Tan Soon Heng

Associate Professor Tan Soon Heng is affiliated with the Department of Chemistry at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. He holds joint appointments as a Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IMCB) and Bioinformatics Institute (BII), A*STAR, Singapore. His research focuses on network biology and system-wide characterization of protein complexes in health and disease.

• Education: PhD in Molecular Genetics (University of Toronto, 2011), MSc in Computer Science (National University of Singapore, 2005), BSc in Molecular Biology (National University of Singapore, 2001).

Prof. Tan’s work bridges chemical biology, proteomics, and systems pharmacology to develop methods like Thermal Proximity Co-Aggregation (TPCA) and Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) for drug target discovery. He has invented technologies enabling in situ and intact cell profiling of proteome dynamics.

His research spans 15+ recent publications in high-impact journals like Science and Nature Methods, with a focus on mitochondrial dysfunction, protein degradation, and metabolic rewiring in diseases. Notable grants include the A*STAR Young Investigator Award and Industry Alignment Funds for toxicity and drug mechanism studies.

• Scientific Awards: Highlighted in Science, Nature Reviews, and F1000Prime; recipient of the 2016 A*STAR Young Investigator Award.

Prof. Tan’s lab at SUSTech (Room 430, Faculty Research Building 1) integrates molecular biology, computational methods, and mass spectrometry to address challenges in drug mechanism-of-action, natural product biosynthesis, and network reconstruction. His team trains students in interdisciplinary approaches, with recent graduate Liao Bin exemplifying successful alumni.