Xian Jun Loh

Prof Loh’s primary research interest is in the area of soft materials e.g. hydrogels, organgels, micelles, vesicles and many others. The underlying theme of his research covers: 1) modification of naturally available biodegradable polymers for the synthesis of soft materials; 2) characterisation of the soft materials properties; and 3) development of simple fabrication techniques to realising these soft materials constructs. He pioneered the development of a new form of hydrogel which does not require chemical crosslinkers to self-assemble. Instead, these materials form hydrogels when they are in contact with the warm body environment without the need for any external triggers. Prof Loh’s work in the area of the supramolecular soft materials has brought significant impact to the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the area of environment, sustainability and healthcare. His revolutionary work in thermogels and leadership in hydrogel engineering sits at the interface of chemistry and medicine. He is the first person to engineer thermogels to regenerate the vitreous humor in the eye, allowing a new method of performing vitrectomies for the treatment of retinal detachment and age-related macular degenerations.

Biographical Information

Prof Loh completed his basic and postgraduate studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS). A polymer chemist by training, he is currently the Executive Director of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). He is also the current Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry. A polymer chemistry by training and well-recognised for his research work within the scientific community, Prof Loh holds concurrent Adjunct Professorship appointments at NUS and NTU to establish strong research collaborations with faculty researchers in the academia. As a pioneer and recognised global expert in the area of biodegradable thermogels, Prof Loh is highly knowledgeable in developing these materials for various applications spanning biomedical, engineering, cosmetics, personal care and food. His scientific contributions have earned him the position of Fellowship in Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge; Fellowship in the Royal Society of Chemistry; Fellowship in IOM3 – The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining; and Fellowship of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He is also consistently named Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious and highly competitive 7th NRF Investigatorship (Class of 2021) for his research proposal on “Thermogels for Therapeutic Applications (THETA)”. With his extensive experience in authoring >250 journal papers, 38 patents and know-hows, >30 book chapters and 7 books, Prof Loh currently sits on several editorial boards of international journals as an expert in his area of research. He has also successfully helped in the commercialisation of 8 different products and is always interested in the translation of science to products.

Awards

• 1998 - National Science Talent Search Award Winner
• 1999 – Finalist in Science Student of the Year organized by the Ministry of Education
• 2002-2006 - National Science Scholarship, A*STAR
• 2002-2006 – National University of Singapore, Faculty of Science, Dean’s List
• 2003 – Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Book Prize
• 2004 – Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Book Prize
• 2004 - CRISP Award for Best Undergraduate Research Project in Science
• 2005 – Schering Plough Medal for Best Undergraduate Research Project in Chemistry
• 2005 – GlaxoSmithKline Gold Medal
• 2006 – Lijen Industrial Medal for Best Honours Project in Chemistry
• 2006 – Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Gold Medal
• 2007 – Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors’ Award – Commendation
• 2007-2009 - A*STAR Graduate Scholarship, A*STAR
• 2010 – Pacifichem 2010 Young Scholar Award
• 2010 – A*STAR Post-Doctoral Fellowship
• 2011 – Fitzwilliam College (University of Cambridge) Fellowship
• 2013 – Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors’ Award – Commendation
• 2013 – Top 100 of TR35 (MIT)
• 2014 - Elsevier Materials Science and Engineering C Young Researcher Award
• 2015 - Golden Jubilee Lectureship (Golden Jubilee Chemical Conference)
• 2016 - A*STAR Most Inspiring Mentor Award
• 2016 - Symposium on Innovative Polymers for Controlled Delivery (SIPCD) 2016 Rising Star Award
• 2017 - PS21 (Public Service for the 21st Century) Star Manager Award
• ​2018 - Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry
• ​2018 - Emerging Investigator, Chemical Society Reviews (RSC)
• 2018 - Shimadzu-SNIC Industry Award in Applied and Translational Chemistry
• ​2019 - Highly Cited Researcher (Web of Science/Clarivate Analytics)

Selected Books

• Xian Jun Loh, "Smart" Biomaterials, Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, ISBN: 9783844397048
• Xian Jun Loh, Oren A. Scherman (Eds.), Polymeric and Self Assembled Hydrogels : From Fundamental Understanding to Applications, Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, Copyright: 2013, Print ISBN: 978-1-84973-561-2, PDF eISBN: 978-1-84973-562-9
• Xian Jun Loh (Ed.), In-Situ Gelling Polymers For Biomedical Applications, Publisher: Springer, Copyright: 2015, ISBN-10: 9812871519, ISBN-13: 978-9812871510
• Xian Jun Loh (Ed.), Polymers for Personal Care Products and Cosmetics, Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, Copyright: 2016, Print ISBN: 978-1-78262-295-6,
• Xian Jun Loh, David James Young (Eds.), Biodegradable Thermogels, Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, Copyright: 2019, Print ISBN: 978-1-78262-940-5
• Xian Jun Loh, Dan Kai, Zibiao Li (Eds.), Functional Materials from Lignin: Methods and Advances, Publisher: World Scientific, Copyright: 2019, ISBN: 978-1-78634-520-2 (hardcover), ISBN: 978-1-78634-522-6 (ebook)