Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Translational Research Laboratory

Prof Eng-King Tan
MBBS, MRCP (UK), FAMS (Neurology), FRCP (Ed)
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Academic Affairs), National Neuroscience Institute
Senior Consultant, Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute
Professor, Programme in Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School
Co-Director, American Parkinson’s Disease Foundation International Center of Excellence (National Neuroscience Institute)
Associate Designated Institutional Official (Research), SingHealth Residency

Contact Information
PDMD Translational Research Laboratory
National Neuroscience Institute
Academia, 20 College Road, Singapore 169856
Tel: (65) 6326 5125 (Level 9) / (65) 6321 4074 (Level 13)
Fax:(65) 6220 3321

The Team
Genetics Division

• Ms Ebonne Ng Yulin (Laboratory Manager)
• Mr Darren Lim Ming Jie (Research Technologist)

Drosophila Division

• Dr Murni Tio (Senior Research Fellow)
• Ms Wen Rujing (Senior Research Associate)
• Mr Patrick Ho Ghim Hoe (Senior Research Officer)
• Ms Choo Cai Ning (Research Officer)

Translational Therapeutics Division

• Dr Sharon Chan Lai Ling (Senior Research Fellow)
• Ms Chua Ling Ling (Senior Research Officer)

In vitro & Organoid Division

• Dr Zhou Wei (Research Fellow)
• Dr Christine Chan Hui Shan (Research Fellow)

Grant Management

• Ms Ng Shin Hui (Grant Manager)

Clinical Trial/Study Division

• Ms Celeste Chen (CRC Manager)
• Ms Lim Ee Chien (CRC Manager)
• Ms Choi Xinyi (Senior Clinical Research Coordinator)
• Ms Dede Liana Heng (Senior Clinical Research Coordinator)
• Mr Gerald Heng (Clinical Research Coordinator)

Overview
Our research programme in Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders aims to identify clinical, biochemical, imaging, and genetic biomarkers in clinical cohorts of patients that we have established in Singapore. We hope to develop a model to better stratify at-risk individuals and to manage, prevent and reduce PD progression. We are also involved in health services research to identify factors that influence healthcare costs and factors that can further improve quality of life for our patients. These research efforts involved multiple collaborators from both local and international clinical and academic institutions, industries, professional bodies and patient care organisations (e.g. MJ Fox Foundation, American Parkinson’s Foundation).
We aim to identify early disease biomarkers and novel targets and to conduct experimental therapeutic studies with the hope of bringing these targets to potential clinical trials. The following platforms are incorporated within our team to meet above aims:

1. In vitro platform: Pathophysiology studies in human and animal cell lines
2. In vivo platform 1: Human-derived iPSCs and brain organoids to model Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders
3. In vivo platform 2: Drosophila models of human neurological disorders
4. Clinical trial: Clinical trials and diagnostic studies in movement disorders
5. Therapeutics: Drug screening

Selected Publications

1. Zhang ZW, Tu H, Jiang M, Vanan S, Chia SY, Jang SE, Saw WT, Ong ZW, Ma DR, Zhou ZD, Xu J, Guo KH, Yu WP, Ling SC, Margolin RA, Chain DG, Zeng L, Tan EK. The APP intracellular domain promotes LRRK2 expression to enable feed-forward neurodegenerative mechanisms in Parkinson's disease. Sci Signal. 2022 Aug 23;15(748):eabk3411.
2. Deng X, Saffari SE, Ng SYE, Chia N, Tan JY, Choi X, Heng DL, Xu Z, Tay KY, Au WL, Liu N, Ng A, Tan EK, Tan LCS. Blood Lipid Biomarkers in Early Parkinson's Disease and Parkinson's Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022;12(6):1937-1943.
3. Tan JSY, Lee B, Lim J, Ma DR, Goh JX, Goh SY, Gulam MY, Koh SM, Lee WW, Feng L, Wang Q, Chao Y, Rötzschke O, Tan EK. Parkinson's Disease-Specific Autoantibodies against the Neuroprotective Co-Chaperone STIP1. Cells. 2022 May 16;11(10):1649.
4. Zhou ZD, Jankovic J, Ashizawa T, Tan EK. Neurodegenerative diseases associated with non-coding CGG tandem repeat expansions. Nat Rev Neurol. 2022 Mar;18(3):145-157.
5. Jo J, Yang L, Tran HD, Yu W, Sun AX, Chang YY, Jung BC, Lee SJ, Saw TY, Xiao B, Khoo ATT, Yaw LP, Xie JJ, Lokman H, Ong WY, Lim GGY, Lim KL, Tan EK, Ng HH, Je HS. Lewy-body Like Inclusions in Human Midbrain Organoid Carrying Glucocerebrosidase and Alpha Synuclein Mutations. Ann Neurol. 2021 Sep;90(3):490-505.
6. Toh J, Chua LL, Ho P, Sandanaraj E, Tang C, Wang H, Tan EK. Identification of Targets from LRRK2 Rescue Phenotypes. Cells. 2021 Jan 5;10(1):76.
7. Ma D, Tan YJ, Ng ASL, Ong HL, Sim W, Lim WK, Teo JX, Ng EYL, Lim EC, Lim EW, Chan LL, Tan LCS, Yi Z, Tan EK. Association of NOTCH2NLC Repeat Expansions with Parkinson Disease. JAMA Neurol. 2020 Dec 1;77(12):1559-1563.
8. Chua LL, Ho P, Toh J, Tan EK. Chetomin rescues pathogenic phenotype of LRRK2 mutation in drosophila. Aging (Albany NY). 2020 Sep 24;12(18):18561-18570.
9. Ng ASL, Lim WK, Xu Z, Ong HL, Tan YJ, Sim WY, Ng EYL, Teo JX, Foo JN, Lim TCC, Yu WY, Chan LL, Lee HY, Chen Z, Lim EW, Ting SKS, Prakash KM, Tan LCS, Yi Z, Tan EK. NOTCH2NLC GGC Repeat Expansions Are Associated with Sporadic Essential Tremor: Variable Disease Expressivity on Long-Term Follow-up. Ann Neurol. 2020 Sep;88(3):614-618.
10. Tan EK, Chao YX, West A, Chan LL, Poewe W, Jankovic J. Parkinson disease and the immune system - associations, mechanisms and therapeutics. Nat Rev Neurol. 2020 Jun;16(6):303-318.
11. Sun AX, Yuan Q, Fukuda M, Yu W, Yan H, Lim GGY, Nai MH, D’Agostino GA, Tran HD, Itahana Y, Wang D, Lokman H, Itahana K, Lim SWL, Tang J, Chang YY, Zhang M, Cook SA, Rackman OJL, Lim CT, Tan EK, Ng HH, Lim KL, Jiang YH, Je HS. Potassium channel dysfunction in human neuronal models of Angelman syndrome. Science. 2019 Dec 20;366(6472):1486-1492.
12. *Xiao B, Deng X, Ng EY, Allen JC Jr, Lim SY, Ahmad-Annuar A, Tan EK. Association of LRRK2 Haplotype with Age at Onset in Parkinson Disease. JAMA Neurol. 2018 Jan 1;75(1):127-128.
13. Jo J, Xiao Y, Sun AX, Cukuroglu E, Tran HD, Göke J, Tan ZY, Saw TY, Tan CP, Lokman H, Lee Y, Kim D, Ko HS, Kim SO, Park JH, Cho NJ, Hyde TM, Kleinman JE, Shin JH, Weinberger DR, Tan EK#, Je HS#, Ng HH#. Midbrain-like Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Contain Functional Dopaminergic and Neuromelanin-Producing Neurons. Cell Stem Cell 2016 Aug 4;19(2):248-57. #Joint senior author
14. Tan EK, et al. Analysis of GWAS-linked loci in Parkinson disease reaffirms PARK16 as a susceptibility locus. Neurology 2010 Aug 10;75(6):508-12.
15. Tan EK, Ho P, Tan L, Prakash KM, Zhao Y. PLA2G6 mutations and Parkinson’s disease. Ann Neurol 2010 Jan;67(1):148.