CHONG, HIN SIONG

acqt92@r.postjobfree.com

Home address: **** ******* **** ****, *** 8H, West New York, NJ 07093

Phone: 848-***-****

CAREER OBJECTIVES

-To work in a well-known research organization within the field of sciences as a well-trained professional

-To have a career that offers the opportunities to sharpen my skills and to learn new techniques

EDUCATION

1. The University of Sydney (USYD), Australia

Doctorate of Philosophy: Microbiology (April 2012)

2. The University of Sydney (USYD), Australia

Master of Applied Science: Molecular Biotechnology (July 2007)

Courses Taken: Applied Molecular Biotechnology A, B, & C (Research Project); Ethics and Biotechnology; Introductory Microscopy and Microanalysis; Confocal and Fluorescence Microscopy.

3. Michigan State University (MSU), USA

Bachelor of Science: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (December 2004)

Cumulative GPA: 3.63/4.00 with honor

Courses Taken:

- Biochemistry: Current Issues in Biochemistry; Biochemistry I & II; Biochemistry Lab I & II; Independent Study on Organic Chemistry in Dr. Watson’s Lab; Independent Study on Molecular Biology in Dr. Arnosti’s Lab

- Biology: Cells and Molecules; Cell and Molecular Biology Lab; Organisms and Populations; Introductory Microbiology; Fundamental Genetics

- Chemistry: Quantitative Analysis; Organic Chemistry I & II; Organic Laboratory I & II; Intro. Physical Chemistry I & II

- Computer: Computing Concepts/Competencies

- Integrative Studies: Writing: Evolution of American Thought; The US and the World; People and Environment (I); Geology Human Environment; Applications of Environmental and Organismal Biology

4. Inti College, Malaysia

Courses Taken:

- Chemistry: General Chemistry; General and Inorganic Chemistry; Chemistry Laboratory I & II

- Mathematics: Calculus I & II; Multivariable Calculus

- Physics: Phys. Scientists and Engineers I & II

WORK EXPERIENCE

1. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA (October 12 – May 2014)

Title: Postdoctoral Associate

2. The University of Sydney, Australia (March 09 – December 2011)

Title: Demonstrator/tutor

3. University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (August 07 – December 2011)

Title: Visiting Scholar

4. Nurse Bank Australia, Australia (December 06 -June 07)

Title: Assistant in Nursing

5. Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), USA (June 05 -August 05)

Cedar Lake Camp: Camp for Kids

Title: Camp Counselor

6. Biochemistry Building, Michigan State University, USA (July 02 -September 04)

Title: Laboratory Assistant

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

(1) Proteomic study of chromatin modification and the clock in Neurospora crassa

Objective: to identify all the histone modifications that occur at the frequency locus in Neurospora

Skills involved:

- DNA methylation assay

- Neurospora transformation

- Chromatin/DNA/nucleosome/nuclei extraction

- DNA manipulation

- Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)

- PCR and Real-time PCR

- Southern and Western blots

- Spore collection and germination

- Yeast transformation and cloning

- Luciferase/luminescence analysis

- Sucrose gradient centrifugation

- Column chromatography/purification

(2) Proteomic study of intrinsic azole resistance in Cryptococcus gattii

Objective: to use label-free quantitative proteomics to investigate intrinsic antifungal drug resistance in Cryptococcus

Skills involved:

- PCR amplification and primer design

- Antifungal susceptibility testing

- Mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics

- Protein and DNA isolation and purification

- Biolistic transformation; gene manipulation

- Bioinformatics such as BLAST and alignment

- Protein-protein interaction networks

- Cell imaging and counting; cell culturing

(3) Methanogens in coals

Objective: to develop a reliable PCR-based screen for the presence of methanogens in coals

Skills involved:

- PCR amplification and primer design

- Plating and sterile techniques

- DNA extraction, cloning and manipulation

- Gel electrophoresis with staining techniques

- Bacterial transformation

- Preparing solution/media/buffer

- DNA purification by centrifugation and vacuum

- Bioinformatics such as BLAST and CLUSTALW

(4) Gene Expression in Drosophila

Objective: to determine the activity of repressors in Drosophila by inserting various spacing

Skills involved:

- Digestion of plasmid DNAs

- DNA purification

- PCR amplification

- Plating and sterile techniques

- Subcloning the spacers to vectors

- Gel electrophoresis with staining techniques

- Ligation of vectors and spacers

- Cell culturing

- Bacterial transformation

(5) Organic Chemistry

Objective: to synthesize organic compounds and to isolate and identify these synthetic products by using a variety of analytical techniques

Skills involved:

- Media/solution/buffer preparation

- Monitoring the effects on RNase A by HPLC

- Synthesis of organic products

- UV/VIS, HPLC, Florescence, NMR

- Purification and separation of the products by HPLC Spectrophotometers

PRESENTATIONS

1. Poster presentation for Lorne 2011. The title was "How fungi cope with stress: Changes to the Cryptococcus gattii proteome in response to the antifungal fluconazole".

2. Poster presentation for Asilomar 2011. The title was "The Cryptococcus gattii proteome in growth and response to fluconazole".

3. Oral presentation for Becton Dickinson Student Award 2011. The title was "Label-free proteomic analysis of Cryptococcus gattii during normal growth and in response to the antifungal fluconazole".

4. Oral presentation for the Australia Society of Microbiology-NSW branch meeting 2010. The title was "In Vitro Susceptibility of the Yeast Pathogen Cryptococcus to Fluconazole and Other Azoles Varies with Molecular Genotype".

5. Poster presentation for the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) Annual General Meeting (July 2010). The title was "Antifungal Susceptibility in the Yeast Pathogen Cryptococcus: Importance of Genotype and Geographic Location".

6. Poster presentation for The 2nd Pacific Rim International Conference on Protein Science and 4th Asian-Oceania Human Proteome Organization (June 2008). The title was “Fungal lung infection: understanding Cryptococcus gattii infection and the challenges of mixed proteomes”.

7. Poster presentation for the 7th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis (7th ICCC; September 2008). The title was “Understanding Pathogenesis of Cryptococcus gattii using Differential Display Proteomic Analysis”.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Hong, C., Zámborszky, J., Baek, M., Labiscsak, L., Ju, K., Lee, H., Larrondo, L.F., Goity, A., Chong, H.S., Belden, W.J., and Csikász-Nagy, A. (2014) Circadian rhythms synchronize mitosis in Neurospora crassa. PNAS 111(4): 1397-402

2. Ruesch, C.E., Ramakrishnan, M., Park, J., Li, N., Chong, H.S., Zaman, R., Joska, T.M., and Belden, W.J. (2014) The Histone H3 Lysine 9 methyltransferase DIM-5 modifies chromatin at frequency and represses light-activated gene expression. G3 (Bethesda) 5(1): 93-101.

3. Chong, H.S., and Belden, W.J. (in preparation) Interconnected roles between the circadian clock and chromatin in regulating gene expression. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development.

4. Chong, H.S., Campbell, L., Li, S., Wilkins, M., Padula, M., Hill, C., Harry, E., Herbert, B. and Carter, D. (in preparation) Proteome analysis reveals intrinsic resistance to fluconazole by Cryptococcus gattii is accompanied by loss of mitochondrial functions and induction of proteins involved in stress response, protein degradation, membrane integrity and cell growth.

5. Chong, H.S., Campbell, L., Padula, M., Hill, C., Harry, E., Li, S., Wilkins, M., Herbert, B., and Carter, D. (2012) Time-course proteome analysis reveals the dynamic response of Cryptococcus gattii cells to fluconazole. PLoS One 7(8): e42835. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042835

6. Chong,H.S., Campell, L., Li, S., Padula, M., Herbert, B., Harry, E., Krockenberger, M., Wilkins, M. and Carter, D. (2011) Label-free proteomic analysis of Cryptococcus gattii during normal growth and in response to the antifungal fluconazole. Synthrophy.

7. Chong, H.S., Dagg, R., Malik, R., Chen, S. and Carter, D. (2010) In vitro susceptibility of the yeast pathogen Cryptococcus to fluconazole and other azoles varies with molecular genotype. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 48(11): 4115-20

AWARDS/CERTIFICATES

1. Finalist for Becton Dickinson Student Award 2011 (April 2011)

2. Treasurer of Unimates, International Students Club at USYD (June 2007)

3. Certificate III in Aged Care (Introduction) (December 2006)

4. Phi Beta Delta: Honor Society for International Scholars (March 2004)

5. The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (April 2003)

6. Global Spartan Scholarship Award (January 2002)

REFERENCES

1. Associate Professor Dee Carter: School of Molecular Biosciences, USYD, Australia

Email: acqt92@r.postjobfree.com. Phone: +61-2-9351-5383

2. Lecturer Dale Hancock: School of Molecular Bioscience, USYD, Australia

Email: acqt92@r.postjobfree.com. Phone: +61-2-9351-4024

3. Associate Lecturer Sashi Kant: School of Molecular Bioscience, USYD

Email: acqt92@r.postjobfree.com. Phone: +61-2-9351-4024

4. Dr. Dongmei Li: 11, Julius Avenue, Riverside Corporate Park, NSW 2113, Australia

Email: acqt92@r.postjobfree.com. Phone: +61-2-9490-5078

5. Dr. David Arnosti: Room 413, Biochemistry Building, MSU, MI, USA

Email: acqt92@r.postjobfree.com. Phone: +1-517-***-****

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