Alumni
Ryanjit Kairon Singh
URECA & Final Year Projects (2021-2023)
He investigated the fungal communities associated with hawksbill turtle nests in Singapore using amplicon sequencing to better understand how microbes affect hatching success. His research revealed the presence of Fusarium, a known pathogen of sea turtle eggs, providing important insights into potential threats to hatchling survival and informing future nest management strategies.
2023 whereabouts: Employed by NParks!
Desai Archita Sanjay
URECA & Final Year Projects (2022-2024)
She studied the maternal lineage of Singapore’s hawksbill turtles for her 2022 URECA project and expanded her work for her final year project by analysing whole genomes of hawksbill turtles in Singapore. Through selection analysis, she discovered highly significant pathways involving genes related to sensory perception, cellular transport, and cellular signalling. Her findings highlight the importance of the olfactory system—which enables turtles to detect both airborne and waterborne odours—in supporting natal homing and foraging behaviours critical to the species’ survival.
2025 whereabouts:
Rosie Zhong Xuefeng
URECA & CN Yang Projects (2022-2024)
She investigated ecological drivers of hawksbill turtle hatching success by analyzing correlations between abiotic (temperature, rainfall) and biotic (fungal presence) factors, combining lab work with statistical analysis. She also studied genetic adaptation in South American Indigenous populations across diverse environments (Andes, Chaco, Patagonia, Amazon) by identifying genes under positive selection and inferring adaptive functions from literature.
2025 whereabouts: Incoming Y1 PhD student, University of Michigan, focusing on evolutionary genomics
Goh Yong En
CN Yang Project (2023-2024)
She studied the maternal lineage of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Singapore. She identified the genetic ancestry of the foraging green turtle mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in Singapore using their control region sequences, and investigated their genetic relationships with other foraging and nesting populations in the Indo-Pacific region.
2025 whereabouts: Y4/SBS in NTU
Constance Liew Yunxian
URECA Project (2023-2024)
She studied the maternal lineage of hawksbill turtles in Singapore. She identified the genetic ancestry of the 2023 nesting hawksbill turtle mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in Singapore using their control region sequences, and investigated their genetic relationships with other foraging and nesting populations in the Indo-Pacific region.
2025 whereabouts: Y4/SBS in NTU
Kwek Zi Cen
Internship (2023-2024)
She helped out with some of the turtle research projects in the lab. She contributed in the extraction of mitochondrial DNA of turtles to classify and track the maternal lineages of hawksbill and green turtles in Singapore. She also extracted fungal DNA from turtle eggshells to investigate the presence of sea turtle egg fusariosis, which is a fungal infection associated to low hatching success globally, in sea turtle nests in Singapore.
2025 whereabouts: SBS graduate in NTU
Lam Kai Yoon
Final Year Project (2024-2025)
He investigated the fungal and bacterial communities associated with hawksbill turtle nests in Singapore to better understand how microbes influence hatching success. By analyzing samples from eggshells, dead embryos, yolks, and surrounding sand using ITS and 16S rRNA sequencing, he identified key microbial genera linked to both lower and higher hatching success. The project also uncovered the likely sources and modes of infiltration of harmful microbes, providing insights that could inform more effective conservation strategies for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle.
2025 whereabouts: Employed at NParks
Foo Yock Haw
Final Year Project (2024-2025)
He pioneered the first AI-powered detection system for identifying green turtle tracks using drone footage. By collecting aerial imagery at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary on Redang Island, Malaysia, and in the Red Sea, he trained a You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection model with oriented bounding boxes (OBB) to automatically locate and classify turtle tracks. His work enables more efficient monitoring of nesting habitats and has the potential to significantly aid the long-term conservation of these endangered species.
2025 whereabouts: Employed at DHI
Krista Renee Teo Siew Hua
URECA Project (2024-2025)
She studied the maternal lineage of hawksbill turtles in Singapore and examined the abnormal scute patterns of hatchlings. By analysing the control region sequences of mitochondrial DNA, she identified the genetic ancestry of the 2024 nesting hawksbill turtles in Singapore and explored their genetic relationships with other foraging and nesting populations across the Indo-Pacific region.
2025 whereabouts: Y3/ASE in NTU
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