Lipids…fats…are the most fundamentally important molecules in your body. Life wouldn’t exist without lipids. In order for a cell to be a cell, or a person to be a person, something has to separate the self from the non-self. Lipids form that boundary; the barrier that prevents organisms from diffusing away into the environment.

We now know that lipids are much more than passive barriers to diffusion. Among other things, they are essential components of the cellular communication network. Multicellular organisms are only possible because all of the varied cells act in concert. They do this by engaging in constant conversation. The language of this conversation is complex and involves many different media. There are two goals of the DRH Lab: 1) learn new things about the role of lipids in this cellular conversation, and 2) use this information to design new drug therapies to treat disease.

Our work is carried out in the Department of Pharmacology at the National University of Singapore.