Academic Profile : Faculty
Asst Prof Tan Hwei Ee
Nanyang Assistant Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
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Dr Tan Hwei Ee is a Nanyang Assistant Professor (NRF Fellow) at LKCMedicine. His gut-brain neurobiology programme investigates the bidirectional brain-body neural circuits in mice, to unravel the dialogues among our microbes, gut, and brain.
Dr Tan studied Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California – Berkeley, and did further training at Osaka University, Fudan University, and A*STAR. He obtained his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he uncovered the neural basis of sugar and fat cravings, and then worked as an independent fellow jointly at A*STAR and NTU.
He made landmark discoveries on the neural basis of sugar and fat cravings. His widely highlighted publications in Nature uncovered novel gut-brain circuits underlying sugar’s highly appetitive effects, providing an explanation as to why simply activating the sweet senses on the tongue (as artificial sweeteners do) fail to substitute for our sugar craving; in addition, he also discovered how pathways from the intestines to the brain drive our behavioural preference for dietary fats.
Dr Tan is a recipient of numerous prestigious grants/scholarships including the National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellowship, NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, NMRC Young Individual Research Grant, and A*STAR National Science Scholarship.
In addition to research, Dr Tan is also dedicated to teaching and mentoring students. He has actively mentored many students on diverse projects ranging from engineering, molecular, cellular, and systems biology. He has also taught lectures for the Molecular Neurobiology and Developmental & Systems Neuroscience courses at Columbia University, and for the Neurobiology course at Nanyang Technological University. He continues to welcome highly motivated students and trainees.
Dr Tan studied Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California – Berkeley, and did further training at Osaka University, Fudan University, and A*STAR. He obtained his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he uncovered the neural basis of sugar and fat cravings, and then worked as an independent fellow jointly at A*STAR and NTU.
He made landmark discoveries on the neural basis of sugar and fat cravings. His widely highlighted publications in Nature uncovered novel gut-brain circuits underlying sugar’s highly appetitive effects, providing an explanation as to why simply activating the sweet senses on the tongue (as artificial sweeteners do) fail to substitute for our sugar craving; in addition, he also discovered how pathways from the intestines to the brain drive our behavioural preference for dietary fats.
Dr Tan is a recipient of numerous prestigious grants/scholarships including the National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellowship, NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, NMRC Young Individual Research Grant, and A*STAR National Science Scholarship.
In addition to research, Dr Tan is also dedicated to teaching and mentoring students. He has actively mentored many students on diverse projects ranging from engineering, molecular, cellular, and systems biology. He has also taught lectures for the Molecular Neurobiology and Developmental & Systems Neuroscience courses at Columbia University, and for the Neurobiology course at Nanyang Technological University. He continues to welcome highly motivated students and trainees.
The Hwei-Ee Tan lab aims to uncover the core principles of brain-body interactions, which will form the basis of breakthroughs in many areas of biomedicine and human potential, including conditions that range from obesity to mental health.
Recognising that the gastrointestinal tract is ground zero for interactions with nutrients and other chemicals in our diet, and for hosting trillions of microbes with massive biochemical and genetic capabilities, his group is currently focused on deciphering the internal dialogue between our intestines and our brain, and unravelling the basic biology of how food and microbiome impacts our health and behaviour via the microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Recognising that the gastrointestinal tract is ground zero for interactions with nutrients and other chemicals in our diet, and for hosting trillions of microbes with massive biochemical and genetic capabilities, his group is currently focused on deciphering the internal dialogue between our intestines and our brain, and unravelling the basic biology of how food and microbiome impacts our health and behaviour via the microbiome-gut-brain axis.