Ching Ann joined SMART-CAMP in May 2021 and works under Professor Laurie A. Boyer as a Postdoctoral Associate. She obtained her Bachelor of Bioengineering in 2016 from NanyangTechnological University and her PhD in 2021 from National University of Singapore. Her PhD research focused on developing a zonal chondrocyte production pipeline to generate a clinically relevant number of zonal chondrocytes with high zonal functionality for stratified articular cartilage repair. The zonal chondrocytes production pipeline involved a size-based separation of zonal chondrocytes of different phenotypes using an inertial spiral microchannel and a chondrocytes expansion platform using dynamic microcarrier culture. Her research interests include stem cell therapy, regenerative medicine, cell manufacturing and process development.

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Her current project is ‘Metabolic modulation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) phenotypic commitment’. The MSC treatment outcomes in animal and human are highly variable. This could be due to the cellular heterogeneity arose from variable culture conditions and the lack of standardized manufacturing protocols as MSCs are sensitive to their environment. MSCs generate energy mainly from glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. MSC metabolic plasticity in response to changing environment is well known and the influence of changing MSC metabolic profile in MSC phenotypes has been documented. Therefore, this study aims to develop a MSC manufacturing pipeline with feedback control to generate a homogenous population of MSCs with predictable phenotypic commitment, by varying culture media composition as metabolic modulators and incorporating process analytical tools targeting MSC metabolism.