The route to Harvard starts at NTU
NTU undergraduate and CN Yang scholar Loi Jun Yan is turning his passion for neuroscience into a global research journey that has taken him across three continents
by Wong SY
When Loi Jun Yan enrolled in NTU’s School of Biological Sciences in 2022, he was looking forward to exchange programmes at global universities under the CN Yang Scholars Programme. Back then, it never crossed the mind of this former Raffles Institution pupil that he would be spending his final year at Harvard University.
Yes, Harvard, the hallowed Ivy League institution that has nurtured about 160 Nobel laureates. Jun Yan is currently doing an 11-month neurology research programme at the Harvard-affiliated Sîrbulescu Lab. Harvard frequently tops global rankings in medicine and healthcare.
Studying abroad had always been on Jun Yan’s wish list – a dream that doesn’t come cheap. Fortunately, the CN Yang Scholars Programme provides ample opportunities for overseas exchanges.
“The CN Yang Scholars Programme Scholarship covered most of the expenses for my four-year education, including my overseas research and exchange stints. I’m very grateful to NTU for providing me with the financial and administrative support to study abroad,” says Jun Yan.
Jun Yan handled the application to Harvard himself, with guidance from NTU.
“I learnt about an available research position under Harvard neurology researcher Asst Prof Ruxandra Sîrbulescu. As my primary interest is in neurological disorders, I sent her my CV. I was surprised when she accepted me after an online interview,” Jun Yan recalls.
He loves Harvard’s multiculturalism and thrives in this diversity. Asst Prof Sîrbulescu is Romanian and Jun Yan’s lab colleagues hail from every corner of the globe. He is the only Singaporean there, although he mixes with Singaporeans from other Harvard faculties.
He enjoys his work so much that he once spent nearly 16 hours straight in the lab.
Jun Yan’s Harvard experience makes it three continents he has had overseas placements in.
His first foreign foray was a two-week stint at Trinity College in Dublin during his second year at NTU. Later, an attachment at biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca triggered an interest in neurological disorders.
This led him to study the subject at Edinburgh University for three months. Edinburgh’s medical school has produced a number of Nobel laureates, notably microbiologist Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin.
Before his internship with AstraZeneca, Jun Yan had a three-month break. Other undergrads might have taken a breather to pursue hobbies or just chill. Not Jun Yan. He sought out and secured a scholarship with biotechnology firm Amgen for a three-month summer research programme at Kyoto University.
CN Yang Scholars Programme
The CN Yang Scholars Programme nurtures future leaders in science and engineering, with a strong focus on innovation and multidisciplinary thinking. Embark on an overseas final-year research project and receive funding for international learning trips and conferences.
Read more stories about NTU undergraduates learning beyond borders here.
This story was published in the Jan-Feb 2026 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
