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YOUNG RESEARCHER AWARD |
| Associate Professor
YU, Hanry |
| Department
of Physiology |
NUS honours Assoc Prof Yu
as a Young Researcher for his innovative work in the University's
life sciences programme, particularly in the field of tissue
engineering.
For Assoc Prof Yu, research comes alive
when it is use-inspired. His measure of exciting research is
the degree to which the general public can relate to it and talk
to him about it. And his work has certainly set many people talking.
His contributions to the understanding of
intra-cellular transport on cytoskeleton in the cell have appeared
in prestigious publications such as Science. Equally notable
and attention grabbing is the application of his training in
cell biology to a NUS multidisciplinary cell and tissue engineering
programme focusing on nerve and liver regeneration.
The many breakthroughs made by a team led
by Assoc Prof Yu to maintain high levels of cellular functions
in a novel 3D microenvironment have resulted in the development
of a successful bio-artificial liver prototype using whole-blood
perfusion of a packed-bed bioreactor filled with encapsulated
hepatocytes. His innovations in this area also include the development
of a multi-layer microcapsule using a novel micro-scaffolding
design combined with bio-ceramic sol-gel materials.
Perhaps his most revolutionary work is in
re-engineering a microcapsule and extra-cellular matrix to create
a novel 3D culture and harvest system. This has the potential
to make adult stem cells a practical substitute for embryonic
cells, thus avoiding many of the legal and ethical implications
of life sciences research using the latter.
For Assoc Prof Yu, the best thing about
receiving the Young Researcher Award is that it affirms a Jim
Fox saying he hangs in his laboratory to inspire his students: If
you enjoy what you're working on, everyday is a holiday.
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