ho-lab @ Duke-NUS
Lena Ho (PhD, Stanford University)
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Lena trained with Gerald Crabtree during her PhD at Stanford University, where she studied the function and mechanism of chromatin remodeling proteins in the epigenetic regulation of embryonic, hematopoietic and cancer stem cells. During her postdoc in Bruno Reversade's lab, she discovered the paradigm that non-coding RNAs can in fact encode peptides from small open reading frames (sORFs), exemplified by the peptide hormone ELABELA encoded by what was then thought to be a non-coding RNA. In 2017, Lena established the Endogenous Peptides Lab (EPL) in Duke-NUS/IMB-A*STAR, which utilizes a combinatorial platform to discover and characterize novel sORF-encoded peptides (SEPs) in the human genome. Her goal is to bring novel SEPs from discovery to deployment in combating cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.
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Cheryl Lee (PhD, Cambridge University), Senior Research Fellow
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Cheryl characterized and isolated human trophoblast progenitor cells during her PhD with Ashley Moffett in Cambridge. Afterwards, she worked in Janet Rossant's lab at SickKids elucidating the trajectories of trophoblast stem cell differentiation in the mouse. Cheryl joined the EPL in 2017 with an interest in dissecting the mechanisms of vascular inflammation, the underlying cause of many major cardiovascular diseases. To this end, she leads the effort to discover and characterize inflammatory SEPs, with a focus on those that modulate metabolism. She is currently deciperhing how MOCCI modulates inflammatory outcomes.
Radiance Lim (PhD, Max Planck Germany), Research Fellow
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Highly inquisitive by nature, fascinated by discoveries, Radiance gravitated towards science at an early age. Following a diploma in biotechnology and an honours degree in biological sciences, she pursued a PhD in the Angiogenesis and Metabolism Laboratory of Dr. Michael Potente at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Germany. Her thesis work culminated in the publication of “Deubiquitinase USP10 regulates Notch signalling in the endothelium”. She joined the the EPL in 2018 with an interest in deciphering the roles of endogenous peptides in the vascular endothelium.
Nah Jiemin (PhD, National University of Singapore), Research Fellow
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During her PhD, Jiemin worked in the Guo Lab (A*STAR, IMCB) where she focused on studying ribosome heterogeneity, and the role of specialized ribosomes in translational regulation during erythropoiesis. She uncovered unique subpools of ribosomes that could preferentially translate mRNAs that drive erythroid differentiation. She joined the EPL in 2021 with an interest to identify and study SEPs involved in mitochondrial translation and cell metabolism.
Sheryl Beh (MSc, University College London), Research Assistant
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Sheryl obtained a masters in Cadiovascular Science from University College London where she investigated the anti-proliferative role of nitric oxide in vascular smooth muscle cells under the supervision of Professor Lucie Clapp. Sheryl joined the EPL in 2019 and is involved in phenotyping animal models of SEP function, with a goal to understand their effects vis-a-vis cardio-metabolic regulation, inflammation and viral immunity.
Baptiste Kerouanton (MSc, Grenoble INP Phelma), PhD student
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Baptiste graduated from Grenoble INP Phelma (France) with a master degree in biomedical engineering. Baptiste is interested in applying bioinformatics and machine learning methods to predict the localization and potential functions of uncharacterized SEPs. He is currently a PhD candidate in the QBM program at Duke-NUS co-mentored by Dr Owen Rackham. Baptiste is attempting to elucidate SEP function with high throughput methods and in silico prediction.
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Pooja Sridharan (BSc, SRM University, Chennai) PhD student
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Pooja graduated with a BTech in Genetic Engineering and joined the EPL in 2021 with an interest to characterize the function of novel mito-SEP in metabolic regulation. She is also interested in reproductive biology, which she looks forward to exploring by understanding the role of mito-SEP in placental immunology and its contribution to pathological pregnancies.
Liang Chao (BSc, National University of Singapore), PhD student
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Liang Chao graduated from National University of Singapore with a degree in Life Sciences with honours. Together with Professor David Virshup, he characterised the synergistic reaction of combining 2 or more non-canonical Wnt proteins. He has also contributed in unveiling the new type of Pdgfra+ cells surrounding intestinal crypt. Liang Chao joined the EPL in 2019 and is working out the mechanism of novel mito-SEPs involved in Complex III assembly.
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Chu Wern Cui (MSc) Lab Manager
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Wern Cui joined the EPL in 2020 and magically keeps the lab running smoothly everyday. Wern Cui is also involved in elucidating the role of inflammasomes in regulating cardiovascular inflammation.
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Lab Alumni
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Rhea Nadkarni (MSc)
Joel Francisco (RA, now PhD candidate, Duke-NUS Medical School)
Shan Zhang (Postdoc, now Assistant Professor, Zhejiang University)
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