Assistant Professor
Email: maurice.cheung@yale-nus.edu.sg
Dr Maurice Cheung received his BA in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) at the University of Cambridge in 2009. From 2009 to 2013, Dr Cheung studied in the Systems Biology Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Oxford followed by his DPhil work on computational modelling of plant metabolism in the Department of Plant Sciences. During his DPhil, he also worked in the Cell Systems Modelling Group at Oxford Brookes University. Prior to joining Yale-NUS, Dr Cheung was a research fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the National University of Singapore.
Dr Cheung’s research interests are in developing and applying computational systems biology approaches in understanding the properties and behaviour of metabolic systems. His research involves the reconstruction of large-/genome-scale metabolic models, development of computational modelling algorithm for analysing stoichiometric models and the integration of large-scale-omics data to the framework of constraint-based modelling.
Dr Cheung’s research focus is on computational modelling of plant metabolism with the aim to guide the cultivation and/or engineering of plants for improved crop quality and yield, and for increased production of useful plant-derived natural products. Beyond metabolic modelling, Dr Cheung is interested in investigating the interactions between metabolism and higher-level processes in plants through the integration of metabolic models with models at multiple scales such as plant development models and ecophysiological models.
Yuan, H., Cheung, C. Y. M., Hilbers, P. and van Riel, N.A.W. (2016). Flux balance analysis of plant metabolism: the effect of biomass composition and model structure on model predictions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7, 1–13.
Yuan, H., Cheung, C.Y.M., Poolman, M.G., Hilbers, P.A.J. and van Riel, N.A.W. (2016). A genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and its application to photorespiratory metabolism. The Plant Journal, 85, 289–304.
Liang, C., Zhang, Y., Cheng, S., Osorio, S., Sun, Y., Fernie, A.R., Cheung, C.Y.M. and Lim, B.L. (2015). Impacts of high ATP supply from chloroplasts and mitochondria on the leaf metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 1–17.
Cheung, C.Y.M., Ratcliffe, R.G. and Sweetlove, L.J. (2015) A method of accounting for enzyme costs in flux balance analysis reveals alternative pathways and metabolite stores in an illuminated Arabidopsis leaf. Plant Physiology, in press.
Cheung, C.Y.M., Poolman, M.G., Fell, D.A., Ratcliffe, R.G. and Sweetlove, L.J. (2014) A diel flux-balance model captures interactions between light and dark metabolism during day-night cycles in C3 and CAM leaves. Plant Physiology, 165, 2917-29.
Cheung, C.Y.M., Williams, T.C.R., Poolman, M.G., Fell, D.A., Ratcliffe, R.G. and Sweetlove, L.J. (2013) A method for accounting for maintenance costs in flux balance analysis improves the prediction of plant cell metabolic phenotypes under stress conditions. The Plant Journal, 75, 1050-61.
Sweetlove, L.J., Williams, T.C.R., Cheung, C.Y.M. and Ratcliffe, R.G. (2013) Modelling metabolic CO2 evolution – a fresh perspective on respiration. Plant, Cell & Environment, 36, 1631-40.
Biochemistry
Scientific Inquiry
Foundations of Science