Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) Faculty Candidates Open Talk

Faculty candidates’ open talk for TBSI center of Precision Medicine andHealthcare Research has been listed as below: 

Report Title

English: A regenerative medicineapproach to understand the cell-fate mechanisms for respiratory diseases

Chinese: 一种再生医学方法来了解呼吸道疾病的细胞命运机制

Abstract

Background: Novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of chronic andacute lung diseases has the potential to significantly improve the lives of thegrowing cohort of patients that suffer from diseases such as lung cancer,pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma. Celltherapy and/or tissue engineering (TE) hold great promise as the nextgeneration therapeutic approaches. The aim of TE is to create and replaceorgans/tissues using scaffolds and cells, while cell therapy aims toreconstitute cellular and organ function by stem cell recruitment,differentiation and/or bioactive properties. So far, however, little is known aboutthe specific mechanisms whereby cells counter- and interact with each other andwith the tissues’ extracellular matrices.

Aim: We will elucidate fundamental interactions between theadministered cells and matrices as well as communication with native hostcells. A deeper understanding in this field will lead to more effectiveapproaches of repair and/or repopulation of damaged organs and tissues duringcell-based therapies for lung diseases.

Significance: This study will provide detailed knowledge of cellularmechanisms in tissue regeneration, and hopefully help to further thedevelopment of stem cell-based therapies in lung diseases.

Brief Summary about Myself

I am from Singapore and moved to Melbourne Australia tofurther my studies. In 2009, I completed my PhD degree in Stem Cell Biology atMonash University, Melbourne Australia. In 2011, I moved to KarolinskaInstitutet, to pursue post-doctoral studies at the Department of DentalMedicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden to examine thedifferentiation of pluripotent cells to neural crest cells for understandingthe ‘positional memory’ in vitro. I joined the Advanced Centre for TranslationalRegenerative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden in 2012 toengage in stem cells and translational research. My research involves bothlocal and international collaborations, to investigate the specific mechanismsof how cells interact with each other and with tissue surfaces to repair and/orrepopulate the damaged organs or tissues when applied in vivo.My goal is to successfully transfer the knowledge into pre-clinical in vivo rodentanimal models with the aim of clinical application in the future. During mypost-doctoral research at Karolinska Institutet, I have demonstrated highlevels of productivity and leadership in stem cells and translational research.With my basic science skills, knowledge and experiences, I have supervised pastand present PhD students, guest researchers and exchange students in theirexperimental setups and outcomes and have also managed the budgets andday-to-day running of the laboratory.

For any further enquiries, please contact HR office.

HR Office

Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI)

December 2, 2016