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Dr. KHOO Bee Luan (邱美孌博士)
Postdoc (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology)PhD (National University of Singapore)BS (Nanyang Technological University)
Associate Professor
Under 35 Technology Review (MIT)
CENG Outstanding Teaching Award
Research Interests
- The development of Integrated Microsystems for Disease Detection
- Improving patient treatment strategies and prognosis
- How the tumor microenvironment affects cancer progression
Information on available positions below
Prof. Bee Luan Khoo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), where she leads a multidisciplinary research programme in microfluidics, cancer diagnostics, disease heterogeneity, and personalised medicine. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the National University of Singapore, focusing on tumour models for prognosis evaluation, and later served as a senior postdoctoral associate at the Singapore‑MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), where she developed microfluidic tools for rare‑cell detection and translational liquid biopsy applications.
Prof. Khoo has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Nature, Science Advances, Lab on a Chip, Chemical Engineering Journal, Energy & Environmental Science, and Biosensors and Bioelectronics. She holds multiple patents in microfluidic diagnostics and biomedical sensing technologies. Her work spans microfluidic organ-on-chip design, label-free tumour phenotyping, integrated biosensors, and AI-enabled disease stratification.
She has received numerous international distinctions, including the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (Asia) award for clinically impactful microfluidic technologies, as well as Young Investigator Awards from both the National Medical Research Council and the Interstellar Initiative supported by AMED and the New York Academy of Sciences. Her team has also won Gold and two Silver medals at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions (IEIG).
Beyond research, Prof. Khoo is deeply committed to education and outreach. She has mentored students through the Education Bureau’s Gifted and Talented Programmes and received the CENG Outstanding Teaching Award for excellence in teaching and student engagement.
1. Integrated Biosensors and Soft Bio‑Electronics for Disease Evaluation
development of AIE‑based biosensing platforms, such as bacterial‑targeted AIE photosensitizers that synergistically enhance chemotherapy in inflammatory cancer (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2022). flexible machine‑learning‑enabled sensors, including: FlexiPulse, a deep‑learning‑powered flexible pulse sensor for cardiovascular diagnostics (Cell Reports Physical Science, 2025). Ti₃C₂Tx MXene sponge pressure sensors for high‑sensitivity physiological monitoring (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024)
2. Improving Treatment Strategies and Prognosis Through Label‑Free Phenotyping and AI
We develop label-free functional biosensors, including a phagocytosis-based platform for bacterial infection diagnosis (Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 2022), and multi-omics prognostic tools, such as a 6-gene transcriptomic signature predicting heart failure recovery (Genes & Diseases, 2022). AIEgen‑deep, which integrates single‑cell AIE imaging with deep learning for cancer discrimination and early diagnosis (Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 2023–2024).
3. Microenvironment‑Driven Disease Progression and Host–Pathogen Interaction
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A 3D cancer–biofilm microfluidic platform demonstrating how biofilms accelerate tumor progression (Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 2021–2022)
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A 3D tumor–biofilm model showing macrophage potentiation of tumour invasiveness (Small, 2023)
4. Integrated Microsystems, Organ‑on‑Chip Technologies, and Environmental Microfluidics
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A portable purification platform for rapid microplastics removal (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2022)
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A deep learning‑enabled deformability biochip for stratifying metastatic subtypes (Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2023)
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Programmable microfluidics‑assisted conductive hydrogels and soft electronics for personalized health monitoring (Adv. Sci., Nano Energy, 2024–2025)
We are currently accepting applications for several positions:
[1] PhD in integrated microsystems (Fall 2027 entry)
[2] MPhil in various disciplines
Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, or a closely related field;
• Expertise in any of the following areas: Disease models, microfluidics, point-of-care systems
• Previous experience in any of the areas of bioimaging, cell characterisation, and image analysis is highly desirable
• Hands-on experience with prototyping of biomedical systems/medical devices and physiological modeling is a plus.
Please contact blkhoo@cityu.edu.hk or visit our lab website for more information.
Awards and Achievements
- Oct 2024 “Stanford's top 2% most highly cited scientists (2024-2025)” Stanford. (Single year).
- 2024 “The International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (“IEIG”)” Swiss Federal Government, the State, the City of Geneva and WIPO. Gold (collaborative project).
- 2023 “Greater Bay Area STEM Excellence Award - Gold” (Tertiary). MicroSEN.
- 2023 ““The International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (“IEIG”)” ” Swiss Federal Government, the State, the City of Geneva and WIPO. Silver (MicroSEN, SpiralX).
- 2023 “Tony B Award (R)” SLAS.
- 2022 “CENG Outstanding Teaching Award” CityU.
- 2022 “第五屆中國醫療器械創新創業大賽” 科技部社發司和中國生物技術發展中心.
- 2022 “香港大學生創新及創業大賽 ” HKNGCA Innovation & Entrepreneurship Centre.
- 2020 “Young Investigator Award” New York Academy of Science, AMED.
- 2019 “Outstanding master-level dissertation ” CityU.
- 2018 “TR35” MIT Tech Review.
Service in CityUHK
Teaching Service
- 2022 - Now, BME2106 Intro to Cellular & Biomol Eng.
- 2019 - Now, BME 8009 Research Methodology.
- 2019 - Now, BME3101 --- Micro & Nanotech'y for Bio Eng .
- 2019 - Now, BME6117 - Biomedical Safety and Risk Assessment.
- 2019 - Now, GE1320 - Engineering Your Health.
Key Publication Highlights
- Biofilm Potentiates Cancer‐Promoting Effects of Tumor‐Associated Macrophages in a 3D Multi‐Faceted Tumor Model
Y Deng, Y Fu, SL Chua, BL Khoo Small, 2205904 - Biofilms exacerbate atherogenesis through macrophage-induced inflammatory responses in a fibrous plaque microsystem model
Y Fu, Y Deng, J Zhang, SL Chua, BL Khoo Acta Biomaterialia 168, 333-345 - A deformability-based biochip for precise label-free stratification of metastatic subtypes using deep learning
H Hua, S Zou, Z Ma, W Guo, CY Fong, BL Khoo Microsystems & Nanoengineering 9 (1), 120 - FlexiPulse: A machine-learning-enabled flexible pulse sensor for cardiovascular disease diagnostics
Z Ma, H Hua, C You, Z Ma, W Guo, X Yang, S Qiu, N Zhao, Y Zhang, D Ho, ... Cell Reports Physical Science 4 (12) - Zhang T, Deng Y, Liu YS, Chua SL, Tang BZ, Khoo BL. Bacterial targeted AIE photosensitizers synergistically promote chemotherapy for the treatment of inflammatory cancer. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2022;447:137579.
- Chen, C.K., Zhang, J., Bhingarde, A., Matotek, T., Barrett, J., Hardesty, B.D., Banaszak Holl, M.M., B.L. Khoo, 2022. A portable purification system for the rapid removal of microplastics from environmental samples. Chemical Engineering Journal 428, 132614.
- Liu YS, Deng Y, Chen CK, Khoo BL*, Chua SL*. Rapid detection of microorganisms in a fish infection microfluidics platform. J Hazard Mater. 2022;431:128572.
- Liao, J., Ren, J., Wei, H., Lam, R.H.W., Chua, S.L., B.L. Khoo, 2021. Label-free biosensor of phagocytosis for diagnosing bacterial infections. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 191, 113412.
- Deng, Y., Liu, S.Y., Chua, S.L., Khoo, B.L., 2021. The effects of biofilms on tumor progression in a 3D cancer-biofilm microfluidic model. Biosens Bioelectron 180, 113113.
- S. Zou, B.L. Khoo, A 6-gene panel as a signature to predict recovery from advanced heart failure using transcriptomic analysis, Genes & Diseases (2022).
- Shang, M., Lim, S.B., Jiang, K., Yap, Y.S., Khoo, B.L., Han, J., Lim, C.T., 2021. Microfluidic studies of hydrostatic pressure-enhanced doxorubicin resistance in human breast cancer cells. Lab Chip 21(4), 746-754.
- Khoo, B.L., Shang, M., Ng, C.H., Lim, C.T., Chng, W.J., Han, J., 2019. Liquid biopsy for minimal residual disease detection in leukemia using a portable blast cell biochip. NPJ Precis Oncol 3, 30.
- Khoo, B.L., Grenci, G., Jing, T., Lim, Y.B., Lee, S.C., Thiery, J.P., Han, J., Lim, C.T., 2016. Liquid biopsy and therapeutic response: Circulating tumor cell cultures for evaluation of anticancer treatment. Sci Adv 2(7), e1600274.
Last update date :
12 Jan 2026
