Quick Facts
Biography
Xian Jun Loh (Chinese: 罗贤俊; pinyin: Lúo Xián Jùn; born 1981) is a polymer chemist and author working in the inter-disciplinary field of biomaterials. He is an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and a senior scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (A*STAR's IMRE). He has published more than 150 papers in journals such as Journal of the American Chemical Society, Advanced Materials, Chemical Communications and Biomaterials (a total of over 5400 citations, h-index of 41, and i-10 index of 100).He has given numerous talks throughout Asia, the US, and Europe. His work has been used and applied in biomedical, household care and cosmetic industries.
Education
Xian Jun Loh received his first class honors degree in Applied Chemistry from the National University of Singapore in 2006. He received his PhD from the National University of Singapore and graduated in 2009 with a paper entitled “Smart Biomaterials”.
Awards
- 1998 - National Science Talent Search Award Merit Winner
- 2002-2006 - National Science Scholarship, A*STAR
- 2002-2006 – National University of Singapore, Faculty of Science, Dean’s List
- 2002 & 2003 – Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Book Prize
- 2006 – Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Gold Medal
- 2011 – Elected Fellow of Fitzwilliam College
- 2014 - Elsevier Materials Science and Engineering C Young Researcher Award
- 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
Research Work
Xian Jun Loh's work is primarily on supramolecular hydrogels and thermogels. In 2012, he has been credited together with Oren Scherman and Eric Appel with the development of a cucurbituril containing supramolecular hydrogel that has been shown to sustain the release of drugs for up to six months in the lab. He has also developed a thermogelling polymer based on polyhydroxybutyrate. This new biodegradable injectable system is able to encapsulate drugs for a period of three months and can be locally delivered to "a rodent model of hepatocarcinoma". He has also recently developed a dual responsive gelling polymer which is responsive to both light and heat. This new material is able to stiffen upon exposure to elevated temperatures or UV light.
Books
- Polymeric and Self Assembled Hydrogels : From Fundamental Understanding to Applications; Editors: Xian Jun Loh, Oren A. Scherman; Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
- In-Situ Gelling Polymers: For Biomedical Applications; Editor: Xian Jun Loh; Publisher: Springer
- Polymers for Personal Care Products and Cosmetics; Editor: Xian Jun Loh; Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Editorial Board
- Editorial Board member of Gels
- Associate Editor, RSC Advances
- Editorial Board member, Scientific Reports
- Editorial Board member, Heliyon (Elsevier)
- Editor, Materials Science and Engineering C (Elsevier)