Vyvyane Loh (Chinese: ''Loh Hui-Shien'') is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Biography

Loh was born in

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

, Malaysia of an ethnic Chinese family. She grew up in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and completed a degree in Biology and Classics at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

in the United States. She then went on to study at the

Boston University School of Medicine The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world t ...

and undertook a residency in internal medicine. After a short stint in private practice, she quit her full-time medical job when she was awarded a full scholarship to the

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

program at

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campus ...

in Creative Writing (Fiction). While pursuing her degree, she worked part-time as a physician; a fitness and dance instructor; and personal trainer to support herself. She graduated in July 2001 and her novel ''Breaking the Tongue,'' written during her MFA program, was published in 2004. It was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Award, the only first novel on the 2005 shortlist. Loh was a Radcliffe (Bunting) Fellow in Fiction in 2005/2006 and a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in Fiction in 2008. She is currently the medical director of Transform Institute for Metabolic & Lifestyle Medicine in Newton, MA. She is board-certified in internal medicine and

obesity medicine Obesity medicine is a field of medicine dedicated to the comprehensive treatment of patients with obesity. Obesity medicine takes into account the multi-factorial etiology of obesity in which behavior, development, environment, epigenetic, genetic ...

. Loh serves on the exam writing committee for the American Board of Obesity Medicine, as well as its strategic planning committee.

Works

* ''Breaking the Tongue'' (2004, W.W. Norton & Co.)

References

Entertainment Weekly
review

External links

Official Site

at Transform Institute's website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Loh, Vyvyane Boston University School of Medicine alumni Singaporean writers Living people 21st-century American novelists American women writers of Chinese descent American novelists of Chinese descent American women novelists Year of birth missing (living people) Malaysian emigrants to Singapore Singaporean emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women writers