Samuel Wee Han Koh
Wageningen,Netherlands
Summary
Plant cell and developmental biologist investigating how cells establish and interpret spatial asymmetry during development. My research focuses on polarity protein complexes, membrane-associated signaling, and asymmetric cell division, using the Arabidopsis male gametophyte as a simplified and genetically tractable model to identify essential polarity determinants that are frequently masked by lethality or developmental arrest in conventional genetic systems. By integrating genetics, live-cell imaging, proteomics, and quantitative cell biology, I seek to uncover the core molecular mechanisms governing polarity establishment, cell fate specification, and developmental patterning.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
Work History
Postdoctoral Researcher
Wageningen University - Department of Biochemistry
Wageningen, Netherlands
10.2023 - Current
- Supervisor: Prof. Dolf Weijers
- EMBO long-term fellowship, Investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying cell polarity and asymmetric cell division using Arabidopsis male gametophyte development.
- Designed and conducted forward genetic screening approaches using fluorescent polarity reporters in the male gametophyte.
- Applied advanced live-cell imaging, confocal microscopy, and quantitative image analysis to study dynamic protein localization during microspore and root development.
- Supervised 4 undergraduate/master students/ PhD candidate and mentoring inexperimental training within the laboratory.
- Represented the research group as part of the GREENTE consortium at international conferences and departmental seminars.
- Applied to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 with a Seal of Excellence.
Postdoctoral Researcher
John Innes Centre (JIC)
Norwich, United Kingdom
07.2022 - 07.2023
- Supervisor: Prof. Laila Moubayidin
- Investigated the molecular mechanisms coordinating developmental patterning, hormone signaling, and cell proliferation during Arabidopsis reproductive organ development, primarily the gynoecia.
- Contributed to the identification of O-glycosylation as a regulatory mechanism controlling the activity of the bHLH transcription factor SPATULA during style development.
- Combined Arabidopsis genetics, molecular biology, confocal imaging, and developmental analysis to dissect how post-translational modification influences tissue morphogenesis and organ symmetry establishment.
- Co-authored publications in The Plant Journal (2024, 2025) and Nature Plants (2024) describing mechanisms integrating hormonal signaling, cell cycle regulation, and post-translational modification during reproductive development.
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Lausanne
Lausanne
06.2018 - 06.2022
- Genetically engineered enhanced root growth, making plants more resilient.
- Utilize molecular biological, immunological, and tissue culture approaches in research efforts to study the development of different plant species.
- Run weekly meetings with primary investigator and colleagues and yearly department seminars.
- Collaborated with 2 research groups at Technische Universität München to map and engineered proteins essential for plant root development.
- Published two first author and one co-author research papers in high impact journals.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy - Plant Molecular Biology
Universite de Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland06-2022
Master of Life Sciences - Biosystem Science
Hokkaido University
Sapporo, Japan09-2017
Bachelor of Science - Conservation Biology
University Malaysia of Sabah
Sabah, Malaysia01-2014
Personal Information
Nationality: MALAYSIA
Date of Birth: 16 JUNE 1991
ORCID: 0000-0002-0334-7515
Language: Mandarin (Native), Malay (Native), English (Fluent), Cantonese (Fluent), Japanese (intermediate), French (Basic)
Publication
- Jamil, I., Koh, S.W.H., Cheema, J. and Moubayidin, L. (2025), Cytokinin-responsive P-type cyclins control Arabidopsis radial style morphology. The Plant Journal,
- Tasker-Brown, W., Koh, S.W.H., Trozzi, N., ... (2024), An incoherent feed-forward loop involving bHLH transcription factors, Auxin and CYCLIN-Ds regulates style radial symmetry establishment in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal.
- Jiang, Y., Curran-French, S., Koh, S.W.H. ... (2024) O-glycosylation of the transcription factor SPATULA promotes style development in Arabidopsis. Nat. Plants
- Koh, S.W.H, C Bascom, E Berenguer, G Ingram… (2022). Heterologous expression of a lycophyte protein enhances angiosperm seedling vigor. Development.
- Koh, S. W. H., Marhava, P., Rana, S., Graf, A., Moret, B., Bassukas, A. E. L., … Hardtke, C. S. (2021). Mapping and engineering of auxin-induced plasma membrane dissociation in BRX family proteins. The Plant Cell.
- Marhava, P., Aliaga Fandino, A. C., Koh, S. W. H., Jelínková, A., Kolb, M., Janacek, D. P., … Hardtke, C. S. (2020). Plasma Membrane Domain Patterning and Self-Reinforcing Polarity in Arabidopsis. Developmental Cell, 52(2)
International Conference Presentations
- 14/05/2026 - 15/05/2026 Oral Presentation at the ASPIRE -GreenTE Gathering, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- 03/06/2025-05/06/2025 Oral Presentation at the 11th Plant Embryogenesis Workshop, Rhenen, Netherlands
- 16/06/2025 - 20/06/2025 Poster presentation at The 35rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR), Ghent, Belgium
- 05/06/2023-09/06/2023 Poster presentation at The 33rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR), Chiba, Japan.
- 24/11/2021-25/11/2021 Oral presentation at The 6th Vascular Development Conference, Corsendonk, Belgium
- 12/11/2018-13/11/2018 Oral presentation at The 4th Vascular Development Conference, Corsendonk, Belgium
- 08/09/2017- 10/09/2017 Poster presentation at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Botanical Society of Japan
Fundings and Fellowships
- 15/10/2023 - 15/10/2025 EMBO Long-term Fellowship
- 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2017 Japanese MEXT scholarship for Master’s degree
- 01/07/2014 - 31/09/2014 Japanese JASSO Scholarship for research internship
Membership in Scientific Societies
- 01/11/2023 - 10/11/2025 Postdoc Council Committee of Experimental Plant Science Organization (EPS), Netherlands.
- 01/02/-2019 - 30/06/2022 The University of Lausanne representative in Conference Universitaire De Suisse Occidentale (CUSO)
- 24/05/2015 - 31/05/2018 Member of the Botanical Society of Japan
Supervision and Mentorship
- 01/09/2025 - 19/12/2025 Supervision of BSc-thesis student Bodhi Voss. Achieved the highest score in the department for her thesis defense. She is now an MSc student at Utrecht University, working on mammalian cells
- 01/09/2024- present Mentor of one PhD student, Isaac Wopereis in investigating the function of the SOSEKI polarity protein family, which shares structural features with polarity regulators found across eukaryotic kingdoms.
- 01/09/2024 - 15/03/2025 Supervision of MSc-thesis student Ida van der Cruijsen
- 15/10/2023-present Manager and Supervisor for the Arabidopsis Suspension Cell Culture platform in the Department of Biochemistry, WUR. External collaborator successfully supervised includes Voets Lab (Einhoven University), Simon Lab (Heinrich Heine University), Maizel Lab (University of Heidelberg)
- 17/07/2022- 01/06/2023 Kestrel Maio MSc- Supervision of MSc-thesis student. The results of her project contributed to Tasker-Brown et al., 2024
- 01/03/2021- 01/06/2022 Harold Nicholay Diaz Ardilla – early Ph.D. thesis student. The results produced during this period contributed to Koh et al., 2022
Timeline
Postdoctoral Researcher
Wageningen University - Department of Biochemistry
10.2023 - Current
Postdoctoral Researcher
John Innes Centre (JIC)
07.2022 - 07.2023
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Lausanne
06.2018 - 06.2022
Doctor of Philosophy - Plant Molecular Biology
Universite de Lausanne
Master of Life Sciences - Biosystem Science
Hokkaido University
Bachelor of Science - Conservation Biology
University Malaysia of Sabah