Dr. David Ng
David pursued his chemistry studies at the National University of Singapore and received his B.Sc. degree with first class honours in 2009. In 2010, he accepted a scholarship offered by the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPIP) and moved to Ulm under the supervision of Prof. Tanja Weil. David graduated with summa cum laude in 2014 and worked as a junior group leader in the Institute of Organic Chemistry III at Ulm University. He subsequently moved to the MPIP and leads the synthetic life-like systems group focusing on precision biohybrids and synthetic supramolecular concepts in living cells. Since 2021, David takes the helm of the BioCore Facility of the MPIP as a concurrent portfolio. He was featured in 2019 and 2022 in international peer-reviewed journals of the German Chemical Society & the Royal Society of Chemistry as an emerging key figure for material science at the chemistry/biology interface.
Research Interest
Creating Interactive Functions (in Cells) through Life-like Supramolecular Concepts
The self-organization of molecules into transient nanoscale structures in Nature relies on forming dynamic chemical bonds and interactions through space. Using synthetic supramolecular chemistry, our group creates new chemical space to explore the landscape of molecule-to-structure formation within complex physiological environments. By integrating molecular switches and reaction cycles/cascades into structural precursors, we can precisely program the dynamics of supramolecular interactions similar to that of biochemical pathways in cells.
Scientists within our group learn to design their supramolecular systems with hierarchical complexity, to reprogram biology and create new life-like functions. We then apply the acquired knowledge to answer the molecular perspective between living and dead matter as well as establishing supramolecular structures as a new therapeutic solutions in addressing cellular dysfunction. Collectively, members are provided a unique opportunity to explore an ideal balance of deep mechanistic understanding (supramolecular chemistry) with interdisciplinary breadth (cell biology).
Key achievements: Spatiotemporal control over in-situ supramolecular chemistry, established emergent functions by non-functional building blocks in cells, altering cell phenotypes by location directed structure formation