withever
about jonathan
Jonathan was born in January 1976 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Life there was idyllic, growing up with a pool in the backyard and a pair of dogs that loved him. He loved to read as a child, and Charlie Brown’s Big Books of Questions and Answers sparked a love of science that still exists to this day. Certainly his love of outer space, of the universe began there, and for the longest time his wish was to become an astronaut. Corny, yes, but there you go.
When he was a little over a year old, his parents emigrated to London. Jonathan went to junior school at St. Anthony’s in Hampstead, where his brilliance and potential first came under notice. It was around this time that he decided that if he were to be anything, he would be Jewish, despite being raised without any pressure from his parents on the matter of religion. He spent time with his great-uncle Percy Cohen, who taught him about the ideas behind the religion and the duties associated with becoming a man. It was during these Saturday mornings when Jonathan learned the prayers and soaked up the wonderful atmosphere of Percy’s study. Not having known either of his grandfathers, Percy was Jonathan’s grandfather figure and, Jonathan hopes, Percy’s eccentricities and brilliance have been passed on to him.
Jonathan then spent his school days at a small international school called Southbank in Notting Hill. He greatly enjoyed his school days, and he had some wonderful teachers there; his history teacher, Linda Trautman, got him deeply involved with the Model UN, and he travelled to The Hague each year to debate. She sparked a passion in him for modern history, one which he hopes to continue academic studies in. There was also his chemistry teacher, Mike Scammell, who made the subject fascinating, and his biology teacher, Tom Waldebeck, who was at times terribly hard with him. Best of all, Jonathan had Barnaby Horwood for his maths and is a man whom he considers to be his finest teacher.
Jonathan was to have attended St. Bartholomew’s Medical School, but after an unsuccessful appeal, he took up his insurance offer to read pharmacology at King’s College in London. One of the most important lessons he learnt in life was brought from that; whilst he had mapped out his future at the age of 15, when it came down to it, he was to take a different path; one that he would not trade, for he would not have gone to San Diego if he had become an M.D. back then. University was a wonderful time for him, and he spent the third year of his degree working at the prestigious National Heart and Lung Institute. As he was rounding up his studies, he was offered the chance to work for his doctorate with Dr. (now Professor) Jane Mitchell.
Though he briefly entertained the thought of leaving science, he thought it would be a waste of his education and three years’ working for his Ph.D. if he didn’t at least give science a fair shake. Between encouragement from his friend James M. and Andrew, he packed two bags full of clothes, gave his family a box of stuff to ship to him, and got on a plane to California. It was during this time that he and Elle crossed paths, and when he became a researcher at the University of Kentucky, he asked her to come with him.
Now ensconced in Washington, DC, and working in science policy for the National Human Genome Research Institute, he continues his love of fast cars and auto racing. He continues to amass a collection of modern history books and keeps current with events on both sides of the Atlantic. He is most often found in his Flight lounge chair with Gizmo the cat in his lap, practicing his driving skills with Gran Turismo 4 Forza Motorsport 2.
You can read more about Jonathan at his blog.