SINGAPORE SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (SSBMB) PRESIDENT S ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2013/2014

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1 SINGAPORE SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (SSBMB) PRESIDENT S ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2013/ SSBMB Council The following members have been serving on the SSBMB Council for the period President Vice- President Hon Secretary Asst Hon Secretary Hon Treasurer Council Members Dr Thilo Hagen Dr Yew Wen Shan Ms Christine Hu Zhi Wen Ms Daphne Wong Pei Wen Dr Sun Guang Wen Mrs Koh Siok Im Ms Sarah Ho Yoon Khei Dr Choy Weng Keong Dr Chen Yahua 2. Activities (April 2013 to Mar 2014) 2.1 SSBMB Focussed Meeting on Synthetic Biology (jointly co- organized with Singapore Synthetic Biology Consortium and Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore) The third SSBMB focussed meeting was held on 22 October 2013 at NUS Centre for Translational Medicine. The meeting brought together scientists working in the area of synthetic biology in Singapore. Particants in the meeting came from various institutions, including NUS, NTU, Singapore Institute of Technology and one overseas guest speaker from Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The meeting served as an excellent platform for scientific exchange and may spur collaborations in the future. The programme included talks by the following scientists: Dr Victor Guallar (Barcelona Supercomputing Center) Dr Matthew Chang (School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, NTU) Dr Dong- Yup Lee (Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, NUS) Dr Yew Wen Shan (Department of Biochemistry, NUS) Dr Susanna Leong (Singapore Institute of Technology) Dr Yuan Jifeng (Division of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NTU) 2.2 Hosting of Special FAOBMB Symposium SSBMB hosted the Special FAOBMB Symposium, held in conjunction with the FAOBMB Council Meeting The Special FAOBMB Symposium took place on December 2013 at Clinical Research Centre (MD11) Auditorium, NUS. The event included a Special Education Symposium (supported by IUBMB) Changing the way we teach, chaired by Ms KOH Siok Im. 1

2 2.3 Young Scientists Symposium 2014 The 7 th Young Scientists Symposium was held on 10 March 2014 at the Science Centre Singapore. The annual symposium was co- organised together with the Science Centre Singapore. This year, there were a total of 78 abstracts for poster presentations and 6 oral presentations. All 5 local polytechnics were represented. A number of changes were introduced, including that the best oral presenters were nominated by the polytechnics. We also increased the number of poster judges to 21, divided up the poster presentations into two sessions and increased the time for poster viewing. As a result, each poster was assessed by two judges. The symposium was well attended with 159 student attendees and 64 supervisors and others. The following is the list of winners for YSS2014. Oral Presentation Distinction Award Role of TRPM4 Ion Channel in Ischemic Stroke Ngee Ann Eong, R.X., Quek, J. Oral Presentation Merit Award Development of a Rapid Biosensor for Detecting Viral Infection Singapore Long, Z.R. Poster Presentation Merit Awards P04 Genetic Barcoding of Hoya and Dischidia Species s Singapore Teo, W.K., Chong, W.J., Tan, R.S. P07 High- dimensional cytometric analysis of Macaca fascicularis organ- specific NK cells Ngee Ann Lim Xin Yan, Tan Li Ling Mandy, Lau Quek Choon P08 An Evaluation of Tropomyosin Cross- reactivity in Shellfish Allergy in Singapore Ngee Ann Benedict Lum Han Chin P10 Isolation of Biologically Active Compounds from the Bark of Limonia Acidissima Nanyang Siti Arbanah Bte Samsuri 2

3 P12 Antibiotic Resistance in Urban Environment Republic Loong Jun Han Jesse, Gao Chang, Soh Xin Hui, Li Yan, Abizer Imran P15 Optimising the formation and regeneration of protoplasts from Aspergillus niger Temasek Chua Boon Lee P23 Solubilization of Atorvastatin by hot melt extrusion with polymers Temasek Lee Chuan Yong P31 Studying the potential mechanism by which mutant p53 promotes cancer progression Temasek Lee Guan Hwee Bernard P34 A Study on the Importance of Axin on β- catenin Regulation in HEK293 and Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines Temasek Julette Tay Shu Wen P38 Identification of Novel Protein Binding Partners of Ect2 in Glioma Cells Ngee Ann Kenneth Yap Chun Hong, Chee Zhao Yan, Zhu Congju P39 Binding mechanism and DNA interaction studies on a novel HIV type 1 inhibitory peptide Republic Jeyalekshimi D/O Palan, Nur Syafiqah Usman, Yi Shuxian, Lim Kian Ann, Lee Chuan Yong, Susmita Ban P42 Development of Inhalable Nanoparticles of Combination Antibiotics for the Treatment of Tuberculosis Temasek Cheong Mei Chi 3

4 P45 A Novel Way of Increasing Abnormality Detection Rates in Multiple Myeloma: Sorted- FISH Temasek Joshua Tay P47 Design and Development of Nanomaterial- based Vaccine Delivery System for Effective Immunization of Fish Nanyang Nur Anisah Binte Abdul Muthalib P57 Mechanism of Heat Stroke Injury Singapore Ng Jian Sheng, Sean Loh Itt Khyn P60 Determining Evaluation Methods for Non- Diary Creamer Tablets Singapore Teo Wan Ling, Nur Syakirah Binti Musa, Nurul Afiqah Binte Mohd Fammy P65 Characterisation of Thermoresponsive Polymer- coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Drug Release Studies Temasek Glenda Oh Guek Khim P68 Designing a System to Investigate the Permeability of Substances through the Human Skin Using an In Vitro Cell Model Temasek Tan Zhi Hao We would like to thank the Lee Foundation for their generous sponsorship of $3,000 for the event, which made it possible for the symposium to be held free- of- charge for the students. We would also like to thank the following people for their contributions: Plenary speakers: Dr Ong Sin Tiong (Principal Investigator, Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Program, Duke- NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore) Dr David Klinzing (Deputy Director - Technology at AITbiotech) Judges: Dr LAI Poh San Department of Pediatrics, National University of Singapore Dr Sudhakar JHA Cancer Science Institute, Singapore, Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore Dr Low Pey Yng Ngee Ann Dr Choy Weng Keong Ngee Ann Dr May Ann LEE Experimental Therapeutic Centre, A*Star Institute Dr Clara Teo Ru Lin Temasek 4

5 Dr Yeo Li Sze Temasek Dr Saji George Nanyang Dr Mark Richards Nanyang Dr Tan Tuan Lin Singapore Mr Wang Baoshuang Singapore Dr Tan Kian Hwa Simon Singapore Dr Eugene Koh Singapore Dr Chiradip Chatterjee Republic Mr Jeremy Choo Republic Dr Suchitra Derebail Republic Mr Foo Toon Tien Republic Dr Koo Ghee Chong Republic Dr Nikhil Sachdeva Republic Mr Chen Yahua National University of Singapore Mr Akshamal Gamage National University of Singapore Dr Ho Yoon Khei Sarah National University of Singapore Ms Hong Shin Yee National University of Singapore Ms Ng Mei Ying National University of Singapore Ms Wong Long Hui National University of Singapore 3. Prizes/Medals to Education Institutes Four book prizes were given out to students for academic year 2011/2012 NUS SSBMB Medal The SSBMB sponsored the SSBMB Medal for the best Life Science Honours student (specialization in either Biomedical Science or Molecular Cell Biology) who has taken the final year project in the Department of Biochemistry. The awardee for academic year 2012/2013 was Goh Xi Tai Winfred. The following four prizes award were approved and cheques were issued to institutes for students of academic year 2013/2014 (student recipients are yet to be identified) Singapore $200; Ngee Ann $200; Republic $150; NUS $150 With effect from Academic Year 2013/14, the SSBMB Medal for the best Life Science Honours student has been converted to a SSBMB cash prize of $150. The conditions for the award of the prize remain the same: the prize will be awarded to the Life Sciences student with the highest Cumulative Average Points who submitted the final year project in the Department of Biochemistry. This change has been approved by the NUS Board of Undergraduate Studies. 4. Affiliations The Society is a member of the Singapore Academy of Sciences (SNAS). The President and the Secretary represent the Society in the SNAS Council. The Society is a full member of FAOBMB. SNAS is an adhering body of the IUBMB. 5. Financial Status (1 Jan 31 Dec 2013) The SSBMB had a total income of $28, and a total expenditure of $29, This amounted to a net deficit $ As at 31 December 2013, the Society had a total of $143, Of this sum, $100,000 is held as fixed deposits with DBS bank. 5

6 6. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Council members, members and our sponsors for your support over the past year. Dr Thilo Hagen President, SSBMB ( ) 02 April