Jonathan's passion in science has led him to rise through the ranks from polytechnic to university. He then applied for and was successfully awarded the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship (AGS) in 2003 to do his PhD, and the A*STAR International Fellowship in 2008 to do his current postdoctoral stint at Harvard. Jonathan recently became first in the world to successfully induce human blood cells to pluripotent stem cells, and published in top scientific journal, Nature, at the age of 32.

Said Jonathan, "I am both honoured and humbled to be among the other remarkable individuals selected for the Youth award this year. The award comes with great responsibilities as we strive to continue positioning Singapore as the centre for Science and Innovation. I was fortunate to have Huck Hui as role model in my journey in research. Huck Hui is a dynamic Principal Investigator and mentor, whose interest in Science was 'contagious'. The training that I received from him has also helped me develop greater perseverance as I further pursue a career in reseach."

Not one to forget his roots, Dr Loh has donated part of his Young Scientist Award cash prize to set up Science awards for his alma maters.

Said Jonathan's mentor during his PhD, Dr Ng Huck Hui, "As a graduate student in my laboratory, Jonathan displayed great initiative in picking up existing research techniques and developing new ones to further his project. He is also extremely driven. He is an extraordinarily talented young scientist who is poised to make even greater contributions to Science."

Incidentally, Dr Ng was also honoured this year with a Medal of Commendation for his continued good success in stem cell research and for being an excellent role model for young scientists. The Senior Group Leader at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) is leading cutting-edge research to study the characteristics of stem cells and their potential applications in disease therapy and healthcare delivery. For his pioneering work in this field, Dr Ng was awarded the SYA in Science & Technology in 2005.
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The study, involving GIS researchers Drs Martin Hibberd, Ken Sung and Christopher Wong and Mr Charlie Lee, was published in the 10 June 2010 issue of the world's top medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study, conducted during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, isolated military personnel from four camps where H1N1 infection had occurred. Of the 1,175 personnel who were determined to be at risk across these camps, 1,100 received oseltamivir (Tamiflu) prophylaxis. The result was stunning - the infection rate dropped from 6.4 percent before intervention, to 0.6 percent after intervention.

Additionally, it was found that the reproductive rate was also significantly reduced. The overall reproductive number, defined as the number of new cases attributable to the index case, declined significantly from 1.91 (95% confidence interval, 1.50 - 2.36) before the intervention, to 0.11 (95% confidence interval, 0.05 - 0.20) after the intervention. What this means is that where normally, an infected person is likely to infect two other persons, with the strategy put in place, this likelihood is reduced to almost zero.

The sequencing effort by the GIS was able to show the direct transmission process of these viruses, and thus confirm that these outbreaks were restricted to viruses caught at the army camp, the first time that this technique has been possible.
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