Here are the latest blog posts I have published as of 29th October 2024:

Blog series	Latest blog post	Status
Evaluation	Tracing the evolution of evaluation using the evaluation tree	Ongoing
Data analysis	Statistics in I CAN Network’s 2023 Social Impact Report	Ongoing
First Home Buyer Journey	My First Home Buyer Journey – 7th December 2024	Ongoing
Cells at Work	The Science behind “Cells at Work!”	On hiatus
COVID-19	The rise of SARS-CoV-2 variants, how are they generated?	Done

Since graduating from a PhD in immunology in 2019, I have been moving away from a career in science and heading more towards program evaluation. I am motivated to do this by the desire to see a more immediate impact from my work. Program evaluation, the art of assessing whether a program works or not, fulfils that desire. This career change allows me to use my existing science and research skills to provide an independent voice to organisations who pursue lofty goals to improve society. With my advice and evaluation results, organisations can make changes to their programs to enhance their impact and promote their programs to other people. At the moment, I am finishing my Masters of Public Health degree where I have been training in program evaluation while working two jobs on program evaluation. Soon after I graduate from my Masters, I will start my career in program evaluation full-time from 2024. 

This career change to program evaluation necessitates a small change to the name of my blog. From now on, my blog and my personal brand will be called The Active Evaluator. My blog will be focused on providing information about evaluation and policy frameworks that can be applied to real-life projects. I will also be building a portfolio of work in program evaluation and program and policy analysis to show you what I can do. 

At the same time, I am keeping the ‘Active’ part of my brand. I will still be keeping old blog posts that I have written as The Active Scientist, sorted under different categories (you’ll see them when you hover above the ‘side projects’ tab). Additionally, there are a lot of interesting topics that I like to explore in my blog. I feel that I have some advice, information and personal experiences that would help people. To that effect, I will be doing some side-projects on areas that interest me and that will be published on The Active Evaluator. Note that I will still be keeping the logo and colours that I have been using as The Active Scientist.

I am in the process of getting everything ready for the change in the website name and brand. I will make an announcement when the transition to my new brand is complete.

With that, I would like to thank you for your support over the past few years while I sorted out what I want to do in my life. I hope that you will keep supporting me as I embark on a career in program evaluation and to write blog posts as The Active Evaluator. If you have not subscribed yet, consider putting your name on the mailing list. You will be notified when I post something new on my blog so that you can read what I am up to. 

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog!

My name is James Ong. I am currently writing up my PhD in immunology at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. After I finish my PhD, I would like to move into a career as a data scientist or in business administration.

I am a curious person who always wants to know and discover novel things. I am willing to take on new roles in things that will make a big difference to society. At the same time, I am a believer in science and in letting the data speak for themselves. That is why I call myself the active scientist: I am a scientist at heart but I am also doing other things in life that will broaden my horizons and make a positive contribution to the world.

In preparation for a future career as an active scientist, I have set up this blog to present the results of some side-projects that I have been doing. This will interest not only general readers who would like to know what I am doing but also prospective employers who would like to see what I have worked on in the past.

I look forward to seeing you in my next blog post which will be about a mobile game that I have playing for some time.