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine recently partnered

Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the

National Skin Centre to establish the Skin Research Institute of

Singapore, which will be part of the upcoming Health City Novena,

a new healthcare hub in Singapore designed to integrate holistic

patient services, medical education and translational research with

commercial and public spaces.

This focus on interdisciplinary and translational research was

what attracted Prof David Becker, Professor of Tissue Repair and

Regeneration, to Singapore. Internationally recognised for his

contributions to the biology of gap junctional communication in

The new Experimental Medicine Building, to be completed in 2015, will connect the medical school to the School of Biological Sciences and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, fostering interdisciplinary research and scientific exchange on campus.

development and disease, Prof Becker intends to develop novel

drugs to speed up wound healing as well as regenerative tissues

that better integrate with natural skin for patients with ulcers or

skin burns.

Prof Artur Schmidtchen, a clinician scientist at the School who

has won several young investigator awards in Sweden, concurs. “Our goal is to establish a strong collaborative environment that enables translation of basic discoveries to the clinic and industry, delivering better treatment options for patients with inflammatory skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis and acne,” said Prof Schmidtchen, who is developing new

anti-infective and anti-inflammatory therapies by modulating

the innate immune response.

Preserving mental functions in later life

Singapore faces a growing demand for better treatments and

diagnostics for neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia

and stroke. The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine is working

with Singapore’s National Neuroscience Institute and the Institute

of Mental Health to meet this need through its world-leading

expertise in modern neuroscience.

The School’s neuroscience and mental health experts include Prof

George Augustine, an international leader in the molecular analysis

of synaptic circuitry, and Prof Balázs Gulyás, a pioneer in positron

emission technology imaging. “I want to achieve a paradigm shift where biomarkers are not just used to confirm an illness, but can be deployed throughout the course of a person’s life to prevent illness,” said Prof Gulyás of his research.

Interdisciplinary platformsChromosome biology and genome instability

Disruption of genome integrity triggers a variety of human diseases, including premature ageing and cancer. Leading research efforts in this field is Prof Daniela Rhodes FRS, a joint professor at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and NTU’s School of Biological Sciences, who studies the function and structure of chromosome ends, known as telomeres.

“Telomeres play a key role in regeneration and growth, including tumour growth. Understanding them and their structure will open a whole host of new treatment opportunities,” said Prof Rhodes, who left the world-famous Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge for the state-of-the-art research facilities and vibrant community of world-renowned molecular and structural biologists at NTU.

Other scientists at the School are also making headway in this area. Prof Dean Nizetic, Professor of Molecular Medicine, studies Down syndrome, a classic example of the effects of gene-dose-imbalance, to advance our understanding of ageing and disease mechanisms. “Studying cells from people with Down syndrome will not only help them lead longer and healthier lives, but could also provide important clues to understanding the general mechanisms of ageing, Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer, diabetes, and a number of other common conditions,” said Prof Nizetic.

BioengineeringBioengineering has led to sweeping changes in medicine, simplifying treatments and improving outcomes. Building on both NTU’s and Imperial’s

strengths in this field, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine aims to harness this power to advance drug delivery to improve healthcare outcomes and quality of life. Asst Prof Juliana Chan is one of several top young researchers recruited to the School through the Nanyang Assistant Professorship scheme, NTU’s premier young faculty recruitment programme. Through her research in nanomedicine and tissue engineering, Asst Prof Chan is making inroads in drug delivery and skin grafting.

A further boost to these efforts is the S$60 million (US$45.7 million) NTU-Northwestern Institute for Nanomedicine, the first research institution for nanomedicine in Southeast Asia with a focus on the application of medical nanotechnology.

Population health sciencesThe wellbeing of future societies depends not only on new drugs and treatments; a modern integrated health system is also crucial. At the medical school, population health science is a multidisciplinary field that draws on the theoretical and methodological approaches of medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, social sciences and engineering.

“The population health science team aims to build a world-class research programme that will help to innovate health systems around the world,” said team leader Assoc Prof Josip Car, who is an adviser to the World Health Organisation.

By integrating basic, clinical and translational research, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine aims to enable populations to live long and healthy lives, a mission that supports the School’s vision to nurture a new generation of doctors who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to redefine medicine and transform healthcare.

Prof Daniela Rhodes FRS and Prof Walter Wahli in discussion.

15PUSHING FRONTIERS

14

The transmission cryo electron microscope Tecnai Arctica (shown here with Prof Daniela Rhodes FRS) at NTU, the first university worldwide to obtain this advanced technology. The microscope is housed in the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Lab at NTU’s School of Biological Sciences. Using the latest in single-molecule, fluorescence- and cryo-electron microscopy, this state-of-the-art facility allows the correlation of structural data on chromatin and proteins with high-resolution live-cell imaging, giving researchers a close-up view of single proteins in native cellular environments.

Why do we age? Or, in other words, why do most of our cells – as

evident in our skin – stop dividing after certain numbers of cell-

division cycles, ending the process of continuous regeneration and

the prospect of eternal youth?

A key answer lies in telomeres – specific structures at the ends of

our linear chromosomes that play crucial roles in the fate of cells.

Elucidating these structures and roles is the goal of NTU’s Prof

Daniela Rhodes FRS, a world-renowned structural biologist and expert

in chromosome biology, who won a large grant of S$23.4 million

(US$17.8 million) from Singapore’s Ministry of Education to lead a

consortium of eight research groups based at NTU and the National

University of Singapore (NUS).

Inside each cell, our roughly two-metre-long genome is packaged

as chromatin – complex structures of nucleic acids and proteins

that serve to compact and organise nuclear DNA. Organisation into

chromatin offers tremendous advantages: it controls DNA replication

and gene expression, prevents DNA damage and allows compaction of

the three billion nucleotides that make up our genome into the small

space of the cell nucleus.

The chromatin regions at the tips of chromosomes are called

telomeres and they contain unique DNA repeat sequences. Telomeres

have important biological functions. In particular, they control

DNA replication, protect the very ends of our chromosomes from

degradation, and prevent chromosomes from fusing with each other.

During each round of cell division, telomeres continuously shorten,

which ultimately determines the life span of most cells. When telomeres

become too short, cells stop dividing and enter senescence, the process

of biological ageing. The link between ageing (and the speed of ageing)

and telomere shortening is evident in Progeria and other rare medical

conditions collectively known as “Premature Ageing Syndromes”. The

cells of affected patients show accelerated telomere shortening and enter

senescence prematurely, leading to tissue and organ decline at a very

young age.

Stem cells, in particular embryonic stem cells that give rise to body

cells and germ cells, have a special need to preserve telomeres and

to maintain chromosome integrity. These cells express telomerase, an

enzyme that plays a key role in telomere preservation by ensuring proper

DNA replication and DNA repair processes at the ends of chromosomes.

Intriguingly, telomerase is also expressed in about 90% of human

cancers. Cancer cells, like embryonic stem cells, continuously propagate

and divide, making them especially prone to genome damage during

replication. To maintain their chromosomes, cancerous cells – once

evolved from normal somatic cells – regain the ability to express

telomerase. Thus, telomerase is a potential target for anti-cancer therapies.

“Although telomeres and associated proteins play an immense role in ageing, cancer and other medical conditions, their structure, dynamics and biological functions are still poorly understood,” said Prof Daniela

Rhodes, who holds dual appointments at NTU’s School of Biological

Sciences (SBS) and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

“Our multidisciplinary group of experts in structural and functional biology aims to give answers to fundamental questions related to the structures and dynamics of telomeres during the cell cycle, including problems associated with telomere replication and specific functions of telomere-associated proteins such as telomerase,” added Prof Rhodes.

The research programme led by Prof Rhodes is organised into three

research clusters. Research in the first cluster, coordinated by Prof

Rhodes, aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate

DNA replication at telomeres. Using biophysical as well as imaging

techniques such as single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, Nuclear

Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography,

the scientists’ goal is to obtain conformational and three-dimensional

structural information on the telomeric DNA.

Research in this cluster will also focus on the structure and role of

telomere-interacting proteins such as G4 helicases, which resolve DNA

strands at telomeres during DNA replication, and

on telomerase as a potential anti-cancer target

for its important role in cancer progression.

Prof Lars Nordenskiöld from SBS is

coordinating the second cluster, which

studies the differences between chromatin at

telomeres and chromatin within other regions

of chromosomes. His team will investigate

the structures and highly-dynamic properties

of telomeric chromatin using crystallography,

single-molecule fluorescence resonance

energy transfer measurements, magnetic

tweezers and atomic force spectroscopy.

“We are also interested in interactions of specific binding proteins, such as the tumour suppressor protein p53, a key factor in cell cycle regulation, genome stability and cancer inhibition, with telomeres and other chromatin

areas,” said Prof Nordenskiöld. “In addition, we want to investigate the effects of certain drugs that are commonly used in cancer therapy on the stability and dynamics of chromatin,” he said.

Cell-based studies in the third cluster, led by Assoc Prof Peter Dröge,

also of NTU’s SBS, focus on the regulation and dynamics of telomeres

during the cell cycle in live cells including cancer and human

embryonic stem cells, complementing the in vitro studies conducted

under the first two clusters.

“We aim to visualise human telomeres in situ through all steps of the cell cycle to gain insights into the structural changes and spatial and temporal positioning of telomeres in the nucleus,” said Assoc Prof Dröge.

Besides achieving its scientific goals, the telomere research

programme also seeks to establish a Singapore-wide network for

chromatin research that will advance knowledge of the molecular

basics of ageing and cancer, summed up Prof Rhodes.

Several hundred electron micrograph 2D images of telomerase were used to reconstruct 3D images (on the right) to help understand the enzyme’s structure and function. Picture credit: Prof Daniela Rhodes.

Feature

The structure and length of telomeres (the tips of eukaryotic chromosomes, depicted in gold) are essential for genome integrity. Picture credit: Prof Daniela Rhodes.

A microscopic look at life Uncovering the molecular basis of ageing and cancer

The team behind “Telomere Dynamics and Genome Function: From DNA to Nucleosomes to Chromosomes”, which received five-year funding of S$23.8 million (US$18.1 million), the second largest amount ever awarded by the Ministry of Education to a research programme. From left, with Prof Rhodes (fourth from left): Co-Principal Investigators Assoc Prof Yan Jie (NUS), Assoc Prof Peter Dröge (NTU), Assoc Prof Phan Anh Tuan (NTU), Assoc Prof Curtis Davey (NTU), Prof Lars Nordenskiöld (NTU), Asst Prof Sara Sandin (NTU) and Assoc Prof G.V. Shivashankar (NUS). Others involved in the research (not pictured) include Prof Pär Nordlund and Assoc Prof Liu Chuan Fa (both from NTU).

17PUSHING FRONTIERS

16

Modern societies wouldn’t have evolved without artificial lighting.

From candles, oil and kerosene lamps to electric illumination, artificial

lighting has had a tremendous impact on the cultural and economic

development of mankind.

Today, we are surrounded by artificial light sources every minute of the

day. It is estimated that artificial lighting accounts for about one fifth

of global energy consumption, contributing significantly to the world’s

carbon footprint.

As part of NTU’s “Sustainable Earth” research thrust, the

LUMINOUS! Centre of Excellence for Semiconductor Lighting and

Displays was set up under the University’s School of Electrical and

Electronic Engineering. The Centre aims to improve the energy

efficiency and photometric quality of lighting and forms an integral

part of The Photonics Institute, launched in October 2014 (see

also “New nanophotonics: Solutions for sustainability and data

processing in the information era” on page 18).

Green nanophotonics

The Centre’s research strengths include developing high-quality and

highly-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), particularly for lighting

and displays. LED lighting is at least 2.5 times more efficient than

fluorescent lamps, which have an energy-efficiency of about 20%, and

10 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, which convert only

about 5% of electrical input into visible light.

Researchers at NTU’s LUMINOUS! Centre aim to create complete

solutions that can be rapidly deployed in the real world, covering the

complete pipeline from material development to designing the device

architecture, fabrication and testing.

“At LUMINOUS!, we start with the design of the LED material, model the devices and explore the underlying physics of LEDs,” said the

Centre’s Founding Director, Assoc Prof Hilmi Volkan Demir, who is

a Nanyang Associate Professor at both the School of Electrical and

Electronic Engineering and School of Physical and Mathematical

Sciences, as well as a Singapore National Research Foundation Fellow.

“For example, we develop LED epitaxial wafers – thin slices of crystalline semiconductor material with crystalline overlayers – and integrate them with microfabricated devices to make energy-saving white LEDs with colour-converter materials,” he explained.

Among the Centre's achievements are the world's first LED lights

that emit warm white light comfortable for the human eye while

simultaneously revealing the true colours of objects. Researchers at

LUMINOUS! have also been actively developing lighting and display

solutions that use quantum dot colour-converting LEDs and colour

enrichment nanocrystal films.

Blue-emitting LED crystals grown at LUMINOUS!.

Different sizes of colloidal quantum dots under UV illumination render a spectrum of different colours.

Nano-scale crystals for colourful illumination

The quality and efficiency of white LEDs is critically dependent on the

high purity and spectrum of colours used for colour conversion. The

colours emitted by quantum dots – semiconductor nanocrystals with

specific optical properties – can be tuned to almost any wavelength

in the visible and infrared light spectrum. As pioneers in nanocrystal

quantum dot technology, the Centre’s scientists have succeeded in

developing high quality and highly efficient nitride-based (III-N) LEDs.

“If you mix colours with high purity rather than from less pure sources, you can span a much larger colour space with excellent colour distribution and rendition on displays such as LED TVs,” explained

Assoc Prof Demir.

Quantum dot colour-converting LED technology has many potential

applications in indoor and outdoor lighting, display backlighting and

lasers or in combination with new technologies such as freestanding

bendable membranes of nanocrystals.

LUMINOUS! researchers recently developed the world’s largest sheets of

nanocrystals, measuring more than half-metre by half-metre. The very

thin sheets shine brightly even when powered by weak LED lights and

have numerous applications in LED TVs, LED display lighting and others.

Designing LEDs that adapt to transitions in daylight

Artificial lighting needs to be designed for the human eye, or, more

precisely, for the photosensitive cells in the human eye. Typically,

only the specialised cells for colour differentiation – the cones

sensitive to RGB colours – are considered in lighting design, while

the colour-insensitive rods that differentiate only between tones of

grey are ignored. However, under diminished light conditions, the rods

play a much bigger role in human vision compared to the cones –

the reason why at night we see objects in shades of grey and find it

harder to differentiate colours.

“For more spectrally efficient light sources, you have to take the rods into account,” said Assoc Prof Demir, who is conducting

this research as part of a project co-funded by NTU’s College

of Engineering and global lighting company Lemnis Lighting. “The perceived brightness of LEDs smartly designed for the light response of both cones and rods is much higher,” he added.

Another joint project between LUMINOUS! and Lemnis Lighting is

the design of LEDs that adjust to human circadian cycles. Mediated

by special photoreceptors in the eye, human body clocks are

synchronised to daylight hours. Exposure to blue (cold) white light

late in the evening can lead to insomnia, while this type of light

is useful in the morning to arouse the body from sleepiness. The

Centre’s light experts are working on developing LED light sources

for indoor lighting that naturally adapt their emission spectrum

according to specific times of the day.

The Centre is also looking into the challenges of outdoor lighting.

Road lighting, for instance, requires specific adjustments in the

spectral content of LEDs and in light management to illuminate

larger spaces.

Tailored LEDs for LCD display backlighting

Most current liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs use regular white

LEDs as backlighting. These white LEDs are inefficient and waste

energy. In a project sponsored by Singapore’s Agency for Science,

Technology and Research, LUMINOUS! researchers are generating

energy-efficient display LEDs that are specifically designed to

backlight LCD TVs.

Developed with the support of NTUitive, a set-up at NTU to turn

university research into businesses, this is one example of the

research being conducted at LUMINOUS! that can be rapidly

deployed into commercial products.

(Left) A flexible quantum dot sheet under UV illumination. (Centre) A large sheet (>50cm x 50cm) of semiconductor quantum dots under UV illumination. (Right) A bilayer sheet of quantum dots integrated with blue LED light, generating white light.

Feature

Lighting up the future with semiconductor lights and displays

19PUSHING FRONTIERS

18

New nanophotonics Solutions for sustainability and data processing in the information era

In the last two decades, photonics – the science of generating,

harnessing and moulding the flow of light – has changed the world.

Omnipresent in everyday life, photonics is at the core of broadband

Internet and telecommunication systems, precision laser-assisted

manufacturing, optical data storage, displays and imaging devices.

Photonic technologies have an immense impact on modern societies

and the global economy, and provide key solutions in energy

harvesting and light generation, security and defence, medicine and

sensing, optoelectronics and semiconductor processing.

Emphasising the growing importance of photonics, NTU launched

the Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT) in

December 2012 to foster and integrate nanophotonics research

activities across the University and Singapore. The Centre also

collaborates with international partners, such as University of

Stuttgart, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Boston

College, Harvard University, University of Sydney and Taiwan

National University – and with more international partnerships

expected in the next years, CDPT aspires to become a global hub

for photonics research.

According to CDPT Director Prof Nikolay Zheludev, the Centre aims

to advance the physics of controlling, guiding and amplifying light

in nanostructures.

“Our main goal is to develop and test disruptive concepts and technological solutions in photonic devices, allowing for ultra-high

density integration, the lowest possible energy level usage and the highest speeds of optical switching and data processing,” he said.

“We call these novel concepts ‘disruptive’ because they aim to break with current paradigms and trends in order to create new ones,” he added.

Part of CDPT’s core agenda is the development of new

nanofabrication techniques and methods of growth to expand the

“metamaterial paradigm”. By structuring natural materials at small

scales, it is possible to achieve optical properties not occurring in

nature. The hybridisation and integration of nanostructures into the

waveguide and fibre environment of various novel materials make

up the second major part of CDPT’s roadmap.

Spurred by a major grant from Singapore’s Ministry of Education in

2012, CDPT’s research programme – following three main research

threads – aims to provide solutions to problems that range from

few-photon switching devices, nanophotonics and novel nanophotonic

materials to reconfigurable, dynamic and quantum metamaterials,

plasmonic and nanofibre waveguides, nanolasers and spasers.

“The awarding of the very first grant under the Singapore education ministry’s Academic Research Fund Tier 3 Programme to our team clearly indicates that Singapore is committed to fundamental research, which can lead to revolutionary changes in technology. This is fully in line with Singapore’s vision of creating an innovative and knowledge-based economy,” said CDPT’s Co-Director, Prof Shen Zexiang.

Transforming the use of light with novel metamaterials and metadevices

Under CDPT’s first research thrust, scientists are focusing on

reconfigurable, dynamic and quantum metamaterials and metadevices,

as well as on transformation optics.

Metamaterials – artificial materials with distinctive properties that go

beyond those found in natural materials – provide solutions for many

problems related to the application of light. The precisely engineered

shapes, sizes, arrangements and periodic patterns of metamaterials and

their incorporated structural elements of sub-wavelength sizes allow

the control, guidance and amplification of light in distinctive ways.

Developments in metamaterials, metadevices and metasystems are driving

light-enabled applications in telecommunication, energy conversion and

re-distribution, sensors, light sources and data processing systems.

“At CDPT, we have established a truly collaborative culture, where researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds – atomic and solid state physicists, telecommunication engineers, and materials and optical scientists – jointly address issues related to photonic technologies and tackle problems that go far beyond each of their individual disciplines,” said Asst Prof Cesare Soci, CDPT’s

Deputy Director.

Some of the current research projects at CDPT tackle problems in invisibility

cloaking, imaging with unlimited resolution and tailoring of light waves.

Complex data processing inspired by the human brain

Micro- and nano-structured fibres, enhanced through the incorporation

of nano-particles, quantum dots and phase-change media, are ideal for

intelligent and reconfigurable optical waveguides and even allow for

massive parallel data handling at terahertz frequencies and low power.

Scientists at CDPT are exploring large-scale networks of reconfigurable

intelligent nano-fibres for complex data processing tasks as well as

cognitive plasmonic networks. Inspired by the neurological networks of

the human brain, the goal of this research is to mimic the information

processing capabilities of the brain to implement new computational

paradigms and to develop a better understanding of how the human

brain works.

“Green photonics” – efficient use of light through nanotechnologies

In the next decade, nano-scale optical sources will be key components

of devices and applications in optical data processing, lab-on-a-

chip and neurologically-inspired optical networks. New efficient

luminescent materials will pave the way for significant reductions in

energy consumption while substantially enhancing the performance of

portable computers and other electronic devices. With CDPT aiming

to become a world leader in future “green” technologies that exploit

light, the Centre forms an integral part of NTU’s “Sustainable Earth”

research thrust.

Project leader Dr Stefano Vezzoli (right) and PhD student Charles

Altuzarra (left) working in the CDPT Quantum

Nanophotonics Lab, where metamaterials

are studied.

Feature

CDPT Director Prof Nikolay Zheludev, from NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) and School

of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), led a team

that won a prestigious grant of about S$10 million (US$7.8

million) in 2012 from Singapore’s Ministry of Education for a

proposal on “Disruptive Photonic Technologies”. The winning team includes CDPT Co-Director Prof

Shen Zexiang (SPMS and School of Materials Science and Engineering),

Deputy Director Asst Prof Cesare Soci (SPMS and EEE) and Principal

Investigators Assoc Prof Sun Handong (SPMS), Assoc Prof Fan Hongjin (SPMS), Prof Shum Ping

(EEE) and Asst Prof Wang Qijie (EEE and SPMS).

$100 million Photonics Institute

CDPT and its ambitious research programme will form a major component of

The Photonics Institute (TPI), a joint research institute between NTU and the University

of Southampton’s world-famous Optoelectronics Research Centre, which opened in

October 2014 on NTU’s campus.

One of the most advanced in the field today, the national-level institute will focus on

research involving light technology such as found in fibre-optic cables, lasers and

consumer products like DVD/Blu-ray and remote control devices. Innovative solutions

will be generated for the many challenges facing societies and economies. These

include next-generation ultra-fast Internet or ground-breaking electronic circuits

powered by light instead of electricity.

Programme Manager Dr Giorgio Adamo handling a sample inside the chamber of a Focused Ion Beam setup, on which

few-nanometre-sized metamaterials are being manufactured.

The three co-directors of The Photonics Institute: (from left) Prof Sir David Payne, also Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton, Prof Tjin Swee Chuan, Associate Chair of NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Prof Nikolay Zheludev, also Director of CDPT, at the fibre manufacturing facility of the new Institute’s Centre for Optical Fibre Technology.

Feature stories by Nicola Wittekindt

21PUSHING FRONTIERS

20

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), affects mostly adults and is more common among men than women. According to the World Health

Organization’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2013, the incidence of TB is highest in Asia and Africa (Fig 1).

TB is more prevalent in the world today than at any time before in human history. An estimated one-third of the

human population is infected sub-clinically (i.e. people who are carriers of TB without the symptoms), with almost

nine million new cases and 1.4 million deaths occurring every year from the disease. Thus, M. tuberculosis (Fig 2)

remains the most important bacterial pathogen in the world, and after Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),

ranks as the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide.

Moreover, the global impact of TB is being worsened by combined infections with HIV and the evolution of

multidrug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis.

The need for novel molecular drug targets

The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains around the world requires the discovery

of novel bacterial drug targets and more efficient drugs.

The search for new anti-TB drug targets is focusing on molecules that are essential for the survival of the

bacterium. In lesions, the M. tuberculosis bacterium can lie dormant in a hypometabolic state, with no or

extremely slow growth. However, even in this dormant state, M. tuberculosis requires energy to maintain

critical metabolic functions, relying particularly on one enzyme, the F1Fo-ATP synthase. This enzyme

catalyses the production of the cells’ biological energy currency, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Molecular rotary engines that drive M. tuberculosis

F1Fo-ATP synthases are essentially molecular rotary engines that are powered by protons and synthesise

vital energy-rich compounds.

Tuberculosis

By Gerhard Grüber

Fig 1: Estimated TB incidence rates for 2012. (Source: World Health Organization)

From the researcher’s desk

Prof Gerhard Grüber is from the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry at NTU’s

School of Biological Sciences.

Parts of this research were published in Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. (2013), 57: 168, DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01039-12;

J. Bioenerg. Biomembr. (2013), 45: 121, DOI: 10.1007/s10863-012-9486-4;

J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. (2005), 10: 167, DOI: 10.1159/000091563;

and Cell Mol. Life Sci. (2003), 60: 474. Fig 3: Structural model of the F1Fo ATP synthase, showing the structures of the various sub-units of the F1-motor, the rotor stalk and the Fo-part of the engine, including the turbine-like c-ring.

Fig 4: The F1Fo motor structure and binding mechanism of the TB drug candidate TMC207 (green in the call-out). The rotor stalk subunit ε is shown in blue and the c-ring turbine in beige.

As depicted in the structural model (Fig 3), the complex enzyme consists of two rotary molecular motors,

F1 and Fo, attached to a common shaft, allowing the motors to rotate in opposite directions.

The F1 motor resembles a Wankel rotary combustion engine, which can directly convert fuel energy into

rotation and drive the intake of fuel as well as compression, ignition and exhaust emission sequentially

by a simple rotation of the central rotor.

As with a Wankel rotary engine, the bacterial F1-motor has a central rotor (the rotor γε stalk, see Fig 3)

and three reaction chambers for ATP synthesis in its catalytic centre. The basic principles behind the

functioning of the mechanical and the molecular rotors – three sequential cyclic steps at three different

reaction sites, which drive rotary motion – are remarkably similar. In M. tuberculosis, the central rotor is

driven by the second motor, the membrane-embedded Fo-part. The c subunits of Fo form a ring of blades

similar to a turbine. Fuelled by the transport of protons across the membrane, the c-ring turbine drives

the central rotor and enables the synthesis of ATP in the catalytic centre of the F1 motor.

Using the molecular engine model to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms of effective drugs

Compounds that interfere with the ATP-producing machinery and thereby block energy conversion in

M. tuberculosis could be developed into effective anti-TB therapeutics. Using the molecular rotary engine

model, our research team elucidated the mechanism of TMC207, a TB drug candidate developed by

Janssen Research & Development.

As illustrated in Fig 4, TMC207 appears to act as a wedge between

the central rotor subunit ε and the rotating turbine subunit c, leading

to decoupling of proton pumping in Fo from ATP synthesis in F1. This

eventually leads to energy starvation and the death of the bacterium.

Novel targets for anti-TB agents

In collaboration with the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in

Singapore, our research team identified two new potential TB drug

targets in the rotor stalk of the F1Fo-ATP synthase.

One of them, a structural element situated in close proximity to the

Fo motor’s rotating c-ring, affects its interaction with the central

rotary part of the F1-engine. A drug interacting with this element

could potentially interfere with rotation and disrupt the functioning

of the F1Fo-ATP synthase.

The second potential drug target corresponds to a region in the rotor stalk that is assumed to be

responsible for blocking of ATP hydrolysis. ATP hydrolysis, the reverse chemical reaction of ATP

synthesis, is also catalysed by the F1Fo-ATP synthase under certain conditions. Drug compounds

interacting with this region could relieve the blocking of ATP hydrolysis, leading to the depletion of

bacterial ATP levels and decreased bacterial viability.

New antibiotics to fight drug-resistant TB bacteria are urgently needed. To develop new medicines, we

need to understand how the pivotal molecular machinery of the M. tuberculosis bacillus works. Novel

approaches towards understanding the basic regulation of ATP hydrolysis provide a promising new

strategy which moves forward from past research that focused solely on identifying drug candidates

targeting the ATP synthesis machinery.

Fig 2: Colourised image of M. tuberculosis bacteria from scanning

electron microscopy.

New drug targets to battle a major scourge of mankind

23PUSHING FRONTIERS

22

Among the deadliest of Earth’s hazards, earthquakes are complex and unpredictable natural phenomena. Earth scientists

agree that governments, institutions and the media need to be reminded that seismic events are impossible to predict.

However, earth scientists can take advantage of a host of geological and geophysical clues that make

forecasting possible to some degree. The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS), a nationally-funded research

institute at NTU, is fast becoming the spearhead of tectonic research in Southeast Asia. Its mission is to

conduct fundamental research into earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and climate change, leading to

safer and more sustainable societies.

Prof Paul Tapponnier is the head of the tectonics research team at EOS, and a world-renowned scientist in the

field of neotectonics. Over the last 30 years, he has been investigating the collision zone between the Indo-

Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates, and leads several research projects in this vast geographical zone.

Recent discoveries from two of his research projects may lead to better forecasting of earthquakes in two

tectonic hotspots.

The Fuyun fault in Xinjiang, China

In Northwestern China, near the borders to Mongolia and Kazakhstan, Prof Tapponnier and his team studied

the Fuyun fault. The trace of this fault is remarkably well preserved in the dry landscape thanks to the aridity

of the region and minimal erosion.

To understand the seismic behaviour of this remote fault, Prof Tapponnier’s team scanned long swaths and

segments of the fault’s morphology in exquisite detail, using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.

Creating topographic models from the LIDAR data and combining it with precise dating of offset markers

such as offset river terraces, Prof Tapponnier and his team concluded that at least five earthquakes

– including the latest magnitude 7.9 earthquake, which occurred in 1931 – resulted in horizontal

displacements of about six metres each.

According to Prof Tapponnier, the Fuyun fault is a “paleoseismologist’s dream because it appears to display regular, characteristic slip recurrence during large events, which opens the way to better earthquake forecasting”.

“Surface breaks are very important in determining the recurrence times of earthquakes,” he explained.

Studying the faults that raise the roof of the world

Tectonics research

By Sylvain Lefevre

From the researcher’s desk

This research was published in Nature Geoscience (2011), 4: 389, DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1158; and Nature Geoscience (2013),

6: 71; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1669.

Cover of the Volume 6, No 1, January 2013 issue of Nature Geoscience showing the Sir Khola rivercut cliff (nature.com/ngeo/journal/v6/n1). Cover reprint with kind permission from Nature Publishing Group.

The Sir Khola Valley rivercut cliff, Nepal

In contrast to Xinjiang’s Fuyun fault, tracing the surface ruptures of the great 19th and 20th century

earthquakes in Southern Nepal and Northeastern India has proven to be much more elusive.

The Himalayan foothills are covered with thick vegetation and forest and the surface is subject to strong

erosion from seasonal monsoon flooding and the subtropical climate. Thus, in contrast to the slowly

healing scars in arid landscapes like the Fuyun fault, hunting for earthquake ruptures in the Himalayas

is – according to Prof Tapponnier – like “hunting an animal you have never seen, and whose footprint you do not know”.

Thanks to historical documents, though, we know that great earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.7 and higher

devastated the Himalayan regions of Nepal and India in 1255 and 1934. However, since no geological or

geographical traces of these events were found, it was believed that the seismic slips did not break the

ground and thus these large earthquakes remained “blind”.

Prof Tapponnier and his team were unconvinced, though, and started to hunt for the missing rupture.

“If discovered, these surface breaks could help to answer a host of questions,” said Prof Tapponnier.

“Since earthquakes at faults typically recur with certain frequencies over time, the past can inform us about the future, providing a rough idea of the frequency of catastrophic events,” he explained.

The painstaking exploratory work of the EOS scientists and their Nepalese colleagues to find evidence of

the Himalayan quakes paid off when they found a rivercut cliff in the Sir Khola Valley in Nepal. The cliff

beautifully displayed the rupture from the 1934 earthquake.

“Because of the discovery of the (Sir Khola) rivercut cliff, we can now estimate that big earthquakes in Eastern Nepal return approximately every 700 years,” Prof Tapponnier said.

“Given the six-fold increase in population size of northern India and Nepal in the last century, the next big Himalayan earthquake will be a catastrophe unmatched in the past,” Prof Tapponnier warned. “The human devastation may exceed the ones witnessed in Indonesia in 2004 and Japan in 2011. More than half a million people could lose their lives,” he said.

To mitigate the loss of life from such a catastrophe, Prof Tapponnier advises authorities in the region to

support comprehensive studies of earthquake cycles in the Himalayas. The conclusions from these studies

should then be integrated into development planning of the region.

The Fuyun fault in Xinjiang, China. Strike-slip movement on the fault

(horizontal line) has offset the stream channels on both sides.

A Digital Elevation Model of the Fuyun fault surface rupture created from

LIDAR data. The offsets of the stream channels relative to the fault

(horizontal line) are clearly visible.

The Sir Khola rivercut cliff in Nepal. Clearly visible on the left side is a thrust fault that ruptured the surface.

25PUSHING FRONTIERS

24

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions and the decline of fossil fuel reserves have spurred the development of

renewable energy sources. Chief among them are photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells, which convert

solar energy directly into electricity. Whilst the first solid-state photovoltaic cell invented by Charles Fritts in

1883 had an electrical efficiency of just 1%, today’s best solar cells display efficiencies of about 20%.

What makes a solar cell efficient?

The efficiency of a solar cell refers to how well it can convert incoming light into electricity (i.e. how

effectively it converts solar photons into electrons). The absorbance of an incident photon by solar cell

material (usually a semiconductor) leads to the creation of a charge-neutral electron-hole pair. A current is

obtained when these electrons and holes travel in opposite directions in the material. However, a fraction

of these electrons and holes undergo recombination or become trapped at defects or imperfections in the

material. Thus, not all absorbed photons in a solar cell will be converted into electricity. The lower the

number of free electrons produced, the lower the solar cell’s power conversion efficiency.

Apart from power conversion efficiency, the economic and energy costs of solar cell production are

important criteria in evaluating different types of solar cells. Most conventional silicon-based solar cells

require expensive manufacturing processes and materials, and have large “energy payback” times – that is,

the solar cells take a long time to recoup the electricity originally used to produce the system. Expensive

manufacturing and material purification processes lead to longer energy payback times.

Thus, many research efforts focus on producing cheaper solar cells that use abundant and lower-cost

minerals and materials and more cost-effective processes. For instance, fabrication costs can be greatly

reduced by employing solution-based room-temperature deposition processes instead of vacuum-based

evaporation processes. Solar cells produced by these cheaper processes include solid-state dye-sensitised

solar cells and organic bulk-heterojunction solar cells. However, these types of solar cells typically suffer

from low power conversion efficiencies (about 5 to 7%).

Increasing the efficiency of solution-processed solar cells

One limitation of solution-processed solar cells is found in their poor electrical properties, specifically in

the limited transport lengths of the electron-hole pair. Transport length refers to the average distance that

Efficiently harnessing the power of the sun Perovskite solar cells

By Xing Guichuan, Lim Swee Sien, Nripan Mathews,

Subodh Mhaisalkar and Sum Tze Chien

From the researcher’s desk

Assoc Prof Sum Tze Chien is from NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences

(SPMS). Asst Prof Nripan Mathews is from the School of Materials Science and Engineering

and the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar is Executive

Director of ERI@N. Dr Xing Guichan is a Senior Research Fellow at SPMS. Lim Swee Sien

is pursuing PhD studies at NTU’s Interdisciplinary Graduate School.

The research in this article was published in Science (2013), 342(6156): 344,

DOI: 10.1126/science.1243167.

Long-range electron and hole transportation is what makes perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) solar cells highly efficient.

electrons and holes travel within a material before being lost to recombination or being trapped in defective

material. The transport length of electrons and holes in solution-deposited materials is typically about 10

nanometres. To allow photon-generated electrons and holes to exit the solar cells over the short transport

distances, the solar cell’s light absorber material should not be too thick. This, however, leads to low power

conversion efficiency, as thin layers of absorber material are not able to quantitatively absorb the light

photons that pass through.

Our team developed a novel type of solution-processed solar cell – based on organic-inorganic semiconducting

halide perovskite – which achieved a remarkable efficiency of 15%. Yet, the fundamental photophysics of

perovskite solar cells had not been understood.

Unveiling the inner workings of the perovskite solar cell

In a recent publication in the journal Science, our

research team provided answers to the fundamental

questions about the photophysical properties of

perovskite solar cells.

Using time-resolved laser-based optical measurements

to track the fate of electrons and holes following the

absorption of photons, our team found that organic-

inorganic halide perovskite material exhibits ambipolar

charge transport behaviour (i.e. electrons and holes

move in opposite directions), which results in equally

long diffusion distances of both electrons and holes.

These diffusion distances of more than 100 nanometres

are at least one order of magnitude longer than those

achieved with traditional solution-processed materials.

Based on these long and balanced diffusion lengths,

thicker light-absorbing materials can be used, allowing

the absorbance of more photons and a better current flow,

which consequently leads to higher efficiencies.

Our research has shed light on the photophysics of

novel organic-inorganic semiconductor halide perovskite

materials, which are not limited by the traditional

constraints of other solution-processed solar cell

materials. This new knowledge will allow researchers

to optimise solar cell design and further improve power

conversion efficiency.

Given the rapid pace of development in this area, 20%

efficiency is within close reach for this class of solar cells,

with predictions of up to 30% in a few years’ time. Future

research in this area should focus on the development of

novel perovskite materials with improved properties as well

as on the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells.

Solution-processed perovskite solar cells developed at NTU.

A rhapsody of colours: Dye-sensitised solar cells mounted at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland. Photo: Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar.

27PUSHING FRONTIERS

26

Most living things on Earth require oxygen to produce the necessary energy for life. In humans, oxygen is

distributed to different parts of the body via the bloodstream. Restriction of blood supply to tissues is known as

ischaemia and leads to oxygen deprivation, or hypoxia, that can cause serious damage to internal organs. Hypoxia

affecting the heart or brain can have major health consequences and often results in lethal heart attacks or stroke.

Tissue hypoxia also contributes to tumour development by promoting the “evolution” of cancer cells towards

more aggressive, therapy-resistant profiles. Hypoxia is thus a key pathological component of three major

human diseases – ischaemic heart disease, stroke and cancer – which together account for more than 50% of

deaths each year both locally (Fig 1) and globally.

Using advanced protein analysis

techniques, our proteomics lab

aims to solve biomedical and

biological problems with high

significance for public health.

After having identified hypoxia

as a common causative element

in the development of the three

major diseases, the research team

began studying hypoxia model

systems for each of the medical

conditions using cell lines,

animals and clinical samples.

Ischaemic heart disease and stroke

Ischaemic heart disease and stroke

are acute and often deadly clinical events caused by disruption of blood supply to the heart muscle or brain.

Priorities for clinical management of acute non-lethal events include minimisation of tissue damage to ensure

long-term survival of the patient as well as prediction of future risks including recurrent heart attacks or stroke.

Our research team developed a novel proteomics platform that integrates in vitro studies of cellular hypoxia

with in vivo animal models of ischaemia to identify potential therapeutic targets for the prevention of cellular

and tissue damage in human patients. Neuroprotective proteins such as glutamate dehydrogenase 1, vesicle-

associated membrane protein-associated protein A, chloride intracellular channel 4 protein and the enzyme

cyclooxygenase were discovered by profiling ischaemia-stressed brain cells. A recent collaborative clinical

study to identify blood-based markers for patient risk established a link between leakage of microvesicles

(small membrane vesicles derived from the outer membranes of cells) from ischaemia-damaged tissues and

adverse clinical events occurring at a later time.

These studies offer important insights into the molecular pathological mechanisms that increase a patient’s risk

of adverse outcomes and may uncover predictive risk biomarkers for future clinical applications.

Discovering common molecular pathophysiologies in cancer, heart disease and stroke

Killing three birds with one stone

By Newman Sze Siu-kwan

From the researcher’s desk

Assoc Prof Newman Sze Siu-kwan is from the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry

at NTU’s School of Biological Sciences. Working with scientists and clinicians from local

and international clinical institutions, Assoc Prof Sze’s research team aims to translate

results from proteomics studies into clinical applications. Collaborators include Singapore hospitals – Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National

University Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Singapore General Hospital –

as well as the National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Neuroscience Institute

Singapore, the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands and the University

of Ulm Medical Centre in Germany.

More details of this research can be found in Mol Cell Proteomics (2010), DOI: 10.1074/

mcp.M900381-MCP200; Mol Cell Proteomics (2013), DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M112.018325;

J Proteome Res (2010), DOI: 10.1021/pr900829h; J Proteome Res (2011), DOI:

10.1021/pr200673y; and J Proteomics (2013), DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2013.08.017.

Fig 3: A novel therapeutic target: Deletion of protein HP1BP3 disrupts tumour formation. (Left) Formation of tumour spheres by cancer cells that express the protein HP1BP3. (Right) No tumour spheres observed in cancer cells without HP1BP3.

Hypoxia – a key driver of cancer progression

Hypoxia is an important factor in cancer development that is often overlooked. Cancer is a complex disease

caused by genetic mutations that lead to uncontrolled cell growth and tumour formation (Fig 2). Early-

stage cancer can often be cured by surgical removal of the tumour. Late-stage cancers, however, tend to be

highly aggressive and spread throughout the body via a process known as metastasis, thereby reducing the

efficacy of surgical intervention. Cancer progression is also associated with the acquisition of tumour cell

resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy that renders these tumours essentially incurable. Thus, due to

the complex nature of late-stage cancers, the cancer death rate has not decreased in the last century. Hence,

it is essential to identify common mechanisms of disease pathogenesis between different types of cancer in

order to determine targets for novel therapies.

Tumour progression is driven by selective pressure on cancer cells due to low-oxygen hypoxic conditions

in the local environment. This selective pressure promotes “clonal evolution” that leads to the formation

of many different types of cancer cells, making effective therapeutic interventions very difficult. Thus,

hypoxia in the microenvironments of tumours appears to be a common driver of cancer evolution and all

growing solid tumours are eventually subjected to hypoxia stress due to increasingly limited blood supply

(Fig 2). As a result, hypoxia-affected pathways that help tumours progress into malignant cancer represent

promising drug targets for effective cancer treatments.

Proteomic analysis of tumour progression

We have designed an in vitro model of cancer development under conditions of variable hypoxia stress that can be

monitored using quantitative proteomic analyses. Cancer cells initially grown under normal oxygen conditions are

subjected to variable durations of hypoxia and re-oxygenation in order to simulate the tumour microenvironment

during clonal evolution. Detailed analyses of the secreted proteins, cellular content and genetic material of

the cultured cancer cells allow us to determine modulation processes by low-oxygen conditions.

This approach has already been successfully used to reveal that a key

pathway involved in the cellular repair of DNA double-strand breaks

is up-regulated during hypoxia stress and thus increases cancer cell

resistance to DNA-damaging radiation therapy. Hypoxia apparently

leads to modifications of proteins that control gene expression in

cancer cells, thereby enhancing the ability of these cells to grow into

tumours with enhanced survival characteristics. This work has led to

the identification of a potential new drug target called HP1BP3, which

appears to be a key switch in promoting cancer cell proliferation and

survival (Fig 3).

Applying this approach to the study of hypoxia in other major diseases

could help to uncover novel therapeutic targets with the potential to

significantly improve therapy outcomes and public health.

Fig 2: How a tumour develops and evolves under hypoxic conditions. Cancer starts with a single cell that acquires genetic mutations, which lead to rapid uncontrolled growth. When the tumour reaches 1-2 mm in diameter, oxygen and nutrient supply by diffusion from surrounding blood vessels is insufficient to maintain cancer cell growth. In order to grow and survive, the cancer cells modify their genome via a process known as “clonal evolution” that generates a diversity of cancer cells with distinct properties. At this late stage, the cancer may spread to other parts of the body and become resistant to therapy.

Fig 1: Cancer, ischaemic heart disease and stroke together account for more than 50% of annual deaths in Singapore. (Source: Ministry of Health, Singapore)

29PUSHING FRONTIERS

28

Driving the journey from research to innovation

Professor Lam Khin Yong

Prof Lam Khin Yong wears many hats: As NTU’s Chief

of Staff and Vice President (Research), he manages the

University’s research endeavours, including connecting

NTU with research funding agencies and key players in

the R&D scene. He is currently also Co-Chairman of the

Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre of

Singapore, which spearheads innovative remanufacturing

solutions in Asia.

As NTU’s Chief of Staff and Vice President for Research, you have been

instrumental in expanding NTU’s partnerships with industry. What is your secret

formula for attracting these top multinationals?

The most important factors are openness to industry, an appreciation of their practices and

constraints, and the university's ability to provide a vibrant cross-disciplinary environment.

Another critical factor is being globally engaged and this is evident in our recent

collaborations with Rolls-Royce and BMW in the areas of power engineering and future

transportation. Today, integrated partnerships are vital for generating major scientific

discoveries.

What other potential industry partnerships are you working on for NTU?

Conversations

The NTU-BMW Future Mobility Research Lab is one

of several high-profile laboratories set up on campus.

What do NTU and BMW gain from the partnership?

The Future Mobility Research Lab is the first of its kind in

Asia and one of eight that BMW has worldwide. It taps our

research strengths in mobility and sustainability and provides

relevant industry exposure for our students. With BMW, we are

looking at areas such as new-generation batteries for electric

vehicles and sophisticated systems that can detect or predict

driver behaviour.

Big breakthroughs today are increasingly collaborative

and interdisciplinary, and one of the key advantages of

collaboration is the speed of translating ideas into applications.

Working together with the industry, especially in the risky

development stage, creates more opportunities for technical

innovations to be developed into commercial prototypes.

Engaging with industry can also lead to significant academic

contributions that narrow the knowledge gap.

Industry also benefits from gaining access to the latest

research and methodologies, and to a pool of well-educated

PhD students and postdocs for its future workforce needs,

creating a mutually advantageous partnership.

Could the Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab and the

NTU-BMW Future Mobility Research Lab serve as

models for collaboration with other key players?

For any collaboration to succeed, it needs to be a genuine

relationship of equality, clarity and transparency, based on

mutual respect and academic esteem. The joint lab model is

effective as both NTU and its respective corporate partner

are equal in every aspect. Our culture of interdisciplinarity

and the ability to draw faculty from across NTU are additional

advantages that NTU offers to industry leaders like

Rolls-Royce and BMW.

Partnership models like the NTU-BMW Future Mobility

Research Lab and Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab are

good reference points. Rolls-Royce’s first corporate lab of this

scale with a university partner is with NTU and it’s also the first

partnership to be supported with S$75 million (US$56.7 million)

in funding from Rolls-Royce, the National Research Foundation

and NTU, under the Corporate Laboratory scheme. Besides

developing innovative technologies, the Lab plays an important

role in training students of all levels, from undergraduate to PhD,

in industry-relevant projects. Therefore, I see the possibility of

expanding the current models in terms of both size and scope.

How can a university like NTU contribute to finding

solutions to big global challenges such as those related

to the environment, healthcare and the economy?

These challenges lie at the intersection of many fields

of knowledge NTU has deep expertise in. Some of our

most intensive research work is in sustainability and the

development of technologies to empower an ageing society.

Many of these projects are well-supported by grants from

national agencies and industry.

We will continue to invest in interdisciplinary collaborations

that address the issues facing modern society. These

include faculty and student exchanges and joint research

programmes. A good example of how the cross-competencies

of two universities can be combined to address global issues

is the Technical University of Munich CREATE programme in

electromobility, which is developing sustainable and scalable

transport solutions for megacities.

How is NTU contributing to Singapore’s economy?

Research – both fundamental and applied – should be

translated into new products and processes. NTU’s linkages

with the industry help spur the development and application

of these new technologies, which can boost productivity

and job creation.

Furthermore, NTU provides the training ground for future

entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers as well as an

ecosystem that facilitates technology transfer and spin-offs.

What are NTU’s future plans for fostering research

discovery, innovation and enterprise?

Our current tie-ups with big names such as BMW, Johnson Matthey, Lockheed Martin and

Rolls-Royce have helped to raise our profile in the global research arena, opening

doors to new industry collaborations. Known for industry-relevant innovations, NTU is

increasingly the preferred choice of top global companies seeking out a university partner.

Discussions are underway with several other major MNCs.

Besides sustaining a strong talent base and balancing our

efforts in fundamental and applied research, we plan to

broaden and deepen our engagement with the global industry.

With the support of the biggest industry and business players

and our continued focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration,

we intend to strengthen our research base and enhance

experiential learning for our students.

We are seeing the emergence of a “triple helix” collaboration

model involving national agencies, industry and universities that

may become the model for 21st century research universities.

In all that we do, we need to think about how we can

contribute to address global issues through research and

education to make a real social and economic impact.

1PUSHING FRONTIERS

30

Prof Staffan KjellebergSome of the biggest challenges of our time are securing clean water, ensuring environmental sustainability and protecting human health. For Prof Staffan Kjelleberg, Founding Director of SCELSE, the key to addressing these challenges resides in microbial biofilms – complex communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that are ubiquitously found in all natural, human and engineered environments.

“SCELSE is linking new insights from the life sciences with expertise from emerging technologies in engineering and natural sciences to understand, harness and control microbial biofilm communities,” said Prof Kjelleberg, who is also co-head of SCELSE’s “Microbial Biofilms” research cluster and Professor at NTU’s School of Biological Sciences. The internationally renowned expert on bacterial signal-based communication and biofilm biology and function aims to develop SCELSE into a leading global hub for biofilm research.

“It's a very exciting and wonderful situation to be in,” he said. “I can't think of any other country or place where a research programme is of this size and capacity, where you can build it from scratch so it’s optimal, and it also addresses really meaningful questions.”

Concurrently Scientia Professor of Microbiology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Prof Kjelleberg co-founded UNSW’s Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation where he presently still serves as Director. In this function, he was instrumental in developing ways to combat bacterial biofilms and virulence, efforts that led to the start-up company Biosignal Ltd.

Previously, Prof Kjelleberg headed the Department of General and Marine Microbiology at the University of Göteborg in Sweden. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and was President of both the International Society for Microbial Ecology and Swedish Society of Microbiology.

Prof Yehuda CohenA world-renowned microbial ecologist, SCELSE’s Deputy Director, Prof Yehuda Cohen, has pioneered research on biofilms in natural environments and shed light on how microbial communities can “neutralise” environmental contaminants such as oil spills. As co-head of “Microbial Biofilms” at SCELSE, he leads studies on the complex relationship between humans and microbes in urban environments.

“SCELSE is a long dream come true for me,” said Prof Cohen, who is also Professor at NTU’s School of Biological Sciences. “With its unique interdisciplinary set-up merging different streams of life sciences and engineering, SCELSE allows us to go all the way from sequencing entire biofilms and understanding their complex biological systems and specific microbial interactions, to ‘engineering’ novel biofilm communities that can fight infection or clean polluted waters,” he said.

Prof Cohen was head of the Israeli Marine Research Facility in the Red Sea and founder and head of the Minerva Centre for Marine Biogeochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As the former President of the International Society for Microbial Ecology, he co-founded its journal, a publication in the Nature Publishing Group that has continued to hold the highest impact factor in its field. Prof Cohen has also been instrumental in founding another Nature Publishing Group journal, Biofilms and Microbiomes, in partnership with NTU.

Prof Michael GivskovProf Michael Givskov’s far-reaching work includes developing next-generation anti-microbial drugs that target microbial biofilms, which can also pose a challenge to public health by harbouring and shielding pathogens. The Danish expert in medical microbiology became internationally renowned for his proof-of-concept study showing that certain chemicals can block bacterial communication in biofilms, turning harmful bacteria into harmless ones.

As Research Director of SCELSE’s “Public Health & Medical Biofilms” cluster, Prof Givskov is driven to find new therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of patients with chronic infectious diseases.

“I’m involved in clinical research on cystic fibrosis patients, who often suffer from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infections,” said Prof Givskov, who is also a Visiting Professor at NTU’s School of Biological Sciences. “My dream is to develop chemistry that is able to block bacterial communication and thus the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to help in controlling this terrible disease,” he added.

To develop such biofilm-controlling drugs, Prof Givskov is also working to identify and isolate chemical compounds from herbs and other natural products such as garlic and ginseng, known for their anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Prof Givskov founded and co-founded biotech companies QSI-Pharma A/S in Denmark and Biosignal Ltd in Australia, respectively. At the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, he is Professor of Biomedical Microbiology at the Department

Faces

of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology, and Director of the Center for Antimicrobial Research. Prof Givskov is also Managing Director of the Costerton Biofilm Center at the University of Copenhagen, which has strong research collaborations with SCELSE.

Prof Stefan WuertzA world leader in the biology of biofilms in engineered water treatment systems, Prof Stefan Wuertz merges expertise in environmental engineering and life sciences. The Research Director of SCELSE’s “Environmental Engineering” cluster and Visiting Professor at NTU’s School of Civil and Environmental

Engineering is spearheading efforts to increase our supply of clean water and to enhance environmental sustainability.

Prof Wuertz studies biofilms in multi-scale engineered bioprocess systems to optimise strategies in bioremediation, water purification and the detection of pathogens that cause diseases in humans. He is also Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis.

Prof Stephan SchusterGeneticist Prof Stephan Schuster’s achievement in deciphering the genome of the woolly mammoth was recognised as one of the “Top 10 Scientific Discoveries” of 2008 by TIME magazine. It also earned him a place in TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2009.

An innovator in developing and implementing sequencing platforms for discoveries in such diverse areas as microbial ecology and evolution, eukaryotic cell biology, biodiversity and human evolution, Prof Schuster recently led a global research study that uncovered one of mankind's most ancient lineages in the Khoisan people of Southern Africa. He is also a leading expert in the field of metagenomics.

As Research Director of SCELSE’s research cluster “Meta-‘omics and Systems Biology”, Prof Schuster uses cutting-edge technologies to address fundamental questions in the structure and function of complex biofilm communities and the dynamics and interactions of their constituents. Combining metagenomics with bioinformatics, metaproteomics and metabolomics (identification of whole community proteins and metabolites, respectively), he is analysing microbial responses to environmental and engineering conditions as well as the mechanics of biofilm regulation and control.

Harnessing the powers of biofilms

PUSHING FRONTIERS 30 31

Environmental sustainability depends critically on biofilms, microbial communities that play important roles in ecosystems and the recycling of natural resources. At NTU, world-class experts and pioneers in biofilm science are spearheading global biofilm research at the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), which was established with S$120 million (US$91.4 million) in public funding.

(From left) “Public Health & Medical Biofilms” Research Director Prof Michael Givskov, SCELSE Director Prof Staffan Kjelleberg and SCELSE Deputy Director Prof Yehuda Cohen.

33PUSHING FRONTIERS

32

researchers at the Global

Young Scientists Summit

(GYSS)@one-north on NTU’s

satellite campus in Singapore’s

science and tech hub. In talks and

panel discussions, the eminent

scientists highlighted topics from

medicine and life sciences to

physics, mathematics and engineering, and discussed how

research can be harnessed to address major global challenges.

The Molecular Frontiers Symposium in South Korea

provided the platform to engage even younger students in

scientific discussions with top scientists. Jointly organised

by the Molecular Frontiers Foundation, NTU (in its role as

the Foundation’s Asian headquarters), the Royal Swedish

Academy of Sciences and Korea

University, the symposium

with international high school

students was held for the second

time in Asia after its premiere

at NTU in 2012. Eminent

speakers, including four Nobel

Prize winners – Prof Richard

Roberts (Physiology or Medicine

in 1993), Prof Andrew Fire

(Physiology or Medicine in 2006), Prof Ada Yonath (Chemistry

in 2009) and Prof Arieh Warshel (Chemistry in 2013) –

discussed topics related to the symposium’s title, “What are the

molecular frontiers of tomorrow:

the science for you to solve”.

The world’s brightest minds gather at NTU

Hosting Nobel Prize laureates and global leaders from science,

industry, higher education and governments on several

occasions during the last year, NTU has become a hot spot in

Asia for the exchange of ideas and scientific knowledge.

Two prestigious events – the World Cultural Council 2013

Award Ceremony and the inaugural World Academic

Summit co-organised with Times Higher Education – took

place back to back on the NTU campus in October 2013.

The World Academic Summit provided the stage for more than

200 global thought leaders from different sectors of society to

discuss how universities can fuel technological change and

economic growth. High-profile speakers included Dr Marcus

Storch, former Chairman of the Nobel Foundation, and the

Presidents of world-leading universities such as Imperial

College London, Hong Kong University of Science and

Technology, Seoul National University, Monash University and

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, as well as

heads and senior advisors of global industry.

In his keynote address at the opening of the World Academic

Summit, Prof Sir Paul Nurse said: “I believe that science can play

an even greater role in improving the quality of our lives and our

economies. But to be successful it has to be a science without

boundaries. Science that is fully engaged with society, that is

multidisciplinary, with different disciplines helping each other, that

works with other professions to put science to good use.”

“To address some of the most pressing issues of our time,

governments, industry and higher education need to work

together to generate new knowledge that leads to innovative

products and services and ultimately powers national

economies,” said NTU President Prof Bertil Andersson.

Inspiring the younger generationEighteen globally renowned scientific leaders – including 13

Nobel Laureates, three Fields Medallists and recipients of the

Millennium Technology Prize and IEEE Medal of Honour –

mingled with a select group of 350 young international

Global dialogue

International Workshop on Polyelectrolytes in Chemistry, Biology and Technology

Organised by College of Science and Institute of Advanced Studies, NTU

26 – 28 January 2015

Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore

ntu.edu.sg/ias/upcomingevents/polyelectrolytes15

The 2nd Institute of Advanced Studies School on Particle Physics and Cosmology and Implications for Technology

Co-organised by Institute of Advanced Studies, NTU, and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), Switzerland

2 – 6 February 2015

Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore

ntu.edu.sg/ias/ias-cern

International Conference on Massive Neutrinos

Organised by Institute of Advanced Studies, NTU

9 – 13 February 2015

Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore

ntu.edu.sg/ias/upcomingevents/massiveneutrinos

2015 NTU-Warwick Winter School: Introduction to Complexity Science

Co-organised by NTU’s Complexity Institute and University of Warwick, UK

23 – 27 February 2015

Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore

complexity.ntu.edu.sg/Programmes/SchoolsCourses/Pages/2015-Winter-School.aspx

Complexity Conference: Emerging Patterns

Organised by NTU’s Para Limes

2 – 4 March 2015

Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore

paralimes.ntu.edu.sg

5th International Conference on Design and Analysis of Protective Structures (DAPS2015)

Co-organised by School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTU, and Defence Science & Technology Agency, Singapore

19 – 21 May 2015

Venue: Furama Riverfront, Singapore

daps2015.org

Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference

Organised by National Institute of Education, NTU, Singapore

2 – 4 June 2015

Venue: National Institute of Education, NTU, Singapore

www.nie.edu.sg/events/redesigning-pedagogy-international-conference

Events

PUSHING FRONTIERS 32

The award ceremony of the World Cultural Council (WCC) came to Southeast Asia for the first time, with NTU hosting the esteemed event that honoured highly acclaimed scientists and artists. Prof Sir Paul Nurse (left), President of the Royal Society (UK), Nobel Laureate for Physiology or Medicine in 2001 and one of the world’s leading biochemists and geneticists, received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2013. The Award was presented by WCC Honorary President Prof Edmond Fischer (right), 1992 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine.

Prof Aaron Ciechanover (2004 Chemistry Nobel Laureate) in a panel discussion at GYSS@one-north that also included Prof Michael Grätzel (left: winner of the Millennium Technology Prize 2010 and the Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2012, and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Energy Research Institute @ NTU). In his talk, “The revolution of personalised medicine – are we going to cure all diseases and at what price?”, Prof Ciechanover illustrated how we are rapidly transitioning into a medical era of individualised profiling and therapies. “Medical treatment will change from treating the disease to treating the disease in the context of the patient,” he said.

Prof Ada Yonath in her lecture at GYSS@one-north, elaborating on her pioneering work on the

molecular structure of ribosomes that won her the Nobel Prize in

Chemistry in 2009.

Nobel Laureates Prof Richard Roberts and Prof Andrew Fire during a discussion at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium, which drew more than 700 high school students from Korea and across the globe.

Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2013 Prof Arieh Warshel giving a talk at the Symposium, co-organised by NTU in Seoul.

35PUSHING FRONTIERS

34

Prof Philip Ingham FRS

Geneticist and developmental biologist Prof

Philip Ingham FRS, who is also the Vice-Dean

for Research at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School

of Medicine, has been elected to Academia

Europaea, one of Europe’s most prestigious

academies. He was recently also honoured with the Waddington

Medal by the British Society for Developmental Biology.

Asst Prof Kimberly Kline

For her outstanding achievements in medical

microbiology, Asst Prof Kimberly Kline from

the Singapore Centre on Environmental

Life Sciences Engineering bagged the

2014 ICAAC (Interscience Conference on

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy) Young Investigator

Award from the American Society for Microbiology.

Prof Kerry Sieh

Prof Kerry Sieh, Director of the Earth

Observatory of Singapore, has been

awarded the Harry Fielding Reid Medal, the

highest accolade from the Seismological

Society of America. Prof Sieh was awarded

the top honour for his pioneering work in

paleoseismology and his research into the seismic cycles of the

San Andreas Fault and earthquake faults in Southeast Asia.

Dr Yuhyun Park and Asst Prof Nanci Takeyama

Dr Yuhyun Park, Director of Academic Projects at the

President’s Office, and Asst Prof Nanci Takeyama from NTU’s

School of Art, Design and Media received 2013 Wenhui Awards

for Educational Innovation under the UNESCO Asia-Pacific

Programme of Educational Innovation for Development. The

pair took an innovative approach to education, developing a

computer game – iZ Hero Adventure – that teaches children

about digital safety in a fun way, and a heritage management

project that aims to ensure the survival of cultural crafts in

Southeast Asia, respectively.

Prof Mary Chan

Bioengineering at NTU will get a big boost through a S$10

million (US$7.6 million) grant awarded to Prof Mary Chan,

Associate Chair (Faculty) at NTU’s School of Chemical and

The honour rollNTU Provost Prof Freddy Boey

For his exceptional contributions to R&D in

Singapore, Prof Freddy Boey received the

President's Science and Technology Medal

from Singapore’s President, Dr Tony Tan

Keng Yam.

Asst Prof Robin Chi

As one of three promising researchers under the age of

35, Asst Prof Robin Chi from NTU’s School of Physical and

Mathematical Sciences was conferred a Young Scientist Award

by Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second

Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry.

Prof Phua Kok Khoo

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to

physics and scientific publishing, Prof (Adjunct)

Phua Kok Khoo, Director of NTU’s Institute

of Advanced Studies, received an honorary

degree from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Asst Prof Fidel Costa

The 2013 Wager Medal from the International

Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of

the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) was awarded to Asst

Prof Fidel Costa from NTU’s Earth Observatory of

Singapore. He was feted for his research that has

helped to estimate the timescales of magmatic processes.

Asst Prof Sierin Lim

As the winner of the 2013 L'Oréal

Singapore For Women In Science

National Fellowship in Life

Sciences, which aims to support

women’s careers in science, Asst

Prof Sierin Lim from NTU’s School

of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering received a grant of

S$30,000 (US$23,000) to further her work in protein engineering.

Prof Ang Soon

Recognised for her outstanding leadership in applied research,

Prof Ang Soon, Goh Tjoei Kok Chair and Professor in International

Management and IT at NTU’s Nanyang Business School,

received the 2014 Walter F Ulmer, Jr Applied Research Award.

At a glance

of 3D printing machines for industrial use and bioprinters that are

able to print human tissues such as corneas, skin and heart tissues.

• In other 3D printing developments at the University, NTU is

collaborating with the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing

Technology to advance 3D printing for the aerospace,

automotive, oil and gas, marine and precision engineering

sectors. The S$15 million (US$11.4 million) research

programme is under the auspices of A*STAR.

• NTU’s expertise in bone bioengineering and 3D bio-printing

will also benefit a new partnership between NTU and the

National Dental Centre Singapore that has received funding

of S$1 million (US$0.8 million) over the next three years to boost

innovative oral health solutions.

• New materials and renewable energy solutions are on the

agenda of the new S$5.3 million (US$4 million) Johnson

Matthey @ NTU joint lab. Focusing on energy storage,

air purification as well as energy and catalysis, Johnson

Matthey – a speciality chemicals company and a world

leader in sustainable technologies – will work closely with

the Energy Research Institute @ NTU in its first research

collaboration in Asia.

• Oceans as sources of energy are being studied at

Singapore’s first tidal turbine test bed. The scalable test bed

set up by NTU at the resort island of Sentosa will research

turbines designed for low-flow currents such as those found in

Singapore’s waters.

Biomedical Engineering. The grant from Singapore’s Ministry

of Education was for Prof Chan’s project “Selective Contact-

Active Cationic Antimicrobial Biomacromolecules”.

New highs for NTU in international rankings

NTU emerged as the world’s top young university in a ranking

of universities 50 years old or younger by Quacquarelli

Symonds (QS). For the past two years, NTU was second after

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The University also climbed two places to 39th position in

the QS World University Rankings 2014, entering the world’s

top 30s for the first time. NTU is the fastest-rising among the

world’s Top 50 universities, leaping 35 positions since 2010.

NTU also had an exceptional showing in the Times Higher

Education World University Rankings 2014-15, which saw the

University rise from 76th to 61st position in the world. Phil Baty,

editor of Times Higher Education World University Rankings,

said: “NTU… has moved up the prestigious league table an

extraordinary 108 places in the last three years, making it

the best performer in the top 200 in recent times. NTU is an

exceptional achievement that stands as a case study for the

rest of the region and the rest of the world.”

• Two landmark clinical research collaborations between NTU,

Singapore's National Healthcare Group and the Agency for

Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) aim to translate

research in biomedicine, bioengineering, nanotechnologies and

materials science into innovative therapies. Funded by national

investments of S$100 million (about US$76 million) each, the

Skin Research Institute of Singapore – in collaboration with the

National Skin Centre – will target skin disorders and skin ageing,

wound healing and the differences in skin diseases between

Asian and Western populations. The Rehabilitation Research

Institute of Singapore aims to develop innovative solutions for

better patient outcomes across the healthcare ecosystem. These

cover stroke and neurological rehabilitation, clinical robotics and

biomechanics, as well as computer games for rehabilitation.

• A first in Southeast Asia, the new NTU-Northwestern Institute

for Nanomedicine will explore the use of nano-sized particles

for cell-specific drug delivery. Set up in collaboration with the

International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern

University in the United States – which is headed by nano-

technology expert and scientific advisor to US President Barack

Obama, Prof Chad Mirkin – the new S$70 million (US$53

million) institute will accelerate the development of therapeutics

for key medical areas such as diabetes, cardiovascular

diseases, ophthalmology and skin diseases.

• A front-runner in 3D printing technology, NTU launched

the NTU Additive Manufacturing Centre. Supported by

Singapore’s Economic Development Board, the S$30 million

(US$22.8 million) research centre will advance the development

New centres, collaborations and programmes

Phot

o cr

edit:

L’Or

éal S

inga

pore

TURNINGGREEN

INTOGOLD.

Champion

PUSHING FRONTIERS 36

At a glance

• Integration of interactive

digital media (IDM) in

modern life and lifestyles

for all ages will be spurred

by three new world-class

research centres at

NTU. Funded by a total

investment of about S$90

million (US$68.4 million)

under the National Research

Foundation’s IDM Futures

Funding Initiatives, LILY

(Research Centre in Active Living for the Elderly), ROSE (Rapid-

Rich Object Search Lab) and MAGIC (Multi-plAtform Game

Innovation Centre) will respectively focus on the design of

digital solutions for the elderly, next-generation visual and object

search technologies and gaming and digital entertainment.

MAGIC houses the state-of-the-art S$7 million (US$5.3 million)

NTU Future Studios Research Lab that provides a test-bed for

applications in digital animation, gaming and film-making.

• Breakthrough sports technology will come from the new

SMG Innovation Centre @ ISR, a partnership with Russia’s

leading sports retail giant, Sportmaster. Housed at NTU’s

Institute for Sports Research (ISR) – a collaboration with UK’s

University of Loughborough – the new centre will have an

initial budget of S$5 million (US$3.8 million) over the next three

years. Also under the ISR, NTU and the International Table

Tennis Federation (ITTF) have established the ITTF Lab@ISR

to explore new testing methods for sports equipment such as

table tennis balls and racket coverings.

• NTU and the international intellectual property (IP) investment

firm 360ip have launched TechBridge Ventures, a joint

venture to support the growth and development of small and

medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore that focus on clean

technologies, renewable energy and nanotechnologies. Housed

at NTU’s Centre for Open Innovation Development and funded

by S$5.6 million (US$4.2 million) from national agency SPRING,

TechBridge Ventures will enable SMEs to mitigate technology

risks, leverage resources through industry partnerships and

penetrate international markets.

• Successfully launched into orbit 600 km above Earth,

VELOX-PII is Singapore’s second satellite in space.

Developed and built by students at NTU’s Satellite Research

Centre, the 1.33 kg pico-satellite will test the viability and

robustness of NTU’s satellite technology.

• “Greener” ship and port technologies will be researched at

Southeast Asia’s first Maritime Energy Test Bed, a partnership

between NTU and the Singapore Maritime Institute.

• Under its EcoCampus

initiative, NTU is also

test-bedding green

technologies on its

200-hectare campus.

Incorporating “smart”

building systems and

designs – such as

those integrated into

the University's new

residential halls – and featuring renewable energy, electric

transportation and water conservation, the drive will reduce

energy and water consumption as well as the University’s

carbon footprint and waste output by 35% by the year 2020.

• Funded by a S$5 million (US$3.8 million) donation from

MediaTek, one of the world’s largest chip-design companies,

the MediaTek Endowed Professorship in Integrated Circuit

Design at NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

will spearhead research into new ultra-low power circuits.

The goal is to significantly reduce the power consumption of

computing or medical devices.

• NTU and the Singapore

Business Federation (SBF) have

established the NTU-SBF Centre

for African Studies, the first of

its kind in Southeast Asia. Hosted

at NTU’s Nanyang Business

School, the Centre will provide

Asian executives, entrepreneurs

and policymakers with in-depth insights into African markets.

NTU also signed Memoranda of Understanding with two top

African business schools, Lagos Business School, Nigeria, and

Strathmore Business School, Kenya, for future partnerships

in research, executive and leadership training, and student

exchange programmes under the new Centre.

• A S$3 million (US$2.3 million) gift from Singaporean philanthropist

Peter Lim – topped up with public funding to S$6 million

(US$4.6 million) – will endow the Peter Lim Professorship in

Peace Studies at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies

(RSIS). The professorship will form part of RSIS’s new Studies in

Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies research programme.

Game development at MAGIC.

Nanyang Technological University

50 Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639798 Republic of Singapore

www.ntu.edu.sg

Connect With Us

www.facebook.com/NTUsg www.twitter.com/NTUsg www.youtube.com/NTUsg www.linkedin.com/company/ntusg

Printed on eco-friendly paper in support of a sustainable planet.