Latest News

1 September 2025 – We are delighted to welcome Veronica to PROFESS Group as a National Science Scholarship scholar. She will be joining us for a one-year research attachment, and we look forward to the contributions she will bring to our projects and the collaborative spirit she will share with the team.

At the same time, we bid farewell to Natalie, whose one-year attachment with PROFESS Group has just concluded. Natalie has embarked on an exciting new chapter, beginning her PhD studies at MIT. We thank her for her dedication and hard work over the past year and wish her every success in her doctoral journey ahead.

22 Aug 2025 - Congratulations to Le and Sherwin for the groundbreaking work featured on A*STAR Research’s LinkedIn recently. Our hydrogel-based wearable sensor—published in Nature Materials last year—enables real-time, non-invasive monitoring of skin biomarkers like cholesterol and lactate. A game-changer for personalized health. 

🔗 Read more:

A*STAR Research Highlights: Stretching the limits of health monitoring

Nature Materials Publication: Stretchable ionic–electronic bilayer hydrogel electronics enable in situ detection of solid-state epidermal biomarkers

NUS iHealthtech Collaboration: NUS and A*STAR researchers develop wearable, stretchable sensor for quick, continuous, and non-invasive detection of solid-state skin biomarkers

Congratulations to Le and Pengqing for the development of a breakthrough multifunctional optoelectronic device that can convert NIR into visible light through an innovative photon upconversion process featured on A*STAR Research’s LinkedIn. Our game-changing approach uses a bulk-heterojunction donor-acceptor sensitiser that dramatically reduces energy losses compared to conventional systems. Moreover, when NIR light is too weak, the device cleverly switches to an electroluminescence mode, actively emitting light to better visualise NIR photons.

🔗 Read more:

A*STAR Research Highlights: Seeing the invisible

Nature Communications Publication: Donor-acceptor bulk-heterojunction sensitizer for efficient solid-state infrared-to-visible photon up-conversion 

Advanced Materials Publication: Weak Near‐Infrared Light Visualization Enabled by Smart Multifunctional Optoelectronics 

Other News

22 May 2025 - Congrats to Dr. Yang who won Judge’s Prize and Voters’ Prize at Open Mike (Semicon) pitch competition.

Le was representing the PROFESS Lab to deliver a compelling pitch on the lab’s translational research in wearable biosensors, bridging semiconductor innovation with next-generation healthcare solutions. This event marked an exciting convergence of academia, startups, and industry leaders working at the intersection of semiconductors and MedTech. We’re proud of this recognition and look forward to new opportunities for collaboration.

14 May 2025 - Today, three of our Final-Year Project students, Veronica, Min Jee and Clive represented PROFESS group at the department’s poster showcase, impressing faculty and peers alike with the clarity and impact of their research.  Veronica has been awarded First Runner-Up at the department’s annual poster presentation. Her submission was commended for its scientific rigour, clarity of exposition, and professional design.

As they wrap up their undergraduate journey, some will pursue advanced degrees while others will launch their professional careers. We are immensely proud of their achievements and wish them every success in the next chapter of their lives.

09 Feb 2025 - Congrats to Pengqing on the publication of an exciting work on a smart organic optoelectronic device that clearly visualizes weak near-infrared (NIR) light. By integrating photodetection, a light-emitting diode, and photovoltaic functions into a single platform, the device automatically boosts its upconverted emission whenever incoming NIR light falls below a preset threshold—ensuring reliable and enhanced visualization.  P. Bi, J. Wang, Z. Chen, Z. Li, C. Tan, J. Qiao, J. Dai, T. Zhang, J. Gao, W.P. Goh, C. Lyu, C. Jiang, X. Hao, J. Hou*, L. Yang*. Weak Near-Infrared Light Visualization Enabled by Smart Multifunctional Optoelectronics. Advanced Materials 2025, 2416785. (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202416785)

19 Aug 2024 - Congrats Sherwin and Le that our outcome has been reported by The Straits Times -- NUS, A*Star researchers develop sensor that can detect cholesterol and glucose from skin Researchers from NUS and A*Star have developed a wearable, stretchable hydrogel-based sensor that non-invasively detects biomarkers—including cholesterol, lactate, and glucose—directly from the skin’s outer layer. The innovation promises a more comfortable and convenient method for monitoring chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, with potential integration into everyday wearables like smartwatches. 

18 Sep 2024 - Congratulations to Jiajia on publishing a paper introducing a novel method to enhance the visible electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of singlet oxygen (¹O₂), which is valuable for applications in biochemistry and material science. Using surface engineering on carbon electrodes, our team achieved a brighter, switchable ECL system with increased sensitivity for detecting tertiary amines. This work paves the way for more practical and portable ECL-based sensing and imaging technologies. J. Gao, Y. Yu, W. P. Goh, H. L. D. Seng, C. Jiang, L. Yang*, Unlocking Bright and Switchable Dimeric Singlet Oxygen Electrochemiluminescence by Surface Engineering. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2024, (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c12236)

8 July 2024 - Congratulations to Pengqing on publishing a groundbreaking paper in solid-state infrared-to-visible photon up-conversion! The research introduces a novel bulk-heterojunction sensitizer that significantly improves efficiency to 2.20% at a low excitation intensity of 10 mW cm−2. This innovation paves the way for scalable, efficient up-conversion devices on flexible substrates. P Bi, T Zhang, Y Guo, J Wang, XW Chua, Z Chen, WP Goh, C Jiang, EE. M. Chia, J Hou & L Yang. Donor-acceptor bulk-heterojunction sensitizer for efficient solid-state infrared-to-visible photon up-conversion. Nature Communications 2024, 15, 5719. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50177-4)

12 June 2024 - Congratulations to our former student Ruth Theresia Arwani that the new work has been published! We are excited to announce a breakthrough in health monitoring technology with the development of a new sensor capable of continuous and in situ detection of biomarkers directly from the skin. This innovative sensor employs an ionic–electronic bilayer hydrogel to seamlessly dissolve, diffuse, and electrochemically detect solid-state biomarkers such as lactate and cholesterol. 

31 May 2024 - Congratulations to our colleague Xian Wei! His work has just been published! In this work, mixed halide perovskite nanocrystals were utilized to transfer energy to triplet annihilators DPA and TIPS-An. The upconversion efficiency was five times higher in a composite system of both annihilators than with each individually. This highlights the potential of composite annihilators to boost TTA-UC, with applications in light-harvesting, imaging, sensing, therapeutics, and photocatalysis.

28 Feb 2024 - Our group had the honor of hosting distinguished researcher Prof. Mark E. Thompson. Renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to organic light emitting diodes, Prof. Thompson engaged in a productive exchange of ideas with our research group, fostering an environment of knowledge-sharing and innovation.

13 November 2023 - An exciting work on co-encapsulate enzymes and carbon dots to achieve excellent sensitivity and stability for reusable sweat sensors has been published. Congrats Xinting! X. T. Zheng, M. W. N. Leoi, Y. Yu, S. C. L. Tan, N. Nadzri, W. P. Goh, C. Jiang, X. P. Ni, P. Wang, M. Zhao, L. Yang, Co-Encapsulating Enzymes and Carbon Dots in Metal–Organic Frameworks for Highly Stable and Sensitive Touch-Based Sweat Sensors. Advanced Functional Materials 2023, 2310121. (DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202310121)

Congratulations to Xinting for her new grant awarded: A*STAR Career Development Fund (CDF) 2024

Congratulations to Changyun for his new grant awarded: Singapore Aerospace Programme (SAP) 2024

31 October 2023 - the 'WISH' (Wearable Integrated Sensorics for Health) prototype developed by the PROFESS Lab is showcasing at the annual SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology) 2023, until 2 Nov. Do drop by our booth at the MBS Expo!

26 Oct 2023 - Another exciting work, this time on wearable colorimetric printed sweat-sensor has been accepted, congratulations Xinting! XT Zheng, WP Goh, Y Yu, L Sutarlie, DY Chen, SCL Tan, CY Jiang, M Zhao, T Ba, H Li, X Su*, L Yang*, Skin-attachable Ink-dispenser-printed Paper Fluidic Sensor Patch for Colorimetric Sweat Analysis. Advanced Healthcare Materials 2023, 2302173 . (DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202302173)

13 Sept 2023 - Our new paper is online on an exciting work for high performance all -polymer solar cells, congratulations Pengqing! P Bi, J Hou*, L Yang* et al, High-Performance Binary All-Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency Over 18.3% enabled by Tuning Phase Transition Kinetics. Advanced Energy Materials 2023, 13, 2302252 . (DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202302252)

5 August 2023 - Le has received the Best Oral Presentation Award in the topic of "Soft and Biomaterials" at the Materials Today Conference 2023! 

28 July 2023 - Dr Yong Yu has received the Best Poster Award at the SNIC 5th Chemistry National Meeting (ChnmSG-5), for "Wearable on-skin biosensors"! Congrats Yong.

28 July 2023 - Le has received the Gold Award for the SNIC Prof Lee Soo Ying Award Early Career Research Award! She will be presenting a talk for her work for the award at the SNIC 5th Chemistry National Meeting (ChnmSG-5).

1 April 2023 - Our first ECL-sensor work is online, congratulations Yong! - Y, Yu*, Z He, AAM Lee, J Gao, SCL Tan, W.P. Goh, CY Jiang, XT Zheng, L. Yang*, Electrochemiluminescence drug detection with nanoparticle-encapsulated luminophore on screen-printed electrodes. Materials Today Chemistry 2023, 29, 101442. (DOI: 10.1016/j.mtchem.2023.101442)