Associate Professor Dr Audrey Lim Wei Ling

Associate Professor Dr Audrey Lim Wei Ling

Associate Professor Dr Audrey Lim Wei Ling

  • Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences

Biography

Assoc. Professor Dr Audrey Lim’s research interest lies in the area of neuroscience, where she focuses on early-life stress in neurodevelopment and neuromodulation of stress disorders using animal models. She is also interested in the screening of neuroprotective agents from plants and pharmacological compounds using human cellular models to improve the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia (2014)
  • BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology, Monash University, Malaysia (2007)
  • BSc in Biotechnology, Monash University, Malaysia (2006)

Research Interests

  • Early-life stress on neurodevelopment in animal models
  • Bioactive compound screening from natural products to identify protective compounds for neurodegenerative diseases
  • Cell culture studies using human in vitro models (human embryonic stem cells (hESC)-derived neural lineages and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells)
  • Neuro-modulation of stress disorders in animal models

Notable Publications

  1. Yong S.J., Tong T., Chew J., Lim W.L. (2020). Antidepressive mechanisms of probiotics and their therapeutic potential. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 13: 1361. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01361.
  2. Hor S.L., Teoh S.L., Lim W.L. (2020). Plant polyphenols as neuroprotective agents in Parkinson’s Disease targeting oxidative stress. Current Drug Targets. 21: 458. doi: 10.2174/1389450120666191017120505.
  3. Hiew L.F., Khairuddin S., Aquili L., Koh J., Fung M.-L., Lim W.L., Lim L.W. (2020). Behavioural responses of anxiety in aversive and non-aversive conditions between young and aged Sprague-Dawley rats. Behavioural Brain Research. 385: 112559. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112559.
  4. Tan S.Z.K., Temel Y., Chan A.Y., Mok A.T.C., Perucho J.A.U., Blokland A., Aquili L., Lim W.L., Lim L.W. (2020). Serotonergic treatment normalizes midbrain dopaminergic neuron increase after periaqueductal gray stimulation. Brain Structure and Function. 225:1957-1966. doi: 10.1007/s00429-020-02102-w
  5. Chong P.S., Poon C.H., Fung M.L., Guan L., Steinbusch H., Chan Y.S., Lim W.L., Lim L.W. (2019). Distribution of neuronal nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in adult male Sprague-Dawley rat brain. Acta Histochemica. 121: 151437
  6. Yeo Y., Tan J.B.L., Lim L.W., Tan K.O., Heng B.C., Lim W.L. (2019). Human embryonic stem cell-derived neural lineages as in vitro models for screening the neuroprotective properties of Lignosus rhinocerus (Cooke) Ryvarden. BioMed Research International. doi:10.1155/2019/3126376
  7. Lim, W. L., Idris, M. M., Kevin, F. S., Soga, T., & Parhar, I. S. (2016). Maternal dexamethasone exposure alters synaptic inputs to gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the early postnatal rat. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 7, 117. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2016.00117
  8. Lim, W. L., Soga, T., & Parhar, I. S. (2014). Maternal dexamethasone exposure inhibits the gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal movement in the preoptic area of rat offspring. Developmental Neuroscience, 36(2), 95-107. doi: 10.1159/000360416
  9. Lim, W. L., Soga, T., & Parhar, I. S. (2014). Maternal dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy in rats disrupts gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal development in the offspring. Cell and Tissue Research, 355(2), 409-23. doi: 10.1007/s00441-013-1765-9    
  10. Soga, T., Lim, W. L., Khoo, A. S. B., & Parhar, I. S. (2016). Kisspeptin activates Ankrd 26 gene expression in migrating embryonic GnRH neurons. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 7, 15. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2016.00015
  11. Yap, M. S., Tang, Y. Q., Yeo, Y., Lim, W. L., Lim, L. W., Tan, K. O., … & Heng, B. C. (2016). Pluripotent human embryonic stem cell derived neural lineages for in vitro modelling of enterovirus 71 infection and therapy. Virology Journal, 13, 5. doi: 10.1186/s12985-015-0454-6
  12. Yap, M. S., Nathan, K. R., Yeo, Y., Lim, L. W., Poh, C. L., Richards, M., … & Heng, B. C. (2015). Neural differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells for nontherapeutic applications: Toxicology, pharmacology and In vitro disease modeling. Stem Cells International, 105172. doi:10.1155/2015/105172