Cynthia Y. He
E-mail: dbshyc@nus.edu.sg
Research Areas:
Cell and molecular biology of parasitic pathogens; cell cycle regulation; and organelle biogenesis.
LI Fengjun
joined on :
E-mail: dbslfj@nus.edu.sg
I did my PhD work in Prof. Zhao-Rong Lun’s lab at Sun Yat-sen University in China, where I focused on the epidemiology and evolution aspect of three species in subgenus Trypanozoon: Trypanosoma brucei, T. evansi and T. equiperdum. I got my first post-doctoral position at Prof. Chihiro Sugimoto’s lab in Hokkaido University, Japan for two years to study the differentiation of T. brucei from bloodstream forms to procyclic forms and the causation of the lost of this function in T. evansi and T. equiperdum. Now in Cynthia’s lab, I am trying to give a deeper understanding of the autophagy in tryps. When not in the lab, I like to explore the beautiful natural place, though it’s very hard in Singapore.
Zhou Qing
joined on:
E-mail: dbszhouq@nus.edu.sg
I obtained my PhD from Zhejiang University in 2007 and then moved to this lab as a research fellow. During my PhD period, I studied the molecular mechanism of DNA damage repair using a radio-resistant bacterium. In this lab, my studies focus on the bi-lobed structure and flagellum attachment zone (FAZ). I have identified and characterized one new bi-lobe protein and one new FAZ protein using a comparative proteomic approach.
The Grads
Ladan Gheiratmand
joined on:
e-mail: ladan@nus.edu.sg
I’ve got both my Bachelor and Masters from University of Tehran-Iran . I’ve joined Cynthia’s lab in March 2008 and has been working on bi-lobe structure of Trypanosoma brucei since then. Bi-lobe was shown to be important in organelle duplication and cell cycle regulation. I’m studying the biochemical characteristics of bi-lobe and hope to further our understanding about this exciting structure!
Zhang Yu
joined on:
E-mail: g0700559@nus.edu.sg
Centrins are EF hand containing proteins, whose activity is regulated by Ca2+ association/dissociation. Two centrin isoforms in Trypanosoma brucei, TbCentrin2 and TbCentrin4, are both localized to bi-lobe structures in addition to basal bodies. Both proteins are essential for cell survival, however their phenotype of RNAi depletion are different, suggesting that they function through different mechanisms. TbCentrin2 is required for organelles (basal body, kinetoplast and Golgi) duplication in the cell and TbCentrin4 is required for coordinating nuclear division and cytokinesis. Centrins are composed of two structurally independent domains, each of which contains two EF hands, with different Ca2+ affinity and target binding tendency. Through biochemical and biophysical studies, we hope to further illustrate the working model for these two centrins in T. brucei and understand how they function differently in the cells.
Shima Bayat
joined on:
E-mail: bayat@nus.edu.sg
I am Shima Bayat, Iranian graduate student. I received my master degree in plant physiology from University of Tehran and then came to NUS for my PhD studies. I joined to Dr. Cynthia’s Lab in May 2010.I am trying to have a better understanding of a novel protein’s function (LRRP) in bilobe structure by investigating its protein-protein interactions and enjoying the wonderful and peaceful environment along other students, Postdocs and Research assistants in this lab.
Sun Ying
joined on:
E-mail: sying08@nus.edu.sg
Omar Sheriff
joined on: sept 2009
E-mail: omar@nus.edu.sg
with a bachelor's in Biotechnology from Anna University, India, my interest in life sciences led me to pursue research on tryps. Working on the cytoskeletal proteins, I'm currently discovering a whole new world through the microscope, in addition to a variety of techniques.
Wang Min
joined on :
E-mail: dbswangm@nus.edu.sg
As a Research Assistant in the Cynthia He lab I do drug screening against Trypanosoma brucei, I want to find some new drug targets to better treat trypanosomiasis. I came to NUS from Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Away from the lab my interests include watching movies and reading.
Shen Qian
joined on:
E-mail: dbssq@nus.edu.sg
Hello there! My name is Shen Qian and I joined Dr Cynthia's lab as a research assistant recently. My Bachelor's degree of science was obtained in National University of Singapore in 2010, with specialization in biomedical sciences. It was exciting and fun working as a team in this Parasitology lab, partly because this was my first job; and more importantly, the life-science-related research shed light on many mysterious prospects in life, allowing one to appreciate the beauty of science... Currently, I'm assisting Dr Li Fengjun with his project on autophagy in T. bruzei. Thanks to his genuine help and patient guidance, I have acquired several useful techniques which were only read in textbooks during undergrad years.
Last but not least, special mention to my command of language: Perfect in Mandarin, good in English, pass in Deutsch, not-so-cool in Jap, and an excellent in Singlish!
Wong Foong Mei
joined on:Oct 2010
E-mail: dbswfm@nus.edu.sg
Hi all, I’ve been joining this lab since Oct 2010, this is my 1st job after graduation, oh well, I feel so lucky to join in! People here are just so nice. :-)
Basically, I’m a RA, but I do nothing with experiments. My role is mainly in charge of the inventory, safety, purchasing, general lab maintenance, LB medium/plates, and etc.
If you would like to know more about our lab and our research, feel free to contact me.