The National Science Award (NSA)

Professor Ariff Bongso Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology National University of Singapore Citation "For his pioneering work in human embryonic stem cell research which could lead to the potential treatment of a variety of incurable diseases." Professor Ariff Bongso is currently a research professor with the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the National University of Singapore and Scientific Director of the In-Vitro Fertilization program at the National University Hospital. Professor Bongso is highly accomplished in his field. His pioneering spirit, logical thinking and perseverance were clearly demonstrated by his sustained work over the last decade. Professor Bongso's first major breakthrough was in 1991, when he developed a method known as co-culture.This enabled the growth of human embryos in a laboratory dish for up to 5 days to the blastocyst stage, which can help infertile couples conceive. This method was used widely by IVF programs worldwide until recently when new generation cell-free liquid culture media were developed from his co-culture system. In 1992, he had his second breakthrough when he produced the world's first blastocyst transfer baby and increased pregnancy rates in childless couples significantly. These two achievements, coupled with his ability to grow blastocysts, evolved into the third breakthrough where in 1994, Professor Bongso became the first researcher in the world to derive embryonic stem cells from such 5-day-old human embryos.He showed that these cells were pluripotent or had the potential to be converted into many human tissues for future transplantation therapy and that they could also be maintained in a laboratory dish for prolonged periods of time without specialisation or differentiation into other cell types. More recently in 2002, Professor Bongso achieved another breakthrough by being the first in the world to successfully derive and grow human embryonic stem cells completely on human feeders. This animal-free culture system avoids any risk of transmission of animal diseases to the human stem cells. This is a highly significant achievement because all existing 78 stem cell lines provided from all over the world and registered with the NIH, USA are grown on animal feeder cells and this is the first cell line grown in a completely animal-free system. With further refinement, it may be used as the future gold standard by the FDA, USA for developing new safer cell lines.This achievement brings the work a step closer to clinical applications. Embryonic Stem Cell research has tremendous potential applications. With further research, the stem cells can be directed to form various tissue types with the potential for treatment of ailments such as heart disease, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, HIV and cancer. Other applications include using the cells as a vehicle for gene therapy, testing new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry and as a model to study early human development, congenital anomalies and childhood cancers. Prof Bongso's work is highly focused, leading him from one breakthrough to another. His work has helped many infertile couples and has the potential to improve the lives of humanity. This testifies to the originality and impact of Professor Bongso's work. For his pioneering work in human embryonic stem cell research, which could lead to the potential treatment of a variety of incurable diseases, Professor Ariff Bongso is presented the 2002 National Science Award.