Prof Liu Bin bags Kabiller Young Investigator’s Award
NUS Vice President (Research and Technology) Professor Liu Bin has bagged the Kabiller Young Investigator’s Award in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine.
Prof Liu, who will also receive the cash prize of US$10,000, was recognised for the development of nanoparticle probes for enhancing biomedical imaging capabilities and tracking disease.
These include the development of water-dispersible polyfluorenes for DNA sensing; the development of molecular and nanoparticle probes for monitoring cancer metastasis and tissue regeneration; and the development of strategies to track the delivery of nanomedicine at the cellular level.
“I am deeply honoured to receive this award,” Prof Liu said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my research team and collaborators and all those who have supported and inspired me through my career so far. I am also very grateful to the National University of Singapore for nurturing me and supporting my research career.”
Ground-breaking research
Prof Liu's research focuses on multidisciplinary collaborative projects that find practical solutions for disease diagnosis and treatment, such as the development of brain tumor-specific imaging agents for tumor identification and image-guided surgery.
Her team also develops organic molecules for one-photon or multi-photon imaging and photodynamic therapy, and designs reactivity-based probes to differentiate various chemical species in biological systems. Prof Liu co-founded Luminicell, an NUS spin-off company that offers the next generation of imaging reagents for the biomedical community.
Prof Liu, who is also NUS Provost’s Chair Professor and Head of the NUS Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has published more than 450 articles with over 41,000 citations. She has also received the Centenary Prize and Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry (2021), ACS Nano Lectureship by the American Chemical Society (2019), and the Materials in Society Lectureship (2015) by Elsevier.
The Kabiller Prize and Awards
Established in 2015, the Kabiller Prize and Awards are given out by Northwestern University and the International Institute for Nanotechnology.
Every two years, an independent committee of renowned scientists picks three top scholars — one pioneer, one young investigator and one rising star — in the field of nanoscience and nanomedicine.
This year, Professor David Walt from Harvard Medical School won the US$250,000 Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine, for his pioneering work aimed at the development of ultrasensitive single-molecule array detection technology, which is impacting the way cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders are diagnosed and treated.
New this year is the US$2,000 Kabiller Rising Star Award in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine which recognises outstanding contributions by early career faculty. Assistant Professor Natalie Artzi from Harvard Medical School won for her design of smart material platforms and medical devices aimed at monitoring human health and increasing the efficacy of disease therapies.
Northwestern University's President, Professor Morton Schapiro, said, “We welcome these three outstanding scientists into the growing community of Kabiller Prize and Award recipients, whose innovations in nanoscience and nanomedicine are making meaningful impacts in the field.”
