Meet the Team
Julius Fredens
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
Julius holds a Presidential Young Professorship at NUS and is a Principle Investigator in the NUS Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme.
He received his PhD from University of Southern Denmark, where he developed SILAC for quantitative proteomics in C. elegans, under the supervision of Nils Færgeman. As a postdoc with Jason Chin at LMB in Cambridge, he co-authored the first synthetic E. coli genome with a compressed genetic code, and demonstrated its genetic resistance to bacteriophage. Julius is interested in synthetic biology with applications in therapy, biotech, and sustainable production. Not to mention jazz and bread baking.
jfredens [at] nus.edu.sg
Julius Fredens
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
Julius holds a Presidential Young Professorship at NUS and is a Principle Investigator in the NUS Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme.
He received his PhD from University of Southern Denmark, where he developed SILAC for quantitative proteomics in C. elegans, under the supervision of Nils Færgeman. As a postdoc with Jason Chin at LMB in Cambridge, he co-authored the first synthetic E. coli genome with a compressed genetic code, and demonstrated its genetic resistance to bacteriophage. Julius is interested in synthetic biology with applications in therapy, biotech, and sustainable production. Not to mention jazz and bread baking.
Pramila Baban Ghode
Postdoc
Pramila received her PhD in Biological Sciences from NUS in 2016, focusing on assessing molecular genetic basis of drug resistance and X-ray crystal structure elucidation of novel target proteins in tuberculosis. Her interests include redesigning organisms by genome engineering using Synthetic Biology approaches for healthcare and environmental applications.
pramila [at] nus.edu.sg
Tobias Vesterholm Eden
PhD candidate
Tobias obtained his MSc degree in 2021 from University of Southern Denmark and specialised in characterising protein structures by mass spectrometry.
e0983460 [at] u.nus.edu
Boshuo Jian
PhD student
Boshuo used to work in Jilin university on protein vaccine design and intracellular pathway. Now he is exploring new DNA editing techniques with phage and integrase. Besides his passion on research, Boshuo is also a fan of combat sports, video games and movies.
e1397087 [at] u.nus.edu
Xiang Qing Ong
Research intern
Xiang Qing graduated from Republic Polytechnic in 2024 in cancer biology and therapeutics. She enjoys engineering new functions and behaviours in living systems using synthetic biology principles. At present, she is designing and testing synthetic genetic systems that coax cute E. coli into becoming biosensors. In her spare time, she bakes and dreams of life under a microscope.
Aung Khine Linn
Postdoc
Currently, Aung is a postdoc under the SNAS fellowship. With previous experiences in protein science and stem cell biology, his research interests include virus-induced immune amnesia, in vitro disease models, and axolotl research..
a.k.linn [at] nus.edu.sg
Shujian Ong
PhD candidate, Master of Cyano
Shujian obtained his BSc (Hons) degree from the National University of Singapore and is currently pursuing his PhD under the President’s Graduate Fellowship (ISEP) programme. He is passionate about sustainability and climate change, and is interested in developing synthetic biology tools for sustainable bioproduction.
shujian_ong [at] u.nus.edu
Darius Koh
Research Assistant
Previously at A*STAR, Darius is passionate about applying better DNA R/W and protein design tools to overcome the Leviathan challenge of engineering & evolving biology as easily as one would use a computer. An architecture fiend, he hopes to live in a parametrically designed and grown (not built) building one day.
kohwsd [at] nus.edu.sg
Fabian Willenborg
Master's student
Fabian is currently enrolled in the Inderdisciplinary Science Msc program at ETH Zurich. He has a background in chemical biology, virology and protein biochemistry. In the Fredens Lab he tries to engineer protein machinery for evolution of peptides and proteins. Outside of the lab he is mostly in the water be it for swimming, diving or surfing.
Tin Chau Hoang Trung
Postdoc
Tin received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Kyung Hee University in 2023 with research focusing on engineering methanotrophs. He aims to promote the circular economy concept through biomanufacturing, including engineering cyanobacteria as a cell factory for bioproduction.
chttin93 [at] nus.edu.sg
Shuxuan Lao
PhD student
Shuxuan obtained her dual BSc (Hons) degree in Biomedical Sciences from Zhejiang University and the University of Edinburgh. She has a strong interest in applying synthetic biology techniques to advance innovations in the medical and healthcare fields. In her free time, she enjoys singing songs from various genres and swimming in the ocean.
e1397088 [at] u.nus.edu
Ashvinath
UROPS student
Ashvinath is a 4th-year undergrad majoring in Life Sciences. He is interested in using synthetic biology techniques for medical and healthcare purposes. Besides biology, he is also passionate about football and sports in general.
e0725864 [at] u.nus.edu
