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.