Staff Profile: Up close with Assistant Professor Lynn Yap

By Nurulafiqah Anasha Binte Afandi, Junior Writer, Communications and Outreach

In Singapore, only three to four heart transplants are made per year on average.[1] As such, it makes it difficult for patients with heart complications to receive the treatment that they need to recover. What alternative options of therapy do they have other than a transplant for them to sustain their quality of life? Assistant Professor Lynn Yap addresses this question and more in her field of Cardiometabolic Medicine and in her research in regenerative cardiology.

Describe your area of research and how it is pushing the boundaries of your field and industry.

The heart is an amazing organ with incredible endurance and strength that continuously pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body to sustain life. However, when there is reduced blood flow into the heart such as atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries, this will lead to clinical manifestations of ischemic heart disease. Ischemic heart disease is the most common form of heart disease and affects millions of people globally. Currently, these patients have limited options, and they will have to live with diseased hearts with a slim chance of recovery. My research aims to provide regenerative options to patients where cardiac progenitors can safely repair and replace damaged heart muscle tissues.

There are divergent opinions in the field regarding which cell types have the best chance of regenerating heart muscles. Two promising cell types that have demonstrated tremendous potential in preclinical studies are beating cardiomyocytes or non-beating cardiac progenitors produced from pluripotent stem cells.

[1] Statistics taken from:

https://www.myheart.org.sg/heart-news/organ-donation-insights-from-a-heart-failure-cardiologist/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20only%20two%20to,heart%20transplants%20performed%20in%20Singapore.

In my laboratory, we use a patented reproducible laminin-based protocol that mimics the natural environment of the heart where pluripotent stem cells are cultured and differentiated into cardiovascular progenitors without the use of any animal components or feeders. In our preclinical experiments, the progenitors were transplanted into the infarcted heart and were able to restore the damaged tissue, improve the heart function, and more importantly reduce side effects of ventricular arrhythmia compared to beating cardiomyocytes. This suggests that our protocol has the potential to be developed into an effective and safe means for cell therapy. The field of regenerative cardiology is incredibly exciting, and I have high hopes that cellular treatment will soon become a reality and help people with heart failure.

What/who inspired you to specialise in Cardiometabolic Medicine, particularly in regenerative cardiology using stem cell therapy? 

A close uncle of mine who seemingly looked healthy had a heart attack one day. Doctors found that his coronary arteries were blocked, and he will require a heart bypass. I was saddened to hear that he had only few options and a slim chance of recovery. I then decided to pursue a PhD to look for new treatments for heart failure patients. I want to give heart disease patients more choices. I worked on pluripotent stem cells and got fascinated by the potential of these cells in repairing disease organs. These triggered my interest in focusing on stem cell therapy, particularly in cardiometabolic medicine as metabolic and heart disease have a huge prevalence in our aging society.

How do you see this research impacting patients with heart disease/problems? 

I know of a young 14-year-old patient diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy who has never recovered. Eventually, his heart became so weak that he had to have either a heart transplant or a mechanical pump “LVAD” for him to survive. The patient eventually received the mechanism pump to keep him alive and he is now in university. However, he always has to wear a specially tailored vest to carry his LVAD pump and cables around with two batteries each lasting only about 13 hours. My research will be impactful to patients like him to provide them with a third option in cellular transplantation to repair the heart from the inside and improve their quality of life. 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The interactions with the amazing people in the School! The leadership, support staff, students, post-doctoral fellows, colleagues, and even our security officers and cleaners in the school. My first few months in LKCMedicine were full of learning and awesomeness. I had amazing scientific interactions with the faculty, students, and seminar speakers. Of course, the independence of running my research laboratory, searching for answers to complex problems, and educating our talented students are very rewarding.

Scientific research can be demanding. What do you do to unwind?

Indeed, scientific research is demanding and we work over the weekends and holidays. When I am not working, I love to spend time with my family, watching movies and playing with my children. An overseas family trip is what I always look forward to, allowing me to have some time to stay away from the hustle and bustle of lab life.

Please share with us about your involvement in Women in Science (WinS). There are a few WinS programmes globally. Which one are you affiliated to?

When I was at Duke-NUS, I was involved in the Singhealth-Duke-NUS WinS program where I attended training and workshops for early-career women researchers. I am now part of the LKCMedicine’s WinS programme and am excited to contribute to the community here. Our WinS program is involved in organising the International Women in STEM & Medicine Symposium 2024 with many other amazing women around Singapore. I am also a member of the eLife publishing early career advisory group (ECAG) and am championing the WinS program internationally through the “Sense of Belonging” circle events together with other women researchers globally. The common theme for Women in Science is to create a culture that encourages diversity, equity, and inclusion which is fundamental to achieving fair opportunity for anyone to contribute to their fullest potential. 

What is your advice for our female LKCMedicine students who are interested in pursuing research?

You can have a family, kids, and research. There are many women scientists who raise a family, build a community around themselves, and excel in research. It is also very important to have open communication with your family and principal investigator to gather their support. Establish a female role model or mentor, and build relationships with people who will help you in navigating the road ahead. Believe in yourself and go for it! I am sure research will be a very rewarding career for you.