Yen Lee Loh

What are your primary research and scholarly interests?

My training was in condensed matter physics, focusing on quantum many‐body theory and critical phenomena, in the context of materials, devices, and ultracold atomic gases. Since coming to UND, I have also had a longstanding collaboration on systems biology with Dr. Manu.

How does this tie into the work you are doing with ND‐ACES?

As part of the ND‐ACES Computational Pillar, my group is applying machine learning methods to analyze biological data acquired by the Cellular Pillar, in order to interpret the data, reveal patterns, and test hypotheses. We are analyzing microscope images of cell cultures to determine how various types of cancer cells are affected by various factors, such as the presence of drugs or other cell species. Biomedical imaging involves a surprising amount of chemistry (dye molecule structure) and quantum physics (fluorescence spectra), so my background comes in handy for building mathematical models to interpret the data. Moreover, many concepts are transferable at a deeper level. In my primary research on strongly correlated systems, probability distributions and quantum wave functions are high‐dimensional objects, and different parts of a system behave in a highly coordinated way, leading to emergent phenomena where “the whole is more than the sum of the parts.” In ND‐ACES, we are studying high‐dimensional datasets, where crucial information is embedded in correlations between different parts of the system (the brightness of different pixels in an image, or expressions of different genes in a cell), and one must analyze the data in a holistic way to reveal those hidden patterns.

Where are you from and where did you pursue your education?

I grew up in Malaysia. I studied at the National University of Singapore for one year, and then from 1996‐2005 I did my undergraduate and graduate education at Trinity College, Cambridge.

What excites you about ND‐ACES?

Everywhere in the world, even in academia, there is so much of an “us‐versus‐them” mentality–the idea that we have to be in competition against other people. ND EPSCoR is refreshing in that we’re all working together towards common goals. I’m really enjoying working with Colin Combs (UND) and John Wilkinson (NDSU), because we come from such different fields and yet we share “the scientific method” as a common language, and the collaboration is likely to accomplish things that could not have been done otherwise. A lot of my previous work involved “doing theory,” but in ND‐ACES, we are connecting theory and computation with experimental data–we are “doing science.” That’s a great opportunity, especially for students!

What motivates you?

It’s almost always true that there is a reason for everything in nature. Sometimes the reason may not be obvious, but as we make progress and deepen our understanding, things begin to make sense, like a jigsaw puzzle being solved. That’s always a great experience. Being part of a team with students, colleagues, and collaborators is the other big source of motivation.

If you could time travel, where would you go?

That’s a difficult one. I really haven’t thought about it. The world is full of misery, throughout human history and in the present. I also would not want to travel to the future to discover that humanity had been obliterated by nuclear weapons or climate change! I’d prefer to just stay in the present where I have family and friends. (Although a temporary visit to the past/future might be a fun vacation if one could do so without dying!)

If you could have coffee / tea with anyone, who would it be?

Someone to whom I could make a difference, such as a student who just needed a few words of reassurance, guidance, or inspiration.

What was your first job?

My first postdoctoral research position was probably my first real job. I have very little real‐world experience–I haven’t even operated a cash register.

What does your very best day include?

My wife makes every day my best day! (She told me to say that. But it’s true!)

What’s your favorite quote?

As a faculty member I’ve always found this one amusing, whether or not it rings true: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach!” (From a play by George Bernard Shaw.)