My research interests

I have two major research focuses

I. Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease

This aspect of my research involves studying genes related to coronary artery disease (CAD). It includes genetic epidemiological studies of how genes influence plasma risk factors such as lipid levels and blood coagulation factors, as well as clinical outcome such as atherosclerosis.

In the process of studying the genes, we have also built up a sizable database of about 3000 CAD and healthy individuals with information on more than 32 genotypes, environmental risk factors and family/medical histories. We have capitalized on this by developing an algorithm with the help of statisticians to predict CAD risk. The algorithm has since been patented and we are now validating it with more test cases.

The ultimate aim of our research is to be able to assess an individual’s risk of heart disease through family history, biochemical factors and genetic tests, especially for the neonates, so that preventive measures can be implemented early in life in order to delay the occurrence of CAD significantly or prevent it from occurring altogether.

Recently, we have also conducted some studies in the mouse and human cell line models to elucidate molecular mechanisms involved in dietary and acute phase protein responses.

II. Development of Lab-on-a-Chip Devices for biomedical applications

Another aspect of my research is in the development of biochips or “Lab-on-a-Chip” (LOC) devices for use in molecular diagnostics. LOC basically serves to miniaturize all the functions of regular bench-top equipments in the laboratory onto a chip no larger than the size of a credit card. We have successfully developed silicon biochips that can automatically extract nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) from blood. In essence, at the push of a button, blood goes into the chip and out comes pure DNA or RNA for carrying out genetic testing after about 1 hour. This breakthrough was made possible by combining the expertise from a highly dynamic team of engineers and biologists. There are three key advantages of LOC over conventional methods. These include i) Portability - the ability to be used at point-of-care or anywhere without the need to send samples to the laboratory, ii) Full Automation - does not require skilled operator, iii) Small Reaction Volume - thereby reducing reagent cost. Coupled with another of our invention, the microPCR for DNA amplification and other commercially available portable detection systems, the full capability of the LOC could be realized. We believe there is tremendous potential of our invention in shaping the way genetic tests are going to be carried out in the near future in diverse fields such as clinical, veterinary, forensic and medicine; agriculture; animal husbandry and biodefence.