Profile

DR. LEONG CHEE YEW

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DR. LEONG CHEE YEW

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

tmslcy@nus.edu.sg

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Education

  • Ph.D., Soka University, Japan (2004), M. Eng., Soka University, Japan (2001)
  • B. A., Victoria University, New Zealand (1996)

Research Interests

  • Understanding how environmental and climate change alter aquatic communities.
  • Dynamics of harmful algal bloom, and physiology of bloom-forming species.
  • Algal toxins.
  • Detection of bloom-forming species and their toxins.
  • Sensing of algal blooms using advance technique such as autonomous vehicles, optical sensors and molecular tools.
  • Bioactive natural products derived from the metabolites of marine microalgae.

Research Partners / Collaborations

  • Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling (CENSAM), Singapore MIT Alliance for Research (SMART), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Aquaculture Section, AVA
  • IOC-Westpac Harmful Algal Bloom Group
  • IOC-Westpac Toxic Marine Organisms Group
  • Institute Of Ocean And Earth Sciences, University Of Malaya
  • Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
  • Department of Pharmacy, NUS
  • Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP), NUS
  • PORL, TMSI, NUS
  • Ocean Climate & Ecology Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, South Korea.
  • Soka University, Japan.
  • Aquatic Genomics Research Centre, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Japan.

Research Highlights

Our current works include the studies of the dynamics of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), monitoring of HABs, detection, identification and physiological studies of bloom-forming species (Leong et al., 2015). The research team has identified several new records of bloom-forming species in Singapore waters including toxic diatom species which has negative health impact on humans (Tan et al., 2016).

We have successfully tracked bloom movements utilizing autonomous vehicles and optical sensors (Leong et al., 2016). Moreover, recently we have developed a molecular method in detecting and identifying toxic species in the field.

Selected Publications

Curren E, Yoshida T, Kuwahara VS, Leong SCY, 2019. Rapid profiling of tropical marine cyanobacterial communities. Regional Studies in Marine Science 25: 100485.

Curren E, Leong SCY, 2019. Profiles of bacterial assemblages from microplastics of tropical coastal environments. Science of the Total Environment 655: 313-320.

Kok JWK, Yeo DCJ, Leong SCY, 2018. Growth, pigment, and chromophoric dissolved organic matter responses of tropical Chattonella subsalsa (Raphidophyceae) to nitrogen enrichment. Phycological Research, doi: 10.1111/pre.12360.

Curren E, Leong SCY, 2018. Lyngbya regalis nov. (Oscillatoriales, Cyanophyceae), a new tropical marine cyanobacterium. Phytotaxa 367: 120-132.

Curren E, Leong SCY, 2018. New records of benthic coastal cyanobacteria observed from the Southern Islands of Singapore. Algological Studies 154: 93-112.

Lim HC, Tan SN, Teng ST, Lundholm N, Orive E, David H, Quijano-Scheggia S, Leong SCY, Wolf M, Bates S, Lim PT, Leaw CP, 2018. Phylogeny and species delineation in the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) using cox1, LSU and ITS2 rDNA sequences: a perspective in character evolution. Journal of Phycology 54: 234–248.

Grey EK, Bernatchez L, Cassey P, Deiner K, Deveney M, Howland KL, Lacoursière-Roussel A, Leong SCY, Li Y, Olds B, Pfrender ME, Prowse T, Renshaw M, Lodge DM, 2018. Effects of Sampling Effort on Biodiversity Patterns Estimated from Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Surveys. Scientific Reports 8: 8843.

Leong, S.C.Y., Kok, J.W.K., Lim, L.P., Kok, S.P., Taher T., Tkalich P., Patrikalakis, N.M., 2016. Harmful Algal Blooms in Singapore marine coastal ecosystem: autonomous vehicle, optical sensors and molecular technique. Kaiyo Monthly 48: 67-76.

Tan, TH, Leaw CP, Leong, S.C.Y., Lim LP, Chew, SM, Teng ST, Lim PT 2016. Marine micro-phytoplankton of Singapore, with a review of harmful microalgae in the region. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 34: 78-96.

Kok, J.W.K., D.C.J. Yeo and Leong, S.C.Y., 2015. Growth and physiology responses of a tropical toxic marine microalga Heterosigma akashiwo (heterokontophyta: raphidophyceae) from Singapore waters to varying nitrogen sources and light conditions. Ocean Science Journal 50: 491-508.

Leong, S.C.Y., Lim, L.P., Chew, S.M., Kok, J.W.K., Teo, S.L.M., 2015. Three new records of dinoflagellates in Singapore’s coastal waters, with observations on environmental conditions associated with microalgal growth in the Johor Straits. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 31: 24-36.

Kuwahara VS, Leong SCY, 2015. Spectral fluorometric characterization of phytoplankton types in the tropical coastal waters of Singapore. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 466: 1-8