- Name: Dr Yang Yi-Yan
- Age: 45
- Qualifications: PhD in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University, China
- What I do: Group leader, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- Coolest project: Working on a nanoparticle carrier which can deliver cancer drugs to cancer cells
- Why engineering rocks: “The principles of chemical engineering can be applied to so many different areas ranging from improving the environment to creating better medicines.”
 WATCHING her father die of lung cancer and seeing a friend suffer the effects of cancer treatment including nausea, hair loss and infections made Dr Yang Yi-Yan determined to do her bit to help cancer patients.
So the chemical engineer designed a biodegradable polymer that carries a cancer drug and can home in on cancerous cells.
It acts like a torpedo which recognises the cancer cells through a biological process, leaving normal tissue unharmed.
The method is currently undergoing pre-clinical animal trials, says Dr Yang, whose PhD is in chemical engineering.
The 45-year-old group leader at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology works with a team that includes doctors, biologists, engineers and chemists.
“I’m very excited to look for solutions in biomedicine and health care,” she says.
Another project she is working on is how to overcome the problem of bacterial resistance.
Her work involves attacking the pores of the bacterial cell. This is a broad-scale attack, unlike regular antibiotics which target specific points in the cell, she explained.
The rampant use of antibiotics has been blamed for growing rates of bacterial resistance. The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug, for example, which is spread through contact with contaminated surfaces, infected people or carriers without symptoms, can be deadly for the sick. One in three people carries the bug in their nostrils, she says.
Her team worked together with computing giant IBM to design the system to kill the bug, which involved coming up with a low cost polymer that could be used in a nasal spray, and has now been patented.
“Working as an engineer, I not only get to make new discoveries but can also help solve some big problems,” she says.
Her husband, 45, is also a trained chemical engineer and they have an 18-year-old son who is studying science at Nanyang Junior College.
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