Hong Xiang Ng

I hold a BSc (Hons) with a double major in Life Sciences and Public Health from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2024, where I completed an honours thesis in antiviral therapeutics under Prof. Justin Chu. My work focused on screening antivirals against Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), involving the establishment of a high-throughput drug screening platform and molecular assays to elucidate the mechanisms of action of selected hits. Through this work, I identified a compound, previously approved for other clinical indications, that targets the viral translational machinery to exert its inhibitory effect. More importantly, the compound also demonstrated antiviral effect against other enteroviruses, highlighting its potential as a broad-spectrum antiviral. This discovery and my thesis subsequently earned me the Singapore Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology Medal and Prize.

Following my undergraduate studies, I was awarded the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Science Scholarship (PhD) [NSS (PhD)] and spent a year working at the A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs (IDL). In Dr Guillaume Carissimo’s group, I worked on the development of a cell-based reporter system for influenza A and B as well as SARS-CoV-2. Using reverse genetics and the principles of viral replication biology, we established a dual-reporter platform that was subsequently used in antiviral screening assays. In collaboration with the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore and NUS, we conducted screens to identify Cas13-gRNA that could abrogate influenza A infection. In parallel, close collaborations within A*STAR IDL also led to the work investigating the antiviral effects of cyclic peptides designed to disrupt critical host-virus protein interactions essential for viral replication.

Currently, I have joined Prof Ellie Barnes’ group under the supervision of Dr Gerardo Montalvo as a DPhil student in Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford, funded by the A*STAR NSS (PhD). My research primarily focuses on vaccinology and virology, where I aim to establish a novel in vivo virus-like particle (VLP) platform that is modular and adaptable across multiple orthoflaviviruses, particularly Yellow Fever virus, Zika virus and West Nile virus. By integrating innovative design strategies into this in vivo VLP platform, I seek to develop a versatile vaccine platform capable of inducing durable and robust humoral and cellular immune responses, thereby contributing to the development of long-lasting and efficacious vaccines. Concurrently, I hope to deepen our understanding of the fundamental immunological mechanisms underlying protective immunity and viral clearance, ultimately informing rational design of next-generation vaccines with improved efficacy, durability and safety.