Archives   ::   Issue 40, June 2009     

LSI Director Steps Down

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Prof Ong Choon Nam, Director, Life Sciences Institute will be stepping down from Directorship with effect from 30 June 2009. He will be moving on to head another NUS Research Institute. We would like to thank Prof Ong for his invaluable support and leadership during his stint as Deputy Director and then as Director of the Life Sciences Institute.

Prof Peter Little, Research Director, Office of Deputy President will take over the helm from Prof Ong with effect from 1 July 2009.

Visit by Senator Edgardo Angara

Phil visit

Senator Edgardo Angara from the Philippines called at the University on 25 June 2009. The objective of his visit was to find out the role of NUS in pushing science and technology of Singapore and to learn strategies to promote education in science and technology. [READ MORE]

Promotion

Our congratulations to the following faculty members on their promotion:

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• Dr Lim Chwee Teck, LSI Deputy Director and PI with the Division of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering was promoted to Full Professorship with retrospective effect from 1 Jan 2009.

dr_tong

• Dr Tong Yen Wah who holds a joint appointment at the Division of Bioengineering and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is promoted to Associate Professor with tenure with effect from 1 July 2009.

dr_henry_mok

• Dr Henry Mok Yu Keung, Department of Biological Sciences and member of the Biophysical Sciences Programme is promoted to Associate Professor with effect from 1 July 2009.

Scientific Achievement

Novel, water soluble hydrogen sulfide releasing molecule (GYY4137): New insights into the biology of hydrogen sulphide

The potential biological significance of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Chemical compounds with the ability to release either nitric oxide (NO) or carbon monoxide (CO) over a prolonged period of time have proved very useful in our understanding of the physiological and pathophysiological roles of these gases. Until now, no such slow-releasing H2S compound has been described.

The Research Group recently prepared GYY4137 (morpholin-4-ium 4 methoxyphenyl(morpholino) phosphinodithioate) and found that it releases H2S slowly both in aqueous solution in vitro and following i.v. or i.p. administration to the anaesthetized rat in vivo (Scheme 12). GYY4137 is not toxic to rat vascular smooth muscle cells in culture and does not affect cell cycle distribution or p53 expression in these cells. [READ MORE]