My research interest following promotion to Associate Professor has evolved from the applications of polymers for biological and biomedical purposes. This is due to many reasons, among them the biggest lies in finding that we have a lot to learn from nature and biology. The research work done before 2009 has given me a wide variety of exposure to how nature works, such as in healing the human body, in the development of cells into organized tissues, in the microbiology of DNA and genes in cancer development, in proteins and peptides properties and structure that can transform cells and control stem cell differentiation, and etc. Even with all of the knowledge out there, it appears that we have barely touched the surface of the wonders of biology, and thus I sought to learn even more in an effort to copy what nature is doing. As the saying goes, mimicry is the highest form of flattery, and thus what would be a better way to praise nature than to mimic biology in our engineering systems?

Therefore, from 2009 onwards, my research focus has evolved from using polymers and materials for biological applications, to mimicking biology in our materials and systems. This shift actually started even in 2007 as we were looking for materials that can mimic collagen for liver tissue engineering. The significant interest to make a synthetic material that looks and behaves exactly like collagen lead us to one of my current core research interests of collagen-mimetic peptide amphiphiles. This area will be further explained below, and our success with this material has expanded my interest to find other areas of nature to mimic. This was similarly supported by another core research area of molecular imprinting that began in 2006, which is really the mimicry of molecules and antibodies at the molecular level. In this work, we have successfully developed polymer nanoparticles that behaves like nature, mimicking antibodies to capture proteins, viruses and even small organic compounds.

Singapore is lacks space for landfills and needs to diversify its energy resources. The combined challenges of managing waste and sourcing for energy has compelled Singapore to make continuous efforts in advancing waste-to-energy (WTE) technology, which could ensure sustainable development and energy resilience simultaneously. In the global context for waste management, a broader trend of waste-to-resources (WTR) can similarly be seen in which valuable materials and resources recovered from waste has driven many circular economy industries.

My research team has established a position at the frontier of this movement by developing anaerobic digestion (AD) solutions that sustainably closes the loop for biological wastes like food waste and horticultural wastes. AD uses anaerobic microorganisms to decompose the organic matter of biomass to produce methane-rich biogas (CH₄) for use in the power grid or as vehicle fuel. By viewing food waste as a renewable resource, the resultant biogas is then considered as renewable and reduces the consumption of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, the nutrient-rich digestate of AD can be used as fertilizer for crop cultivation. In short, by turning waste into a source of energy and valuable by-products, we minimize the effects of its generation and decrease the need for its disposal. We work on all aspects of AD for managing these biomass wastes, with the goal to develop technologies suited for decentralization and application in cities like Singapore. We believe that while research by itself brings advances in science and engineering, it should be translated for use as solutions, such as in reducing waste generation in Singapore, removing wet biomass waste from the incineration process, and eventually increasing the effectiveness of the entire waste management system for the country.

Figure 2 shows the expansion of our biomimetic research from just the biomimetic materials to other works in biomimetic membranes, devices and systems. In all of these works, our group expertise in combining proteins and polymers enables us to learn from nature to mimic it for applications in water purification, waste treatment, and biomedical devices. Funding from large grants between 2009 and 2017 that we were awarded have been crucial in leading our efforts to understand more about nature to successfully tackle novel challenges in these areas.