Doctor Poon Ellen Ngar Yun

CUHK Employment

Assistant Professor,

Department of Medicine & Therapeutics Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics & Medicine (CCGM),

Lui Che Woo Institute of Innovative Medicine,

Hong Kong Hub of Paediatric Excellence (HK HOPE),

Hong Kong Children’s Hospital (HKCH)

Faculty of Medicine,

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Phone Number

+852 3513 3164

Biography

Dr Ellen Poon received her BSc degree from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry in the University of Sydney, where she graduated with First Class Honours and University Medal, as well as numerous scholastic awards. She then received a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship for her DPhil research in the University of Oxford to study the molecular mechanisms of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and was also a recipient of the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship in the University of California, San Francisco where she first started her training in pluripotent stem cell technology. In Feb 2019, Dr Poon joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong as an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Medicine, and the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics.

Dr Poon’s research focuses on the application of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for disease modelling and drug screening. Immaturity of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes has long been a barrier to the use of these cells for research and therapy. Combining transcriptomic, proteomic and microRNA profiling, she revealed novel regulatory mechanisms that facilitate the generation of cardiomyocytes with adult-like mitochondrial and metabolic properties. Her work has been published in prestigious journals such as Cell Research and Cardiovascular Research, and is the subject of a recent patent application. Her current focus is to utilise her cardiomyocyte platform for the modelling of human cardiac diseases, investigations of cardiotoxicity and discovery of cardioprotective agents.

Education

DPhil (Oxon), BSc Hons (USyd)

Research Interest

  • Applications of human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes for disease modelling and drug screening
  • Cardiac mitochondrial biology and metabolism
  • Cardiotoxicity
  • Cardio-oncology
  • Cardiac maturation

Specialisations

Human pluripotent stem cell cardiac biology

Mitochondria

Cardiac metabolism

Award and Honour

Commonwealth scholarship

American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship

Patent

IP00798/ 20200248145 Identification of Subpopulations of Cardiomyocytes US non-provisional patent (Co-Inventor), Submitted on Feb 1, 2019

Publications

·         Kwok M, Lee C, Li HS, Deng R, Tsoi C, Ding Q, Tsang SY, Leung KT, Yan BP, Poon EN*. Remdesivir induces persistent mitochondrial and structural damage in human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes. Cardiovasc Res 2021 *corresponding author

·         Chan K, Zhang C, Wong YTS, Zhang XB, Wang CC, Ng WH, Fok SP, Tang PM, Kang W, Feng B, Poon ENY, Lee KY, Lee CK, Chen C, Leung TY, Ng MH, To KF, Wang H, Lam HS, Ng PC, Yuen PM, Li K, Leung AWK, Li CK, Leung KT. R4 RGS proteins suppress engraftment of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells by modulating SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling. Blood Adv 2021.

·         Boheler KR, Poon EN*. Cell surface markers for immunophenotyping human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Pflugers Arch 2021;473:1023-1039 *corresponding author

·         Kelly MI, Albahrani M, Castro C, Poon E, Yan B, Littrell J, Waas M, Boheler KR, Gundry RL. Importance of evaluating protein glycosylation in pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for research and clinical applications. Pflugers Arch 2021;473:1041-1059

·         Zhu S, Deng R, Law A, Poon E, Chun W, Kwong A, Liang R, Chan K, Wong W, Tan-Un K, Pijnappel WWM, Chan GC, Chan S, Generation of genomic-integration-free human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes of X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy from DMD gene mutation. Stem Cell Res. 2020 Dec; 49

·         Poon E*, Luo XL, Webb SE, Yan B, Zhao R, Wu S, Yang Y, Zhang P, Bai H, Shao J, Chan CM, Chan GC, Tsang SY, Gundry RL, Yang HT, Boheler KR*, The Cell Surface Marker CD36 Selectively identifies Matured, Mitochondrial-rich hPSC-Cardiomyocytes. Cell Res. 2020 Jul;30(7):626-629 *co-corresponding author

·         Waas M, Weerasekera R, Kropp EM, Romero-Tejeda M, Poon E, Boheler KR, Burridge PW and Gundry RL. Are These Cardiomyocytes? Protocol Development Reveals Impact of Sample Preparation on the Accuracy of Identifying Cardiomyocytes by Flow Cytometry. Stem cell reports. 2019;12:395-410.

·         Gu X, Yeung SY, Chadda A, Poon E, Boheler KR and Hsing I. Organic Electrochemical Transistor Arrays for In Vitro Electrophysiology Monitoring of 2D and 3D Cardiac Tissues. Adv Biosys. 2018;1800248:8.

·         Poon E*, Hao B, Guan D, Li M, Lu J, Yang Y, Wu B, Wu S, Webb S, Liang Y, Miller A, Yao X, Wang J, Yan B*, Boheler KR. Integrated transcriptomic and regulatory network analyses identify microRNA-200c as a novel repressor of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation. Cardiovasc Res. 2018 May 1;114(6):894-906. *co-corresponding author, subject of journal editorial

·         Lu J, Boheler KR, Jiang L, Chan CW, Tse WW, Keung W, Poon E, Li RA and Yao X. Polycystin-2 Plays an Essential Role in Glucose Starvation-Induced Autophagy in Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Stem Cells. 2018 Apr;36(4):501-513.

·         Chen Y, Huang L, Dai X, Tian Q, Yu M, Agheb M, Chan NC, Poon E, Guo Z, Boheler KR and Wu H. Facile formation of a microporous chitosan hydrogel based on self-crosslinking Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2017;5:9291-9299

·         Wang J, Cui C, Nan H, Yu Y, Xiao Y, Poon E, Yang G, Wang X, Wang C, Li L, Boheler KR, Ma X, Cheng X, Ni Z and Chen M. Graphene Sheet-Induced Global Maturation of Cardiomyocytes Derived from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. ACS applied materials & interfaces. 2017;9:25929-25940.

·         Wang Y, Li ZC, Zhang P, Poon E, Kong CW, Boheler KR, Huang Y, Li RA, Yao X. Nitric Oxide-cGMP-PKG Pathway Acts on Orai1 to Inhibit the Hypertrophy of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Stem Cells. 2015 Aug 12

·         Zhang S, Poon E, Xie D, Boheler KR, Li RA, Wong HS. Consensus comparative analysis of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. PLoS One. 2015 May 4;10(5):e0125442

·         Poon E, Keung W, Liang YM, Ramalingam R, Yan B, Zhang S, Chopra A, Moore J, Herren A, Lieu DK, Wong HS, Weng Z, Wong OT, Lam YW, Tomaselli GF, Chen C, Boheler KR, Li RA. Proteomic Analysis of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived, Fetal and Adult Ventricular Cardiomyocytes Reveals Pathways Crucial for Cardiac Metabolism and Maturation. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2015 Jun;8(3):427-36.

·         Zhu R, Blazeski A, Poon E, Costa KD, Tung L, Boheler KR. Physical developmental cues for the maturation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2014 Oct 20;5(5):117

·         Poon E, Yan B, Zhang S, Rushing S, Keung K, Lihuan R, Lieu DK, Lin G, Kong CW, Wang J, Wong HS, Boheler KR, Li RA. Transcriptome-guided functional analyses reveal novel biological properties and regulatory hierarchy of human embryonic stem cell-derived ventricular cardiomyocytes crucial for maturation. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 21;8(10)

·         Poon E, Kong CW, Li RA. Human pluripotent stem cell-based approaches for myocardial repair: From the electrophysiological perspective. Mol Pharm. 2011;8:1495-1504

·         Poon E, Lieu DK, Li RA. Microrna and pluripotent stem cell-based heart therapies: The electrophysiological perspective. In: Tripathi ON, Ravens U, Sanquinetti MC, eds. Heart rate and rhythm. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2011:365-383.

·         Poon E, Kong C, Li RA. Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in Cardiovascular Research and Regenerative Medicine In: Embryonic Stem Cells – Differentiation and Pluripotent Alternatives. Intech Open. 2011

·         McCullagh KJ, Edwards B, Poon E, Lovering RM, Paulin D, Davies KE. Intermediate filament-like protein syncoilin in normal and myopathic striated muscle. Neuromuscular disorders : NMD. 2007;17:970-979

·         Poon E, Clermont F, Firpo MT, Akhurst RJ. Tgfbeta inhibition of yolk-sac-like differentiation of human embryonic stem-cell-derived embryoid bodies illustrates differences between early mouse and human development. J Cell Sci. 2006;119:759-768

·         Brown SC, Torelli S, Howman EV, Newey SE, Poon E, Davies KE, Muntoni F. Syncoilin upregulation in human neuromuscular disorders is independent of alterations in the dystrophin associated glycoprotein complex. Muscle Nerve. 2005 Dec;32(6):715-255

·         Nowak K, McCullagh K, Poon E, Davies KE. Muscular dystrophies related to the cytoskeleton/nuclear envelope. Novartis Found Symp. 2005;264:98-111; discussion 112-7, 227-30.

·         Howman EV, Sullivan N, Poon E, Britton JE, Hilton-Jones D, Davies KE. Syncoilin accumulation in two patients with desmin-related myopathy. Neuromuscul Disord. 2003 Jan;13(1):42-8

·         Ehmsen J, Poon E, Davies KE. The dystrophin-associated protein complex. J Cell Sci. 2002 Jul 15;115(Pt 14):2801-3.

·         Poon E, Howman EV, Newey SE, Davies KE, Association of syncoilin and desmin: linking intermediate filament proteins to the dystrophin-associated protein complex. J Biol Chem. 2002 Feb 1;277(5):3433-9