Kim-Tien Ng

Dr. Ng Kim Tien (Kim) obtained his Ph.D. in molecular virology and evolutionary biology under the mentorship of Dr. Tee Kok Keng, Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman, and Dr. Yutaka Takebe. During his Ph.D., he has developed and patented an assay for rhinovirus (RV) quantification, creating an improved detection and quantification tool that may be essential in assessing disease prognosis, monitoring viral suppression during antiviral treatment, and designing infection control measures. In addition, he has delineated the evolutionary history of EV-D68 that caused unprecedented outbreaks in the US. His achievements on the identification and characterization of novel HIV-1 recombinants and the investigation of HIV-1 transmission networks in Southeast Asia have been recognized through several national and international awards, including the 64th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Physiology and Medicine, Lindau, Germany, 21st CROI Young Investigator Award, Boston, the United States of America, Young Scientist Award in Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program, University of Tokyo, Japan, and Young Scientist Awards, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was a Research Associate at Duke-NUS Medical School with Professor Linfa Wang and Assistant Professor Danielle Anderson, where he designed the viral and bacterial peptide libraries for potential real-life application in combating disease outbreaks.

He is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the National University of Singapore, where he attempts to elucidate host-viral interactions and screens for potential antiviral candidates. Here, he is actively involved in the SOP preparation for the optimization of SARS-CoV-2 isolation, amplification, and quantification in the BSL-3 facility. Also, he participates actively in collaborative research to develop an improved SARS-CoV-2 detection tool. In addition, he plays a key role in the optimization and production of viral (SARS-CoV-2, and Influenza viruses) pseudotypes for functional neutralization assays in the BSL-2+ facility.

Furthermore, Kim has nearly three years of experience working as a Scientific Officer in a diagnostic cancer company, where his main role includes scaling up robotic process automation to improve operational efficiency, productivity, and quality. In addition, he played a key role in achieving the company's College of American Pathologists (CAP) and CLIA accreditation.