JUSTL participant: Dr Tim Yue Him Wong
Dr Tim Yue Him Wong is an Assistant Professor in Shenzhen University, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). He obtained his PhD in 2012 in the laboratory of Prof Pei-Yan Qian (Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), where he investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in the larval metamorphosis of Bugula neritina, a marine bryozoan, which causes serious biofouling problems but at the same time is of great interest in the drug discovery field, due to the production of the anti-cancer compound, bryostatin. After finishing his PhD, Dr Wong stayed on at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for 3 years as a Post-Doctoral Fellow working in Prof Qian’s laboratory, after which he worked in Akita Prefectural University (Japan) for 3 years as a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, and then he spent a few months in the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan as a Visiting Assistant Professor.
Current Work
Dr Wong began work in the IAS at Shenzhen University in November 2018, so he is currently in the process of setting up his laboratory, recruiting and training students, and writing grant proposals. He is still involved in biofouling research, developing methods to prevent marine invertebrates from settling on man-made surfaces, which is a major problem in the maritime and fish farming industries world-wide. He still does some work with Bugula neritina (a so-called ‘soft’ fouler) but works mainly with barnacles (‘hard’ foulers). In addition to these species making ships and other ocean vessels more complex and heavy, and thus less energy efficient, they also take up a significant amount of space in fisheries such as scallop farms. Dr Wong investigates the biology of these species, especially from a molecular evolutionary perspective. For example, he is interested in determining the molecular evolution of the barnacle shell and cement in order to explain why they can attach to many different types of substratum, including whale skin and coral as well the metal hulls of ships and concrete piers.
JUSTL Programme
Alan [Kuzirian] is the first person I met who told me to do [research] that is unexpected……go for something that no one has explored before.
Dr Wong joined the JUSTL programme in 2010. His mentor was Dr Alan Kuzirian (Marine Resources Center, MBL), whose research involved using bryostatin from Bugula neritina to investigate long-term memory in the sea slug Hermissenda. Dr Wong was therefore able to continue his PhD research on investigating the metamorphosis of Bugula neritina in Dr Kuzirian’s laboratory. Dr Wong has lost touch with Dr Kuzirian but remains in contact with the research assistant in that laboratory, Mr George Bell, who taught him histological sectioning techniques. Indeed, this was the first time that Dr Wong had attempted any histology but he found it so useful that it has become a routine technique in his laboratory today.
In addition to his laboratory work, Dr Wong also attended the MBL Embryology course lectures. He recalls that there he received a very intensive introduction to the development of the major animal model species, such as sea urchins and Drosophila. He said that, “Some of the most fundamental Evo-Devo [evolutionary developmental biology] questions were discussed in the lectures, and speakers, who were all at the top of a particular research field, and gave [ ] a comprehensive review on their topic.” Indeed, Dr Wong told me that the work he is now involved in on barnacle evolution, was initiated when he visited the MBL during the JUSTL programme.
Dr Wong recalls that what inspired him the most about his time at the JUSTL programme was the idea to pursue research that is interesting and ‘cool’, rather than conducting routine (and boring) experiments where the results are easily published. He said that, “Alan [Kuzirian] is the first person I met who told me to do [research] that is unexpected……go for something that no one has explored before.” Indeed, in his own laboratory today, Dr Wong encourages his students to follow this same working philosophy that so motivated him nearly a decade ago at the MBL.
