NRF POC Awardees - 2nd Grant Call
(Mar 2009)
1. Single-coil superconducting miniundulator – the next step towards high-brilliance synchrotron radiation (Prof Herbert O. Moser)
Light is a premier tool for measuring and modifying the properties of materials. Most versatile of all, accelerator-based synchrotron radiation sources cover a wavelength range of 7 orders of magnitude, about 23 octaves, from X-rays (0.1 nm) over the ultraviolet and visible to the far infrared (1 mm). A magnetic field deflects a high-energy electron beam sidewards, thus causing the emission of radiation. The most powerful magnets to do that are called undulators which have a spatially alternating field causing the electrons to undulate. Their size is a critical issue as it drives not only their own cost, but particularly the much larger cost of the whole accelerator system. At less than one third of the size of conventional undulators, our single-coil super-conducting miniundulator is about the ultimate in miniaturisation and field strength due to its superconducting wires. Besides improving performance, it can save facility cost of up to US$ 100 M. The NRF POC grant helps us to build and test a pre-prototype. We expect a market volume of US$ 30 M per year and growing as the number of facilities (1.6 per year).
2.New compact, fast, parallel-processing Fourier-transform interferometer (FPP FTIR) enabling short-pulse spectroscopy (Prof Herbert O. Moser)
Infrared radiation enables the detection and identification of molecules, in chemical, environmental, life sciences, medical, and pharmaceutical applications, to name only a few. We cannot see infrared, so we are using instruments for detection. The most powerful instruments for molecular detection are called Fourier transform interferometers. However, they are not so good at measuring single bursts or fast changes of infrared radiation. That is exactly where our instrument comes in. We use micromanufactured devices to capture the whole information at the same time. So, we can analyse what happens as a function of time. The NRF POC grant helps us to build and test a pre-prototype of the complete instrument. Together with our potential industrial partner we see a large market in tapping time-dependent processes. Initial market volume is expected to be about US$ 200 M and to grow as new instruments create new opportunities for research and industry.
Prof. Herbert O. Moser is the Director of the Singapore Synchrotron Light Source at NUS since 2000 and holds a joint appointment with Physics Department of NUS. SSLS is an international user facility for research and industrial applications. Its business partners range from big multinational companies to MSEs and prestigious research institutions.
In his former appointment with Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in Germany, Prof. Moser led the construction of the 2.5 GeV ANKA synchrotron light source and pioneered the development of photonic microdevices and of the superconducting miniundulator. His research interests belong to the field of generation and application of synchrotron radiation in which he has 26 years of experience and include electromagnetic metamaterials, micro/nano optics and photonics, infrared spectro/microscopy, X-ray micro/nano imaging, accelerators and synchrotron radiation facilities. He has about 280 papers and 16 patents.
3. Spin wave based nondestructive semiconductor testing tools (Asst Prof Yang Hyunsoo)
Conventional electrical testing tools take too long time to scan all the bits in a large scale random access memory, while optical testing cannot be used after the packaging even though it is very fast. Our project aims to develop magnetic wave based semiconductor testing tools which can be used before and after the packaging. It is nondestructive in nature and very fast as well. Due to the inherent strong coupling between spin waves and magnetic layers, this method is expected to give the best visibility of manufacturing conditions of the inside magnetic layers over the conventional testing methods.
Dr. Yang Hyunsoo is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the electrical engineering department of Stanford University in 2003 and 2006, respectively. From 1988 he worked at a circuit and system design company, earning a patent award, until 2001, when he enrolled in Stanford's graduate school on a scholarship from the Korean Ministry of Information and Communications. He had been working on long-wavelength photonic devices at Stanford University. From 2004 to 2007 he had been at IBM-Stanford Spintronic Science and Applications Center. His recent research focuses on the metal spintronics, especially magnetic tunnel junctions for the magnetic random access memory application. He was awarded the fellowship in the conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials for 2005 and the American Physical Society (GMAG) outstanding dissertation award for 2006.
4. Development of a new and precise alignment system for micromanipulation (Assoc. Prof Tan Kok Kiong)
Micromanipulation processes often require precision in the alignment of parts relative to the tools, before the processes can proceed. When these processes are to be used for mass production, the cycle time for each manipulation becomes a critical issue and thus the relative alignment must be done not only accurately but also in a time-efficient manner. To facilitate these alignments, often mechanical or optical aligners are needed which are typically expensive, sensitive to vibrations and difficult to be controlled in the closed-loop. When multiple dimensions of alignment are needed, these ways of alignments will need to satisfy one at a time, leading to an unsatisfactory alignment time. This project aims to produce a prototype of an alignment system using an alternate and novel way.
Dr Tan Kok Kiong is an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore. Prior to joining the university in 1996, he was a research fellow at SIMTech. His current research interests are in precision motion control and instrumentation, advanced process control and autotuning, and general industrial automation.
5. Anti-inflammatory peptide loaded micro emulsion gel formulation as potential therapeutic for post-operative adhesion.
This research project is using two proprietary components (a drug and a drug delivery system) to jointly develop the new micro-emulsion gel loaded with anti-inflammatory peptide for the prevention of fibrous bands called adhesions that form between tissues and organs as a result of injury during surgical operations.The combined formulation ensures a novel drug release action for dispersion of the biocompatible components throughout the abdominal cavityor at the site of operation and hence useful as a novel anti-adhesion agent. The new formulation will be maximized, and its effectiveness assessed in comparison with the barrier or the drug alone in a clinically relevant animal model. The preclinical data available from the project should further aid development of this novel product through Phase I clinical trials.
Prof Gopalakrishnakone is a professor at the Department of Anatomy, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, holding an M.B.,B.S degree and a PhD and D.Sc from the University of London and NUS, respectively. Over the years, he has garnered a number of teaching and research awards - Outstanding University Researcher Award in 1998 and National Science and Technology Board Ministerial Citation winner in 2000. He also received the Faculty Outstanding Researcher Award in 2003 as well as the Teaching Excellence Award in academic year 2003/2004. His first patent “novel therapeutic and prophylactic agents” was awarded in 2003. A number of other patents have recently been applied for and some have been granted lately. An analgesic peptide was licensed to a company for further development for clinical use. He founded the Asia-Pacific arm of the IST in 1985, and organized the first Asia-Pacific Congress on Toxin as well as the World Congress of IST in Singapore. He is presently serving as the President of the prestigious International Society on Toxinology (IST) for a three-year term, and is also a member of the editorial board of Toxicon, the official journal of IST published by Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of medical and scientific literature. He has more than 100 international publications on his venom and toxin research and drug discovery.
6. A New Endoluminal Device for Duodenal Exclusion in Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitis and Obesity (Assoc Prof Jimmy So Bok Yan)
This is a collaborative research project between NUS Faculty Staff from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering as well as NUHS Clinicians to develop an endoscopic sleeve for creating a duodenal-jejunal bypass targeting the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitis and obesity. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus has reached a worldwide epidemic. The rising prevalence is fuelled by the increasing trend of obesity. Traditionally, T2DM is a relentless progressive disease with no cure. Gastric bypass surgery has been proven to be very effective treatment for severe obesity and it also achieves resolution of diabetes in over 80% of patients. Alteration in gut hormones, after the bypass, may be the mechanism to improve glucose metabolism. Our sleeve covers the duodenum and proximal jejunum to act as a barrier to prevent food and chyme from contacting with the mucosa. Hence, it creates a foregut bypass without surgery. This device has the potential to become a novel treatment for diabetes and obesity. If successful, it can be used to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of diabetic remission to be exploited for potential pharmacological intervention.
Dr Jimmy So is Associate Professor of Surgery at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Consultant, University Surgical Cluster, National University Hospital, National University Health System. His special interests are Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, bariatric surgery and minimally invasive surgery. He received further training in Upper GI surgery in Japan and Hong Kong. He was appointed as visiting consultant in Esophageal and Gastric Surgery at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. He established a multidisciplinary program for Esophageal and Gastric cancers. He also set up a bariatric and obesity surgery program at NUH. He was the Chairman, Organising Committee, 1st Asia-Pacific Gastric Cancer Congress in 2006.
His research interest include biomarkers discovery for gastric cancer, gastric carcinogenesis, and novel treatments for obesity and diabetes.
7. A human monoclonal biotherapeutic to target the dengue NS3 proteinb>
In this project Duke-NUS scientists, Drs Subhash Vasudevan (PI of the grant) and Nicole Moreland, in collaboration with Associate Professor Tanja Weil from the Medicinal Chemistry Program at NUS, will undertake proof-of-concept studies on delivering protein-based drugs into the cytoplasm of cells to block the replication of pathogens like dengue virus. In a sense the team is proposing a Trojan Horse approach where the protein-based drug is taken into the cell by a novel universal carrier. A successful proof-of-concept will open the door for applications in a broad range of treatments for diseases.
Associate Professor Subhash Vasudevan is a faculty at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in the Signature Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases. He graduated with a PhD from the Australian National University in 1989. He has post-doctoral research training in Germany, UK and Australia and has conducted research in the academic and industrial environment prior to joining Duke-NUS. His particular area of research interest is in therapeutics discovery with a focus on viral infections.
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