Office Location – 61 Punggol Coast Road, Singapore 828608
Affiliations
Associate Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology
Deputy Cluster Director, Food Chemical and Biotechnology, Singapore Institute of Technology
Adjunct Associate Professor, NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)
Biography
An experienced biochemical engineer with more than 20 years of hands-on experiences in public/private sectors for the development of industrial microbial strains/enzymes and bioprocesses. Expertise in providing the vision and leadership required to ensure a high quality of scientific achievement and commercialization along the R&D value chain from scientific proof of concept to manufacturing and business.
Professional Appointments
2015 – Present Associate Adjunct Professor, Biochemistry, NUS
2014 – 2022 Team Leader, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences/Singapore Institute of Food and Biotech Innovation, Singapore
2011 – 2014 Group Leader, Samsung Petrochemical Co. Ltd, South Korea
2004 – 2011 Team Leader, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore
2003 – 2004 Team leader, Dongbu HiTek Co. Ltd, South Korea
2000 – 2003 Senior Researcher, DreamBiogen Co. Ltd, South Korea
1998 – 2000 Researcher, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Education
Ph.D. Biochemical Engineering, Seoul National University, South Korea
M.S. Biochemical Engineering, Seoul National University , South Korea
B.S. Chemical Technology, Seoul National University, South Korea
Research Interest
Biomanufacturing chemicals and materials
Feedstock processing for biomanufacturing
Waste stream valorization for upcycling and circular economy
Bio-prospecting for novel strains and enzymes for industrial application
Pilot/commercial scale fermentation, biocatalysis and downstream processing
Current Research Projects
National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB)
Precision Fermentation for Sustainability (PreFerS)
Selected Publications
- Pravin Patel, Yan Ling Joy Pang, Won Jae Choi, Adison Wong (2025) Protein Extraction and Isolation from Legumes and Algae: An Industry Primer. Food and Bioprocess Technology (2025) 18:8380–8408.
- Balaji Balagurunathan, Hua Ling, Won Jae Choi and Matthew Wook Chang (2022) Potential use of microbial engineering in single-cell protein production. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 76, 102740.
- Lo T-M, Hwang IY, Cho H-S, Fedora RE, Chng SH, Choi WJ and Chang MW (2021) Biosynthesis of Commodity Chemicals From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Lignin. Front. Microbiol. 12:663642.
- Tee-Kheang Ng, Ai-Qun Yu, Hua Ling, Nina Kurniasih Pratomo Juwono, Won Jae Choi, Susanna Su Jan Leong, Matthew Wook Chang (2020) Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica towards food waste bioremediation: Production of fatty acid ethyl esters from vegetable cooking oil. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 129 (1):31-40.
- Md. Mahabubur Rahman Talukder, Puah Sze Min, Choi Won Jae (2019) Integration of cell permeabilization and medium engineering for enhanced enantioselective synthesis of ethyl-S-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate (S-EHPP). Biochemical Engineering Journal, 148: 24-28.
* Corresponding author; # Co-first author
