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Dr Tong is an expert in immunoinformatics, where
he applies computational methods to solve
problems in immunology. For his work, he has
also won recognition beyond Singapore, clinching
the coveted TR35 award from MIT Technology
Review in 2008, the first native Singaporean to
have done so.
His latest win, the SYA, is the top award given
to youths in Singapore. It honours young people
whose achievements serve as an inspiration to
others. In his SYA citation, Dr Tong is noted as
a passionate scientist, who has mentored 51
students from the Ministry of Education’s
Science Mentorship Programme, A*STAR’s Young
Researchers Attachment Programme and
Polytechnics’ Industrial Attachment Programme,
and National University of Singapore’s
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme
in Science (UROPS) and Honours Year Projects. Of
the students that Dr Tong has mentored, 12 went
on to receive awards. Dr Tong’s dedication is
also evident through his voluntary provision of
guidance and training through online delivery
mechanism to more than 300 international and
regional students.
Dr Tong began his tertiary studies in NUS with
the School of Computing, graduating with a
Bachelor of Computing (Honours) in Computer
Science in 2002. He went on to pursue graduate
studies with NUS Biochemistry Department. By the
time he obtained his PhD in 2007, he had already
published 10 papers and clinched an outstanding
examiners report. |
