ABOUT ME
Born and raised in Singapore, I moved to Vancouver in 2009 to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia, where I worked to construct large molecules made up of discrete units of DNA building blocks and studied their structures. On completing my PhD, I took up a postdoctoral fellowship position designing and synthesizing several prodrugs targeted towards the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. To diversify my experience, I then spent a year working in industry, learning about process optimization, GMP standards and workplace safety. Realizing that my true passion lies in teaching, I returned to the academic world, where I currently teach general and organic chemistry.
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When I'm not tickling brains with curly arrows and reaction mechanisms, I can be found running and biking in local parks, playing the guitar and awkwardly trying to sing along, and stumbling around on the salsa dance floors.
EDUCATION
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Organic Synthesis
Development of new synthetic methods towards pharmaceutically valuable heterocyclic molecules
2009 - 2014
University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
PhD in Chemistry
Natural Product Isolation
Harnessing the therapeutic potential of traditional
Southeast Asian botanicals
Prodrug Development
Synthesis of model drug-carrier conjugates for in vitro efficacy studies
2007 - 2009
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
MSc in Chemistry
2003 - 2007
National University of Singapore, Singapore
BSc in Chemistry, with Honours