Evelyn Yim

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Research interests: biomaterials-regulation of stem cells, nanotopography-cell interactions, tissue engineering applications

Biography

Evelyn Yim began her education at the University of Toronto, where she earned her BASc in Engineering Science and MASc in Chemical Engineering, under the supervision of Professor Michael Sefton. She pursued her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University before conducting her post-doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and, under Professor Kam Leong, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University.

Between 2007 and 2015 Evelyn worked in Singapore, where she held a joint appointment from the National University of Singapore, as faculty in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Surgery, and the Mechanobiology Institute Singapore, a Research Center of Excellence supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore, as a principle investigator studying how chemical and biomechanical cues influence stem cell behavior.

Evelyn joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2016. Experienced with nanofabrication technologies and stem cell culture, Evelyn and her group are interested to apply the knowledge biomaterial-stem cell interaction to direct stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration for neural, vascular and corneal tissue engineering.

Education

  • BSc, University of Toronto

  • MASc, University of Toronto

  • PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA

Evelyn Yim

Research

Research interests

  • Modulation of cell behavior with nanotopography

  • Topography-regulation of stem cells lineage commitment and differentiation

  • Differentiation of adult and pluripotent stem cells with nanotopography

  • Fabrication and application of nano-structure for biomedical applications in neural, vascular, and cornea tissue engineering

  • Biomaterial approach to study ex-vivo pluripotent stem cell expansion

Publications

Recent publications include:

  • Cutiongco MA*, Goh SH*, Aid R, Le Visage C, Low HY, Yim EKF. “Planar and Tubular Patterning of Micro and Nano-topographies on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel for Improved Endothelial Cell Responses”. Biomaterials. Accepted. In press
  • Cutiongco MA, Anderson DEJ, Hinds MT, Yim EKF. “In vitro and ex vivo hemocompatibility of off-the-shelf modified poly(vinyl alcohol) vascular grafts”. Acta Biomaterialia. 25: 97-108. 2015.
  • Muhammad R, Peh GSL, Adnan K, Law JBK, Mehta JS, Yim EKF. “Micro- and nano-topography to enhance proliferation and sustain functional markers of donor-derived primary human corneal endothelial cells”. Acta Biomaterialia. 19: 138-48. 2015.
  • Cutiongco MA, Teo KKB, Yim EKF. “Composite scaffolds of interfacial polyelectrolyte fibers for temporally controlled release of biomolecules.” Journal of Visualized Experiments. 102. 2015.
  • Ankam S*, Lim CK*, Yim EKF. “Actomyosin contractility plays a role in expression of MAP2 during neuronal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells”. Biomaterials. 47: 20-8. 2015. *co-first authors
  • Cutiongco MFA, Choo RKT, Shen NJX, Chua BMX, Sju E, Choo AWL, Le Visage C, Yim EKF. "Composite scaffold of poly(vinyl alcohol) and interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation fibers for controlled biomolecule delivery.” Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. doI: 10.3389/fbioe.2015.00003. 2015
  • Tan KK*, Tann JY*, Sathe SR, Goh SH, Ma DL, Goh EL, Yim EKF. “Enhanced Differentiation of Neural Progenitor Cells into Neurons of the Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Subtype on Topographical Patterns”. Biomaterials. 43: 32-43. 2015. *co-first authors
  • Li K*, Yamamoto M*, Chan SJ, Chiam MY, Qin W, Wong PTH^, Yim EKF^, Tang BZ, Liu B^. “Organic nanoparticles with aggregation-induced emission for tracking bone marror stromal cells in rat ischemic stroke model.” Chemical Communications. 50: 15136-15139. 2014. *co-first authors; ^ co-corresponding authors
  • Muhammad R*, Lim SH*, Goh SH, Law JBK, Saifullah MS, Ho GW, Yim EKF. “Sub-100 nm patterning of TiO2 film for the regulation of endothelial and smooth muscle cell functions”. Biomaterials Science. 2: 1740-1749. 2014. *co-first authors
  • Cutiongco MFA, Tan MH, Ng MYK, Le Visage C, Yim EKF. “Composite pullulan-dextran polysaccharide scaffold with interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation fibers: platform with enhanced cell interaction and spatial distribution”. Acta Biomaterialia. 10(10):4410-4418. 2014
  • Chua JS, Chng C-P, Moe AAK, Tann JY, Goh EL, Chiam K-H, Yim EKF. “Extending neurites sense the depth of the underlying topography during neuronal differentiation and contact guidance”. Biomaterials, 35(27):7750-7761. 2014.

Please see Evelyn Yim's Google Scholar profile for a current list of her peer-reviewed articles.

Contact