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Swaine Chen
Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore
Senior Research Scientist, Genome Institute of Singapore
Singapore

AsianScientist (August 31, 2017) – Life exists on a staggering spectrum of diversity—living organisms take myriad forms, shapes and sizes. While differences between species are obvious, variations within populations of the same species are subtler but no less important.

In the field of infectious diseases, understanding variation among microbes is key to understanding and treating disease. Dr. Swaine Chen, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and a senior research scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Genome Institute of Singapore, has long been fascinated by disease-causing strains of bacteria and has dedicated his career to studying them.

Over the years, Chen has developed novel genetic tools that allow the wider research community to better characterize and understand bacteria diversity. When an outbreak of group B streptococcus occurred in Singapore in 2015, it was his lab that isolated and identified the culpable strain. He released the data immediately to the public for other labs to assist in disease tracking and diagnosis.

In this interview for Asia’s Rising Scientists, Chen describes his passion for fundamental research that sometimes yields unexpected downstream biotechnology applications.

1. How would you summarize your research in a tweet (140 characters)?

   Bacteria can be friends and foes—we are figuring out how! Also, bacterial diversity and variability are a resource we are mining!




2. Describe a completed research project that you are proudest of.

   I started my lab working on understanding how bacteria cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), which affect half of all women, some for multiple episodes that can span many years of pain and discomfort. The majority of UTIs are caused by a single species of bacteria, Escherichia coli. E. coli is the best studied model organism, contributing to much of our understanding of all biology. It is also a normal, harmless member of the bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans.

   Within the species, some strains are very good at causing disease while others are not. For safety reasons, “convenient lab strains” of E. coli commonly used in research are not chosen from among those that cause disease in humans. What this means, is that some of the tools in the lab will work well only on some strains of E. coli.

   One of the early projects in the lab, therefore, was to develop genetic tools explicitly for the less convenient, disease-causing strains of E. coli, such as those that are proficient at causing urinary tract infection.

   In a clear example of why I believe a deep knowledge of basic science and molecular mechanisms is essential for downstream applications, the effort we put into this characterization led us to realize truly how much better our system was than anything else published. Our system led directly to several unanticipated ideas for applications, ranging from combating antibiotic resistance to genome engineering for synthetic biology to answering fundamental questions about bacterial evolution.

   I feel particularly proud of this project for one additional outstanding reason. Through this project, my first graduate student, Varnica Khetrapal, matured into a careful, thoughtful and rigorous scientist.









3. What do you hope to accomplish with your research in the next decade?

   My biggest goal is not only to solve the problems I’m interested in, but also to elevate the entire field of research in the process. As we learn about molecular mechanisms for how E. coli specifically cause disease in the bladder, can we provide tools and concepts that simultaneously accelerate our ability to understand mechanisms underlying diarrhea, pneumonia or sepsis?

   Nearly all of biotechnology has been built on bacterial enzymes: restriction enzymes for cloning, DNA polymerases for PCR and, most recently, a bacterial immunity system (CRISPR) for gene editing. Fundamental bacterial research, at a deep mechanistic level, is what has transformed biology and our understanding of medicine.

   So, can we develop general techniques that allow us to manipulate and understand diverse bacteria in general? These goals of generalized impact are my long term goals as a scientist. I want to build on the foundation we’ve created in the lab for studying UTI and synthetic biology to demonstrate the value for these specific fields while taking the first steps in generalizing our impact to other infectious diseases and other aspects of synthetic biology.




4. Who motivated you to go into your field of study?

   There is a long chain of people that shaped my education, motivation and career. I am indebted to them all, starting first with my parents, who emphasized the importance of education, morality and diligence.

   Among my many academic mentors, to limit this to the question, undoubtedly the biggest influence on my current field of study came from my research mentors: Charles Allerson and Greg Verdine of Harvard University; Harley McAdams and Lucy Shapiro of Stanford University; and Scott Hultgren of the Washington University in St. Louis.

   All have been absolute intellectual and scientific role models who have shaped my current thinking and scientific direction. In terms of the specific problems my lab is currently trying to solve, however, Scott Hultgren, who brought me into the urinary tract infection field, stands out.




5. What is the biggest adversity that you experienced in your research?

   One of the biggest challenges for me as an academic scientist is to maintain a primary focus on discovering new knowledge and figuring out how life works, despite escalating and sometimes conflicting external pressures. I believe I should do what is important, even if it is challenging or potentially slow.

   Practical considerations require me to adjust this to what can be funded, what will provide results quick enough, and sometimes to what can be easily communicated. Therefore, at the end of the day, remaining grounded and staying focused on science through these competing priorities has been one of the biggest challenges, particularly in the early years when I was transitioning into an independent position.

   
   

6. What are the biggest challenges facing the academic research community today, and how can we fix them?

   A lot of scientists lament the additional constraints and limitations (such as money and politics), because science itself is already hard enough. Even then, academic research, should be distinct from corporate research. Academics are slowly yielding their direction to the constant pressure for the simple and the immediate. It’s not at all unreasonable that everyone wants things to happen cheaper and faster, but as a global academic community I think we need to be clear on what the reality is—we are the ones that are in the best position to define research directions. One of our biggest problems as an academic community is that we are ceding this scientific leadership, allowing it to be subordinated other pressures.




7. If you had not become a scientist, what would you have become instead?

   I honestly am not really sure! The most obvious recent answer would have been a pediatrician or an anesthesiologist, two of my favorite rotations during medical school. Prior to that, alternative paths would have probably led me into an internet startup during the dot com boom of the late 1990s.




8. Outside of work, what do you do to relax?

   I’ve always loved playing sports and exercising–my favorites are tennis and volleyball. Outside of professional considerations, moving to Singapore was an easy personal choice. I find Singapore endlessly fascinating for its different local neighborhoods and the rapid progress that a young country can seize. I have realized that I am capable of eating up to three meals a day, so seeking out new and different food in Singapore and the region is a regular pursuit of mine.









9. If you had the power and resources to eradicate any world problem using your research, which one would you solve?

   I would want to eradicate the mistrust of science and scientists. There is an argument currently that, in many places in the world, the public is becoming anti-science and anti-intellectual, that they don’t trust science. Indeed, there are very few scientists that have a widespread and positive reputation among the general public.

   Related to what I mentioned above, sometimes big results that change the world are not obvious when they first begin, and they are neither fast nor individual endeavors. If I could wave a wand and make it happen, I would like to see the collective success of individual research programs lead a shift towards enabling more people to fall in love with and pursue science–as much for its own beauty and value as for its potential for changing our lives.




10. What advice would you give to aspiring researchers in Asia?

    I would encourage young researchers to pursue their passions in order to find that same deep joy in what they are doing, whether that ends up being the current ‘hot field’ of the day or not. Trust yourself to know what is important–as the scientist, you have the education and the perspective, and it’s actually your job to convince the non-scientists and the naysayers, not the other way around.

    If you are very early in your career, focus on getting a rigorous training foundation, focus on your intellectual skills–the expertise and perspective will follow quickly.

    And most of all, enjoy your training and your journey! Difficulties will be part of the process but so will success; even in retrospect, I wouldn’t want to change anything about the ups and downs of my own journey.

This article is from a monthly series called Asia’s Rising Scientists. Click here to read other articles in the series.

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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Swaine Chen.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.