Eric Yap

Associate Professor Eric Yap Peng Huat, a medical geneticist and a former Rhodes Scholar, spent his earlier career as a defence scientist. He was one of the pioneers in the Defence Medical & Environmental Research Institute, now part of DSO National Labs. As one of the few local researchers with dual backgrounds in medicine and science, his professional interest is in molecular genetics and genomics and its application to medicine, biotechnology and security.

A/Prof Yap’s laboratory seeks to explore the patterns and effects of variation in human, bacterial and viral genomes, and to exploit these differences for more accurate and rapid disease diagnosis. There is a particular focus on diseases and microbes prevalent in or threating East Asian populations and environments, such as melioidosis, myopia and other complex genetic diseases.

The philosophy of the lab is to strive for clinical impact by translating research into diagnostic services, devices and processes. As such, the lab has collaboration across a wide range of disciplines including genomics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, epidemiology and bioengineering. It also works actively with start-up companies and clinical end-users.

The laboratory will focus on three areas of medical genomics that could significantly change medical practice in the coming decades.