JUSTL participant: Dr Michael Yat Fai Yuen
Dr Michael Yat Fai Yuen is a Scientific Officer in the University Research Facility in Life Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He graduated with a PhD in 2012 from Prof Andrew L. Miller’s laboratory in the Division of Life Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His PhD research involved characterising the calcium signals generated in a specialized region of zebrafish embryos called the external yolk syncytial layer, which is a key component of the early stages of development. After completing his PhD, Dr Yuen conducted post-doctoral research projects first with Prof Sookja Kim Chung at the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, and then with Prof Nancy Ip in the Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In both laboratories he was involved in neuroscience projects, specifically investigating neurodegenerative diseases.
Current Work
At The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University Research Facility in Life Sciences is a core facility directly under university management, which provides services to the various departments at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as well as other universities in Hong Kong. Dr Yuen manages a number of microscopes in the Facility including their confocal, multiphoton, light-sheet, super-resolution and live-cell imaging systems. Dr Yuen is responsible for training the users, and when a new system is installed, he develops the technique specifically for applications required by researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is also responsible for proposing and purchasing new equipment; for example, he is currently involved in establishing a cryogenic electron microscope facility for The Hong Kong Polytechnic University).
JUSTL Programme
..it was an invaluable time to get exposed to such a diverse and dynamic research environment where I was able to meet and work with researchers from all around the world.
Dr Yuen was a PhD student when he attended the JUSTL programme in 2009. He spent some time working with the JUSTL Co-director, Dr Karen Crawford (St Mary’s College of Maryland), where he investigated the localisation of ERK (Extracellular signal-Related Kinase) protein in early squid embryos. However, he spent most of his time at the MBL working with Dr Stephen Ross, the General Manager of Product and Marketing at Nikon Instruments. Nikon goes to the MBL each summer and they provide their instrumentation and expertise both to the students attending the various courses and to other MBL researchers. Dr Yuen helped Dr Ross and his colleagues at Nikon assemble their microscopes and visit different users’ laboratories to trouble shoot and help solve any problems that they encountered. This was the first opportunity that Dr Yuen had to actually see how microscopes are assembled, and it was during his time on the JUSTL programme that he developed a real interest for advanced fluorescence microscopy. Indeed, me told me that his experience at the MBL made him appreciate the fact that acquiring good microscopic images is not as easy as you might think. During his research career he has learned new imaging techniques for his various projects. He believes that now in his current position at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he can share the knowledge he
has accumulated with the facility users and pass on his expertise as well as his passion for acquiring perfect images.
A keen photographer, Dr Yuen also had his photograph of Eel Pond at night, called “Night Glow”, posted on the MBL Photo of the Week web-site.
This was the first time that he had travelled abroad for his studies and Dr Yuen said that he had to take care of himself in an environment very different from Hong Kong and he had to cope with problems that arose in his daily life. In addition, he had to learn how to be more independent and resourceful as a researcher. All in all, he describes his time in the MBL as being “an eye opening experience” and that “it was an invaluable time to get exposed to such a diverse and dynamic research environment where I was able to meet and work with researchers from all around the world.”