Samuel Ken-En Gan (born 1981) is an ethnic Chinese Singaporean multi-disciplinary biomedical scientist, psychologist, writer, Christian apologist, and educator. He is currently a professor at Wenzhou-Kean University and an adjunct associate professor & Advisor Mentor[1] for James Cook University, Singapore, as well as associate senior lecturer in a few teaching institutions [2][3] in Singapore. During his time as Senior Principal Investigator of the Antibody and Product Development (APD[4]) Lab within the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) between September 2011 to April 2022, he founded a startup for scientific phone apps, consultancy, research and educational kits in 2017,[5] which also housed the first and only specialized journal “Scientific Phone Apps and Mobile Devices” on mobile apps and IoT devices transferred from SpringerNature.[6] Gan also set up a new open-access student journal “APD Trove”[7] in 2017 and serves as founding Editor-in-Chief for both journals. Apart from the two journals he founded, he also served as associate editor for Frontiers in Immunology, Frontiers in Virology,[8] and guest editor for the 'Methods and protocols' journal by MDPI [9] and Frontiers in Psychology.[10]
Education
Samuel Ken-En Gan graduated from Temasek Polytechnic[11] with a Diploma in Biotechnology. He attained his BSc (Hons) in Molecular Cell Biology from University College London[12] before embarking on his Masters in Structural Biology from Birkbeck College[13] and Ph.D. in Allergy from King's College London[14] simultaneously with his BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Open University,[15] Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice and the Associate of King’s College, both from King’s College London. Gan is also trained in translation & interpretation, theology, business admin, and commercial law & tech transfer. He is a member of the Higher Education Academy UK, the British Psychological Society, Biochemical Society UK, Allergy & Clinical Immunology Society Singapore, and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Research
Samuel Ken-En Gan performs and publishes research articles in many disciplines. He currently has over 90 publications[16] that includes scientific research articles and books spanning over antibody engineering, viral mutations, psychology (including music psychology), theology, apologetics, scientific phone apps, and science-fiction. He is most well-known publicly for being one of the pioneers of scientific phone apps,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] in particularly, DNAApp,[24] which received significant worldwide coverage[25][26][27][28][29] and started the work of scientific phone apps, including founding the journal with SpringerNature. Gan also has research in psychology, particularly in the context of Singapore. His most noted work in this discipline is the ‘P2P’ theory on how music can moderate anxiety and affect learning.[30] Combining psychology and apps, his lab now has research in psychological game apps to validate and study psychological parameters via smartphone game apps.[31] In biomedical sciences, Gan’s research publications are focused on holistic protein engineering,[32] particularly in the rational drug design of antibody therapeutics.[33][34][35][36][37][38] In the area of viruses, his work focusses on understanding protein-protein interactions in HIV drug targets, and how new interventions can be designed.[39][40][41][42][43]
Contributions
Gan plays a significant role in mentoring and coaching polytechnic students across multiple disciplines in Singapore to publish in international journals and develop products. For his effort, he was featured on a report by Temasek Polytechnic to the Parliament of Singapore[44] and on a number of news articles.[45][46][47] According to his lab social media page, more than 170 interns and tertiary students have been trained since 2013, along with the development of courses with institutions of learning in Singapore.[48][49]
Awards and recognition
In 2006, Gan was featured as one of the 100 most talented Singaporeans below the age of 25[50] and one of 200 selected international students globally for the 7th China Synergy Programme for Outstanding Youths 第七届海外杰青会.[51] Gan was listed as one of fifty skilled talented alumni from polytechnic/ITE in Singapore in the SG50 Book “A Nation of Skilled Talents”,[52] selected as one of the “world’s most promising researchers” in the Interstellar Initiative by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, as well as one of the 30 world class innovators[53][54] in the book “Innovation Through Fusion” by Dr CJ Meadows.[55] In late 2020, Gan's team won Bronze in the inaugural Merck Lab Connectivity Challenge internationally [56] for their work on scientific phone apps and prototype devices. In Feb 2022, Gan was named winner of the "Science and Sustainability" category in the UK Alumni Awards 2021-22 in Singapore.[57]
References
- ^ "Register of Advisors". secure.jcu.edu.au. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
- ^ "Psychology - JCU Singapore".
- ^ "BME - View Supervisor Research Area".
- ^ "APD SKEG Pte Ltd". Facebook.
- ^ "APD SKEG PTE. LTD".
- ^ Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "The history and future of scientific phone apps and mobile devices". Scientific Phone Apps and Mobile Devices. 4 (2). doi:10.1186/s41070-018-0022-8.
- ^ Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "Editorial: APD Trove Journal – scope, aims, and purpose". APD Trove. 1 (1). doi:10.30943/2018/312018.
- ^ "Loop | Samuel Ken-En Gan". loop.frontiersin.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18.
- ^ "MPs | Special Issue : Smartphone Apps, Micro-Controller Kits, and Webservers for Scientific Research". Archived from the original on 2021-08-30.
- ^ Carfora, Valentina; Cicia, Gianni; Conner, Mark (2021). "Editorial: Mind the Sustainable Food: New Insights in Food Psychology". Frontiers in Psychology. 12: 725579. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.725579. PMC 8488082. PMID 34616341.
- ^ "Temasek Polytechnic: Bringing Education to Life and Life to Education".
- ^ "UCL - London's Global University".
- ^ "Home — Birkbeck, University of London".
- ^ "King's College London".
- ^ "The Open University: Distance Learning Courses and Adult ..."
- ^ "About - APD SKEG Pte Ltd". Facebook.
- ^ "Scientific recognition for mobile app developers - A*STAR Research".
- ^ "Counting microbes on a smartphone".
- ^ Sim, Jia-Zhi; Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Su, Chinh Tran-To; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2015). "The Rise of the Mobile Lab the Use of Smartphone Apps for Biomedical Research". Asia Pacific Biotech News. 19 (3). doi:10.1142/S021903031500021X.
- ^ Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Ghezal, Ali; Hsueh, Ya-Chih; Thomas, Boudier; Gan, Samuel Ken-En; Lim, Hwee Kuan (2016). "Optimal processing for gel electrophoresis images: Applying Monte Carlo Tree Search in GelApp". Electrophoresis. 37 (15–16): 2208–2216. doi:10.1002/elps.201600197. PMID 27251892. S2CID 6446229.
- ^ "Android app to enhance a DNA sequencing through image processsing algorithm". Archived from the original on 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ "Scientists use a gaming algorithm to enhance a DNA sequencing Android app".
- ^ "Exploring open access publishing in Asia with Samuel Gan from Scientific Phone Apps and Mobile Devices". 13 December 2016.
- ^ Nguyen, Phi-Vu; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2015). "DNAApp: a mobile application for sequencing data analysis". Bioinformatics. 30 (22): 3270–3271. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btu525. PMC 4221124. PMID 25095882.
- ^ "Pocket Science: New Mobile Application Enables DNA Analysis On The Go".
- ^ "Setting sequencing free - A*STAR Research".
- ^ "DNAApp - Best Science Apps". 28 April 2017.
- ^ "New mobile application enables DNA analysis on the go".
- ^ "DNA analysis in the pocket!".
- ^ Gan, Samuel Ken-En; Lim, Keane Ming-Jie; Haw, Yu-Xuan (2015). "The relaxation effects of stimulative and sedative music on mathematics anxiety: A perception to physiology model". Psychology of Music. 44 (4): 730–741. doi:10.1177/0305735615590430. S2CID 147562408.
- ^ Gan, Samuel Ken-En; Yeo, Joshua Yi (2020). "Editorial: The promises of Microcontroller kits and Smartphone apps for Psychological research". Scientific Phone Apps and Mobile Devices. 6 (2): https://scientificarticles.apdskeg.com/Articles2020/promisesOfMicrocontrollerKitsAndSmartphoneAppsForPsychologicalResearch.html. doi:10.30943/2020/06022020.
- ^ Phua, Ser-Xian; Chan, Kwok-Fong; Su, Chinh Tran-To; Poh, Jun-Jie; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2019). "Perspective: The promises of a holistic view of proteins—impact on antibody engineering and drug discovery". Bioscience Reports. 39 (1). doi:10.1042/BSR20181958. PMC 6398899. PMID 30630879.
- ^ Ling, Wei-Li; Lua, Wai-Heng; Poh, Jun-Jie; Yeo, Joshua Yi; Lane, David Philip; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "Effect of VH–VL Families in Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab Recombinant Production, Her2 and FcγIIA Binding". Frontiers in Immunology. 9: 469. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00469. PMC 5857972. PMID 29593727.
- ^ Lua, Wai-Heng; Ling, Wei-Li; Yeo, Joshua Yi; Poh, Jun-Jie; Lane, David Philip; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "The effects of Antibody Engineering CH and CL in Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab recombinant models: Impact on antibody production and antigen-binding". Scientific. 8 (1): 718. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8..718L. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18892-9. PMC 5768722. PMID 29335579.
- ^ Su, Chinh Tran-To; Ling, Wei-Li; Lua, Wai-Heng; Poh, Jun-Jie; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2017). "The role of Antibody Vκ Framework 3 region towards Antigen binding: Effects on recombinant production and Protein L binding". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 3766. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.3766S. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02756-3. PMC 5476676. PMID 28630463.
- ^ Lua, Wai-Heng; Su, Chinh Tran-To; Yeo, Joshua Yi; Poh, Jun-Jie; Ling, Wei-Li; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2019). "Role of the IgE variable heavy chain in FcεRIα and superantigen binding in allergy and immunotherapy". Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 144 (2): 514–523.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2019.03.028. PMID 30995457.
- ^ Su, Chinh Tran-To; Lua, Wai-Heng; Ling, Wei-Li; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "Allosteric Effects between the Antibody Constant and Variable Regions: A Study of IgA Fc Mutations on Antigen Binding". Antibodies. 7 (20): 20. doi:10.3390/antib7020020. PMC 6698812. PMID 31544872.
- ^ Samsudin, Firdaus; Yeo, Joshua Yi; Gan, Samuel Ken-En; Bond, Peter J (2020). "Not all therapeutic antibody isotypes are equal: the case of IgM versus IgG in Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab". Chemical Science. 11 (10): 2843–2854. doi:10.1039/C9SC04722K. PMC 7069520. PMID 32206268.
- ^ Su, Chinh Tran-To; Kwoh, Chee-Keong; Verma, Chandra Shekhar; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2017). "Modeling the full length HIV-1 Gag polyprotein reveals the role of its p6 subunit in viral maturation and the effect of non-cleavage site mutations in protease drug resistance". Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. 36 (16): 4366–4377. doi:10.1080/07391102.2017.1417160. PMID 29237328. S2CID 45224066.
- ^ Chiang, Ron Zhi-Hui; Su, Chinh Tran-To; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2018). "A computational study for rational HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor selection and the discovery of novel allosteric pockets for inhibitor design". Bioscience Reports. 38 (2). doi:10.1042/BSR20171113. PMC 5835713. PMID 29437904.
- ^ Su, Chinh Tran-To; Ling, Wei-Li; Lua, Wai-Heng; Haw, Yu-Xuan; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2016). "Structural analyses of 2015-updated drug-resistant mutations in HIV-1 protease: an implication of protease inhibitor cross-resistance". BMC Bioinformatics. 17 (Suppl 19): 500. doi:10.1186/s12859-016-1372-3. PMC 5259968. PMID 28155724.
- ^ Su, Chinh Tran-To; Koh, Darius Wen-Shuo; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2019). "Reviewing HIV-1 Gag Mutations in Protease Inhibitors Resistance: Insights for Possible Novel Gag Inhibitor Designs". Molecules. 24 (18): 3243. doi:10.3390/molecules24183243. PMC 6767625. PMID 31489889.
- ^ Chan, Kwok-Fong; Phua, Ser-Xian; Su, Chinh Tran-To; Gan, Samuel Ken-En (2019). "Inhibiting HIV-1 and MMLV Reverse Transcriptase: The potential of an Allosteric Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor". bioRxiv: 699470. doi:10.1101/699470.
- ^ "Rediscovering Classrooms - Annual Report 2014/15 - Temasek Polytechnic".
- ^ "TP student helps advance HIV research during internship". 11 June 2018.
- ^ "Temasek Polytechnic final-year students showcase innovative apps". 25 March 2019.
- ^ "It's kind of fun to do the impossible. - Temasek Polytechnic".
- ^ "Specialist Diploma in Biomedical Informatics and Analytics - Republic Polytechnic".
- ^ "Registration for the "Introductory Bioinformatics Workshop" Commencement in July 2018 is now ready!". Facebook.
- ^ "2006, Straits Times Newspaper, Dr Gan was featured as the top 100 Singaporeans under the age of 25". Facebook.
- ^ "China Synergy Programme for Our Outstanding Youth (CSP)".
- ^ "A Nation of Skilled Talents - SG50". Facebook.
- ^ "Innovator-Entrepreneurs: The Passionate, Compassionate, and Grumpy". 6 September 2017.
- ^ "Fusion 20 - Set My Scientists Free". YouTube.
- ^ CJ, Meadows (2020). Innovation through Fusion: Combining Innovative Ideas to Create High Impact Solutions. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 9781547401543.
- ^ "Connectivity Challenge - Research | Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany | Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany".
- ^ British Council (23 Feb 2022). "British Council announces winners of inaugural Study UK Alumni Awards". British Council.