Knowledge should travel. Possibility should be shared.
I believe education should widen opportunity. Knowledge can be shared; wisdom grows through experience, questions and reflection.
Teaching begins with the learner’s growth. Its purpose is to help someone learn and inspire them to keep exploring. I believe we teach through what we do: demonstrating, asking questions and making room for discovery. Understanding grows when learners can try things for themselves.
I am certified in university pedagogy through Aalto University’s training for higher education, receiving its Certificate in University Pedagogical Training in 2024. The programme brought together learning theory, reflection on teaching, course design, teaching demonstrations and practical supervision. It strengthened the way I support others in their learning.
At Aalto, my teaching spans biosensing, DNA nanotechnology, molecular and cell biology, and biophysics. At CUHK, it has included MSc courses and laboratory classes.
I use lectures, literature discussion and practical work to help students connect scientific concepts with questions they can investigate.
Sharing ideas through teaching.
RESEARCH GUIDANCE
Help someone see what their work could become.
Helping a researcher look beyond the first answer and find a question worth pursuing.
01
FROM SURVEILLANCE TO A RESEARCH QUESTION
The story beneath the numbers.
A routine surveillance dataset held a deeper research question. I helped a researcher follow the patterns, plan further analysis and laboratory investigation, and turn the findings into a paper. As one of the corresponding authors, I contributed sequence analysis, research guidance and manuscript development.
The resulting 2017 paper documented coronavirus diversity in cross border children and made a case for continued surveillance, several years before COVID-19. During the pandemic, it gained renewed attention in coronavirus research. Its findings offer context for considering cross border transmission, surveillance and border health measures.
OpenAlex records 30 citations in 2020 and 2021 combined, compared with one before 2020. Citation record · OpenAlex ↗
Science communication and outreach have been part of my work since 2011. This includes teaching Genes, Cells and Biotechnology in CUHK’s gifted and talented education programme, and developing learning through projects around GMO detection and food testing.
The LOAD papaya project connected a community monitoring need with a practical learning opportunity. Across three workshops in 2016 to 2017, secondary school students explored molecular detection through papaya samples, experimental controls and result interpretation.
PUBLIC SCIENCE & STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Make the science understandable. Help someone find a direction.
PUBLIC SCIENCE
The Living Hard Disk
I presented bacterial data storage with teammates at the sixth Lau Oi Wah Memorial Science Lecture Series. I was also listed among the presenters for the Faculty of Science Research Day. Both settings called for explaining a research idea beyond the laboratory.
EDUCATION & CAREER CHOICES
Returning to the conversation
As an alumnus of CUHK’s Programme for the Gifted and Talented, I returned as an invited speaker for students and parents, sharing the choices, uncertainties and experiences behind a scientific career.
STUDENT PROJECTS
Supporting student teams’ projects
I served as an instructor for CUHK iGEM teams that received gold medals in 2011, 2014 and 2015. Supporting student projects has been part of my education work alongside teaching and public talks.
