Sylvia LY Tong
BSc, MSc, PhD
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Gut Microbiota, Metagenomics, Microbiology
Here is who I am, and what I do:
‣ British & Hong Kong‣ Currently Based in Hong Kong‣ Postdoctoral Fellow at City University of Hong Kong, Part-time Assistant Lecturer at University of Hong Kong‣ PhD in Microbiology, specialising in healthy gut microbiota.‣ Freelance Illustrator for Contam Club.Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), integrating pedagogical theories into their teaching materials.
■ Science Communication Projects
Showcasing my passion for science communication and design through science communication passion projects.Combined with my love for science with skills in design and illustration, I create visually engaging and accessible materials that communicate complex scientific concepts to a wider audience.
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EdTech and SIMHSE Website for the Faculty of Medicine, HKU
Research, writing and website design
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‣ New website for Education Technology and Student in Medical and Health Sciences Education in LKS Faculty of Medicine with the aim to promote these new initiatives within the Faculty and to the public.‣ Layout, concept, webpage design and implementation were key points in the design of the website.
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COVID-19 Poster Design Series for The Hong Kong College of Pathologists
Research, writing, design and illustration
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‣ Series of 3 posters to promote COVID-19 vaccination to the Hong Kong public, working in collaboration with The Hong Kong College of Pathologists.‣ Themes of the design include "COVID-19: a Global Pandemic", "Elderly and COVID-19" and "Long-COVID".
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ContamClub Design and Illustrator
Design and illustration
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‣ Logo and illustrations for ContamClub, a grassroots initiative started by a group of microbiologists to showcase the beauty of contaminants and their importance to science.‣ Main activity of ContamClub includes curating annual calendar and expanding to making of related microbiology-based merchandise.
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Banner and Cover for School of Biomedical Science 10th Research Day, CUHK
Design and illustration
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‣ Winner of banner and poster design competition for the School of Biomedical Sciences' 10th Research Day.
‣ Theme of the design was "The three Thematic Research Programs of School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK", and was subsequently used for all materials for promotion of the event.
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HKGutMicMap Logo and Poster design
Design, writing and illustration
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‣ HKGutMicMap is the first initiative to sequence and characterise over 1000 Gut Microbiota of Healthy Hong Kong adults.‣Logo and promotional material design for the promotion and recruitment of participants for HKGutMicMap Project.‣ Chinese and English materials made for digital format.
■ Resume
Experience
Mar. 2025 - Present
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Department of Infectious Disease and Public Health,
City University of Hong Kong
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‣ Collect, sequence, and analyze migratory bird gut metagenome samples to understand their microbial communities.‣ Supervise PhD students conducting research on gut microbiota projects‣ Occasionally deliver lectures and tutorials related to microbiota or microbiology.Jan. 2024 - Dec. 2024
Guest Lecturer
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School of Nursing,
The University of Hong Kong
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‣ Teach microbiology tutorials to nursing studentsJan. 2024 - Dec. 2024
E-Learning Assistant
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Faculty of Clinical Medicine,
The University of Hong Kong
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‣ Review and provide feedback on e-learning video sets for MBBS to ensure high-quality content‣ Create interactive worksheets on Moodle using h5p to supplement e-learning materials‣ Lead Generative AI projects, collaborating with professors and students to develop generative AI chatbots for educational technology purposes
Experience
Education
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Aug. 2018 – Oct. 2023
PhD Microbiology
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Department of Microbiology,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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‣ Characterization of the healthy gut microbiota of the Hong Kong population.‣ Wet lab included amplicon sequencing and metagenomic sequencing of over 500 fecal samples.‣ Bioinformatics was carried out using command line interface tools and R.‣ Awarded Best Graduate Presentation Award in 2019 and 2021.
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Oct. 2016 – July 2017
MSc Medical Biotechnology and Business Management
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School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick
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‣ Distinction / First class degree‣ Dissertation was on the gut microbiota and its effect on psychological disorders and the gut-brain axis.
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Oct. 2013 – July 2016 ‣
BSc Medical Microbiology and Virology‣‣
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School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick‣‣
‣‣ Upper Second-class degree‣ Final year project was the characterization of enzyme cntA from gut microbiota, which facilitates catabolism of carnitine to TMA, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Skills
■ DNA/RNA extraction
■ Illumina library prep
■ Amplicon and Metagenomic sequencing
■ Molecular cloning
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■ R / R Studio
■ Bash
■ SPSS
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■ Photoshop
■ Procreate
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■ English (native)
■ Cantonese (native)
■ Japanese (proficient, JPLT2)
■ Mandarin (proficient)
Research
■ Cheung MK, Leung TF, Tam WH, Leung ASY, Chan OM, Ng RWY, Yau JWK, Yuen L-y, Tong SLY, Ho WCS, Yeung ACM, Chen Z, Chan PKS. Development of the early-life gut microbiome and associations with eczema in a prospective Chinese cohort. mSystems. 2023 Oct 26;8(5):e0052123. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00521-23. Epub 2023 Aug 30. PMID: 37646516; PMCID: PMC10654104.■ Cheung MK, Tong SLY, Wong MCS, Chan JYK, Ip M, Hui M, Lai CKC, Ng RWY, Ho WCS, Yeung ACM, Chan PKS, Chen Z. Extent of Oral-Gut Transmission of Bacterial and Fungal Microbiota in Healthy Chinese Adults. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Feb 14;11(1):e0281422. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02814-22. Epub 2023 Jan 10. PMID: 36625652; PMCID: PMC9927295.■ Lui G, Lai CKC, Chen Z, Tong SLY, Ho WCS, Yeung ACM, Boon SS, Ng RWY, Chan PKS. SARS-CoV-2 RNA Detection on Disposable Wooden Chopsticks, Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Sep;26(9):2274–6. doi: 10.3201/eid2609.202135. Epub 2020 Jun 3. PMID: 32491982; PMCID: PMC7454084.