Our People

PROF WILLIAM CHEN | Director
𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 & 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴

Professor William Chen is the Michael Fam Chair of Food Science and Technology at NTU. He is a leader in the development of sustainable food systems and food security solutions. His current research interests extend across a range of different areas including microbial fermentation, green extraction of nutrients and bioactives in food, foodomics and waste valorisation. Professor Chen leads the Food Science and Technology Programme at NTU and oversees NTU’s teaching and research efforts in food science.

Academic Profile

ASSOC PROF YUSUF ALI | Deputy Director
𝘕𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺

Yusuf Ali is an Associate Professor of Metabolic Disease with tenure at NTU LKCMedicine. He is currently Assistant Dean of External Affairs and the current Director of the Nutrition, Metabolism and Health Research Programme. At FRESH, Yusuf assumes a pivotal role in guiding the R&D agenda with a focus on devising innovative approach methodologies that prioritise both gastrointestinal safety and the nutritional profiles of novel foods. Yusuf is also a spokesperson on various community and media platforms aimed at promoting diabetes awareness.

Academic Profile

DR. ELGIN E L YAP | Assistant Director, Business Operations Management

Elgin oversees FRESH business operations and financial management. Elgin finds his mission in public sector services delivering new development in multi-agency R&D programmes in Singapore, bringing his decade of experience in both deep-tech and high-tech startups. He is committed to building a conducive regulatory environment for Singapore and enabling a future-ready food innovation ecosystem walking alongside stakeholders from urban farming to cultivated meat.

SERYNN GUAY | Manager, Communications and Operations

Serynn is an experienced professional with a demonstrated ability to drive effective communications strategies and initiatives for FRESH. With over a decade of experience in regional marketing and corporate communications within the media and events sectors, she skilfully leverages her extensive knowledge to develop and execute thought leadership campaigns, engage stakeholders, and effectively utilise social media platforms.

FATIN ZAFIRAH | Regulatory Scientist

Fatin Zafirah is a Regulatory Scientist at FRESH, with extensive experience in product development, regulatory affairs, and food technology. In her previous roles, she has successfully led projects to enhance product formulations, ensuring business continuity and maintaining the highest standards of product quality through meticulous ingredient and nutrient assessments. Her expertise is further underpinned by certifications in advanced food hygiene, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

TAYA HUANG | Regulatory Scientist

Taya is responsible for material review and desktop research within the FRESH team. She graduated from the University of Eastern Finland with a MSc. in General Toxicology and Environmental Health Risk Assessment and spent a year as trainee with the Scientific Committee and Emerging Risks Unit of the European Food Safety Authority. Prior to joining FRESH she worked as a chemical product steward.

DR ZHANG JIANHUA | 𝐋𝐚𝐛 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 & 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝

Dr Zhang is responsible for the management of the FRESH lab. He has more than 20 years of research experience involving cell biology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, and omics biology. Prior to joining FRESH, he was a research fellow working on engineering bacterial for cancer therapy, and also in charge of GCMS LCMS usage at NTU. 

DR LIM HUI KHENG | Food Toxicologist

Dr Lim is the project lead of FRESH’s in vitro (gut) toxicology platform with expertise in epithelial biology, genetic toxicology and molecular biotechnology. She has years of experience in both translational and basic research with CRO. Her main duties in FRESH involve developing assays, proposing, and implementing new project ideas (New Approach Methodologies, NAM) to aid in the framework/guideline development for toxicological evaluations of novel food proteins. She is also actively participating in research collaboration with cross-functional R&D teams and regulatory agencies in the space of food safety science.  

DR. YOUSSEF EZZAKY | Microbiologist

Dr. Ezzaky is a dedicated and accomplished Food Science and Microbiology researcher, deeply committed to advancing food safety and quality. With a comprehensive background in food preservation, his expertise extends to predictive food modeling and fermentation, ensuring the development of innovative and effective solutions for the food industry. His research focuses on understanding and mitigating food safety risks, employing predictive models to anticipate and prevent potential hazards. His work in fermentation explores the enhancement of food products through natural processes, contributing to improved taste, nutritional value, and shelf life.

JOSEPH TAN | Project Officer

Joseph is mainly responsible for working on FRESH’s in-vitro (gut) toxicology platform assays. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Major in Chemistry with two years of experience working in metabolomics and biochemistry. Joseph hopes to be able to constantly learn new methods and techniques through his role in FRESH to be able to contribute to the development of novel food safety science for Singapore's 30 by 30 vision.

SRISHTI GUPTA | Project Officer

Srishti brings to FRESH a strong skill set in computational chemistry and machine learning. Her research is focused on the pairing of high resolution mass spectrometry data with in-silico models for toxicity to improve the chemical characterisation of complex biological mixtures. She also has experience in the lab with wet chemistry techniques and is building out new skill sets in in-vitro toxicology.

NG YUNQIAN | Project Officer

Yunqian is currently engaged in the research and chemical examination of FRESH's antifungal crop protectants through in-vitro digestion. Holding a degree in Chemistry, she brings a background as a former chemist, specialising in analytical instruments and wet chemistry techniques. Committed to expanding her skill set, Yunqian endeavors to contribute to the FRESH team by acquiring new capabilities.

Prof. May Oo Lwin | Consumer Insights & Risk Communications
Chair, Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information (WKWSCI)
President's Chair in Communication Studies
Professor, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI)

May O. Lwin, President's Chair Professor of Communication Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication (WKWSCI), College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is the Chair of WKWSCI and also serves as the Director of NTU University Scholars Programme.

Professor Lwin’s expertise lies in strategic and health communication. Her work in digitally mediated health communication systems to improve public health has been piloted in various communities, schools and hospitals. On the infectious disease research front, her research portfolio has covered diseases like Zika, Dengue, Influenza and COVID-19.  She is also an expert on food and nutrition communication and behaviours.  A Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA), she has received many awards such as the Fulbright ASEAN Scholar Award, Ogilvy Foundation International Award for Academic Leadership and the Outstanding Applied Researcher Award from the ICA.

Professor Lwin serves on Women@NTU Advisory Board.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Chen Lin | Bacteriophage Technology for Food Safety
Assistant Professor, School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB)

Dr. CHEN Lin became a member of the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology at Nanyang Technological University in 2023. Prior to this, he held a postdoctoral fellowship position at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia. He earned his Bachelor and Master degrees in Food Science and Engineering from China Agricultural University. Subsequently, he completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the National University of Singapore in 2021. Currently, Dr. CHEN's primary research focuses on advancing phage products to enhance food safety and comprehending the molecular mechanisms underlying phage-host interactions. He has served as an author or co-author in more than 30 publications, which collectively have garnered over 2400 citations. Notably, he was honored with the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) Young Scientist Award in 2022, which recognizes individuals with outstanding scientific contributions and the potential for future scientific leadership.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Ye Hui | 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴
Assistant Professor, School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB)

Ye Hui holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Before joining NTU, Ye Hui served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Ye Hui's research interests revolve around the development of functional foods tailored to specific gender and age requirements. This includes exploring the regulatory roles of food chemicals in energy homeostasis, and their potential structural activity relationship. His research aims to develop food functionality for a specific purpose with foods “designed” to contain specific functional components for a desired positive health outcome.

Academic Profile

Asst. Prof. Xunyuan Yin | 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
Assistant Professor, School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CCEB)

Xunyuan Yin received the Ph.D. degree in process control from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, in August 2018. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2010 and 2012, respectively. He was a visiting student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 2014. Between August 2018 and November 2021, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alberta. His research interests include state estimation, optimal process control, fault diagnosis, learning-based process monitoring and operation, and their applications to manufacturing processes.

Academic Profile

Assoc. Prof. Miao Yansong | 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘴
Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences (SBS)

Miao Lab research mainly focuses on studying the mechanisms of actin assembly in polarized fungal growth and plant immunity. Miao Lab interested in how diverse extracellular and intracellular signals regulate actin assembly underlying diverse physiological and pathological processes in eukaryotic cells. Actin filament assembly contributes to the multiple cellular pathways pleiotropically, by its dynamic assembly and disassembly upon cellular needs and specific stimuli, such as the activation of polarized cell growth or the host immune responses during defense mechanisms against pathogenic attack. In the much crowd intracellular environment, actin-binding proteins (ABPs) precisely regulate the dynamics assembly and re-organization of actin networks, in cooperative and competitive manners. We are particularly interested in how the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of ABPs perceive the signals to trigger the re-organisation of actin assembly, by regulating the protein dynamics, protein conformation, and protein-protein interactions, via interdisciplinary approaches, such as biochemical assay, advanced cell imaging, genetic approaches.

Academic Profile