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Dr Yong Foong Yee, Stacey

Senior Lecturer

PhD ( RMIT University, Australia)

Telephone: +603 - 5514 6116
Fax: +603 - 5514 6364
E-mail: stacey.yong@artsci.monash.edu.my

Links
Area of Expertise
Research Interest
Selected Journals
Current Research Projects
Prospective Research Projects
Research Students
Research Assistants
Plenary Lectures

Area of Expertise:

Microbes-clinical and environmental diagnostic and detection kits development; epidemiological study of Legionella pnuemophila; water quality assessment using viral indicators.

Research Interest:

Water in the environment may be contaminated by more than 140 enteric viruses via wastewater such as human and animal excreta. However, the uses of these bacterial indicators do not provide adequate information to predict the presence of viruses, particularly in terms of their fate in the environment and their resistance to treatment. The absence of any of these bacterial indicators does not guarantee the water to be safe from viral contamination. Thus, studies have been directed toward identifying more specific indicators of viral contamination using molecular techniques. In my lab, I have been evaluating a viral indicator, male-specific coliphages, as a fecal pollutant indicator of microbial quality of food and water. My team and I have developed real-time RT-PCR to detect and quantify male-specific coliphages in different water matrices (rivers, finished water from water treatment plants and ground water), different types of food such as chickens, prawns and cockles, and different types of animal fecal matters. The male-specific coliphages are found abundantly in our tropical environment and poultry fecal matters. It may have the potential used as a fecal pollutant indicator in the Tropical environment. Currently we are working towards microbial source tracking by developing genotyping and bio-sensing methods to detect and to differentiate male-specific coliphages isolates from the food and water samples. We hope to prevent and to eradicate outbreaks of water-borne and food-borne diseases.

In our lab, we are screening and identifying the specific DNA markers, intracellular multiplication genes that are highly specific for Legionella penumophila that can be developed for detection and identification purposes. The prevalence of different serogroups of L. pnuemophila has been studied in order to address the prevention scheme of outbreaks.

Selected Journal Papers:


Ong JT, Tong YK, Yong SFY, Ngeow YF (2006) Real-time PCR detection of male-specific coliphages. Malaysian J Pathol. 28: 79-82

Yong S, Ngeow YF, Gan TF, Ong JT, Gan TH, Yong SM (2006) Male specific RNA coliphages detected by plaque assay and RT-PCR in tropical river waters and animal fecal matter. Int J Environ Health Res 16: 59-68
Current Research Projects:

  1. Genotyping and Bio-sensing of male-specific coliphages in microbial source tracking
  2. The study of oxidative stress in Legionella pnuemophila
Prospective Research Projects:

  1. Developing biosensor devices in detecting male-specific coliphages
  2. The study of the surface proteins of male-specific colipahges
  3. The study of the genetic diversity of male-specific coliphages in the environment
  4. The role of SOD genes in pathogenesis of Legionella pnuemophila
Research Students:


Honours students(Present)

Audrey Kow Sie Fong: Quantifying expression of iron-sod in Legionella pnumophila using Real-Time RT-PCR.

Tan Shin Wah: Developing triplex-PCR in identify Legionella pneumophla in clinical and environmental samples

Tay Chien Wen: The Sungai Janging ecosystem: A survey of microbes and invertebrate fauna as indicators of water quality.

Lee Woon Chin: Molecular typing of male-specific coliphages

Research Assistants:


Lee Sau Peng - Genotyping Isolated Male-specific coliphages in the ground water Using plaque hybridization

Plenary Lectures:

Is male-specific coliphages a suitable indicator of fecal pollutant. In: The 32 nd Annual Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 5-6 September 2007, Kuala Lumpur.