Phua Siew Cheng
Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine)
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Principal Investigator, Centre for Bioimaging Sciences
Programme Member, LSI Neurobiology Programme
National University of Singapore
Address: 16 Science Drive 4, S3, #06-03
Tel: 65162714
Email: sc.phua@nus.edu.sg
Website: https://neuronsignalinglab.org/

Major Research Interests

I lead the Neuron Signaling Lab at NUS Department of Biological Sciences. We employ advanced in vivo imaging and molecular approaches with machine learning to unravel how sub-cellular signaling events in brain cells differentially instruct gene expression patterns encoding learning and memory. Our current focus is on understanding how molecular signals in the neuronal cilium and nucleus shape reward and fear learning. By illuminating the cell biology in behaving brain, we gain real-time knowledge of how cognitive processes take form and seek for better ways to improve learning in normal and pathological states.

Selected Recent Publications

1. Jia, S., Phua, S.C., Nihongaki, Y., Li, Y., Pacella, M., Li, Y., Mohammad, A.M., Sun, S., Inoue, T., Schulman, R. Growth and site-specific organization of micron-scale biomolecular devices on living mammalian cells. Nature Communications 2021; 12(5279).
2. Phua, S.C.#, Tan, Y.L.#, Kok, A.M.Y., Senol, E., Chiam, C.J.H., Lee, C.Y., Peng, Y., Lim, A.T.J., Mohammad, H., Lim, J.X., Fu, Y#. A distinct parabrachial to lateral hypothalamus circuit for motivational suppression of feeding by nociception. Science Advances 2021; 7(19), eabe4323. (#co-corresponding authors)
3. Phua, S.C.*, Nihongaki, Y.*, & Inoue, T. Autonomy declared by primary cilia through compartmentalization of membrane phosphoinositides. Current Opinion in Cell Biology 2018; 50, 72–78. (*co-first authors)
4. Phua S.C.#, Chiba S., Suzuki M., Su E., Roberson E.C., Pusapati G.V., Setou M., Rohatgi R., Reiter J.F., Ikegami K.#, Inoue T.# Dynamic remodeling of membrane composition drives cell cycle through primary cilia excision. Cell 2017; 168(1-2), 264-279. (#co-corresponding authors)
5. Phua S.C.#, Lin Y.C., Inoue T#. An intelligent nano-antenna: Primary cilium harnesses TRP channels to decode polymodal stimuli. Cell Calcium 2015; 58(4), 415-422. (#co-corresponding authors)
6. Garcia-Gonzalo F.R.*, Phua S.C.*, Roberson E.C., Garcia III G., Abedin M., Schurmans S., Inoue T., Reiter J.F. Ciliary phosphoinositides modulate Hedgehog signaling. Developmental Cell 2015; 34(4), 400-409. (*co-first authors)
7. Su S.*, Phua S.C.*, DeRose R., Chiba S., Narita K., Kalugin P.N., Katada T., Kontani K., Takeda S., and Inoue T. Genetically encoded calcium indicator illuminates calcium dynamics in primary cilia. Nature Methods 2013; 10(11), 1105-1107. (*co-first authors)
8. Lin Y.C., Phua S.C., Lin B., and Inoue T. Visualizing molecular diffusion through passive permeability barriers in cells: conventional and novel approaches. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 2013; 17(4), 663-671.
9. Lin Y.C., Niewiadomski P., Lin B., Nakamura H., Phua S.C., Jiao J., Levchenko A., Inoue T., Rohatgi R., Inoue T. Chemically-inducible diffusion trap reveals molecular sieve-like barrier at primary cilia. Nature Chemical Biology 2013; 9(7), 437–443.
10. Phua S.C., Pohlmeyer C., Inoue T. Rapidly relocating molecules between organelles to manipulate small GTPase activity. ACS Chemical Biology 2012; 7(12): 1950-1955.
11. Lai F.P.L., Mutalif R.A., Phua S.C., Stewart C.L. Informatics-based analysis of mechanosignaling in the laminopathies. Methods in Cell Biology 2010; 98(C): 323-335.
12. Schumacher K.M., Phua S.C., Schumacher A., Ying J.Y. Controlled formation of biological tubule systems in extracellular matrix gels in vitro. Kidney International 2008; 73(10): 1187–1192.