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YUK FAI LEUNG

Associate Professor
765-496-3153
LILY 2-236
yfleung@purdue.edu

Associated website(s):

LeungLab , PULSe , Zebrafish Information Network , ZeBase , Publications

YUK FAI  LEUNG

PROFESSIONAL FACULTY RESEARCH

(Development and Disease) Drug discovery for retinal degeneration


BIO

Drug discovery for retinal degeneration

Retinal degeneration is a group of inherited eye diseases including retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration that impair our vision. Although much has been learned about the molecular basis of these diseases, they are still incurable. To expedite discovery of new drugs for these diseases, our group at Purdue University studies zebrafish retinal-degeneration models.

We are currently focused in two research directions:

1. Rapid drug discovey for retinal degeneration
2. Gene network for disease and drug action

Please visit our lab website for the most updated information.

Present appointments

  • 2016–present    Affiliate Faculty Member, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • Aug 2014–present     Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • October 2013–present    Scientific Advisory Board Member, The Han Institute, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • May 2013–present    Affiliate Faculty Member, Purdue Center for Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • March 2012–present    Visiting Professor, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
  • March 2012–present    Scientific Advisor to Post-graduate Research, Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shantou, China
  • May 2011–present     Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine—West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • 2010–present        Affiliate Faculty Member, Purdue Oncological Sciences Center, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Previous appointments

Jan 2008–Aug 2014     Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA


Education

  • Ph.D., Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2002
  • M.Phil., Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, 1998
  • B.Sc., Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 1996

Awards

  • 2019    Awarded by the first-year medical students at the Indiana University School of Medicine—West Lafayette, Class of 2022 for his effective teaching.
  • 2018    Outstanding Professor of Basic Science Award, Indiana University School of Medicine, Class of 2018.
  • 2017    Awarded by the first year medical students at the Indiana University School of Medicine—West Lafayette, Class of 2020 for his effective teaching.
  • 2015    Favorite Faculty Award, Purdue University
  • 2014    J. Alfred and Martha Chiscon Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
  • 2014    Best Lecturer Award, selected by the first year medical students at the Indiana University School of Medicine—Lafayette
  • 2011    International Travel Grant Award, Purdue Research Foundation
  • 2009-2010 Hope for Vision Award
  • 2009-2010, 2010-2011 Showalter Research Trust Award

Other Activities

External reviewer for the following research grants:
  • 2020                       Career Development Award, Medical Research Council, United Kingdom
  • 2009, 2018           Research Grant, Medical Research Council, United Kingdom
  • 2016–present    Health and Medical Research Fund, the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
  • 2015                       Indiana Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund
  • 2014                       The Biotechnology Research Grant, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, NC, USA
  • 2011                       Bank of America Jeffress Research Grant, Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, USA
  • 2007                       University Research Fund, Research Council, University of Leuven, Belgium
Professional service—Editor:
  • Nov 2019–present           Associate Editor in Molecular Medicine-A specialty section of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
  • 2017–2019                      Co-Editor, Research Topic—“CRISPR Gene Editing in Relation to Eye Diseases and Development”, Frontiers for Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Oct 2015–present           Associate Editor of Genetic Disorders, a specialty section of Frontiers in Pediatrics and Frontiers in Genetics
  • Sep 2015–Nov 2019         Associate Editor of Systems Biology, a specialty section of Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Physiology, Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental                                         Biology and Frontiers in Genetics.
  • Sep 2015–Nov 2019         Associate Editor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, a specialty section of Frontiers in Genetics, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology and Frontiers in Plant Science.
  • 2015–present                 Review Editor, Frontiers in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (a specialty section of Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, and Genetics)
  • 2012–present                 Scientist Advisory Board Member, The National High School Journal of Science
  • 2012–present                 Editorial Board Member, PLOS ONE
Professional service—National Steering Committee
  • 11–12 September 2017  NIH Workshop: Zebrafish and Other Aquatic Models: Description of Extrinsic Environmental Factors for Rigorous Experiments and Reproducible Results, NIH, MD, USA.
Professional service—Conference Organizer/Moderator/Chair
  • 5 May 2021                 Special Interest Group “High-throughput assays in zebrafish for eye research and drug discovery”, 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, USA (Organizer and Chair)
  • 6 May 2020                 Special Interest Group “High-throughput assays in zebrafish for eye research and drug discovery”, 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, USA (Organizer and Chair) (Conference cancelled due to COVID-19)
  • 22–23 May 2017          Chinese University of Hong Kong Ophthalmic Research Centre Joint Symposium, Hong Kong
  • 3 May 2015                 Photoreceptor Session I, 2015 ARVO Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, USA (invited)
Ad hoc reviewer for the following journals:

Bioinformatics, BMC Bioinformatics, BMC Developmental Biology, BMC Genomics, Biomolecules, Briefings in Bioinformatics, Cell Chemical Biology, CNS & Neurological Disorders—Drug Targets, Development, Developmental Biology, Experimental Eye Research, Expert Opinion for Drug Discovery, Eye and Vision, FEBS Letters, G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, Gene Expression Patterns, Genetics, IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Journal of Anatomy, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of VLSI Signal Processing, Journal of Real Time Imaging, Molecular Biotechnology, Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, Molecular Vision, Neurobiology of Disease, Physiological Genomics, PLOS Genetics, PLOS ONE, Protein & Cell, Science of the Total Environment, Scientific Reports, Stem Cell Research, Thrombosis Research.

Teaching:
  • 2016–Present    Lecturer, MED-X630, Molecules to Cells and Tissues (for medical students), Indiana University School of Medicine—West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • 2015  BIOL69600 Graduate Seminar Course—Genome Editing: Applications, Opportunities, and Societal Impacts
  • 2009–Present  BIOL 36700 & 36701—Principles of Developmental Biology (Lecture and Lab)
  • 2009–2016  LCME 504—Molecular Cell Biology for Indiana University School of Medicine—West Lafayette


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