2023-10-22 03:08:00
Passionate about scientific research in neurology, Doctor Hà Thi Thanh Huong has won numerous prestigious awards, the most recent being the 2023 “Golden Globe” Science and Technology Award.
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La Docteure Ha Thi Thanh Huong. Photo: NVCC/CVN
Dr. Hà Thi Thanh Huong is the head of the Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering of the International University, National University of Ho Chi Minh City.
15 years ago, a family member suffered from depression. While accompanying his loved one for examinations and treatments, Hà Thi Thanh Huong noticed that mental health care in Vietnam at that time was still very insufficient. Even when visiting large hospitals such as the Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital, doctors did not have the tools to accurately diagnose and treat the disease. She was determined to pursue scientific research in neurology to improve mental health care in Vietnam.
Neuroscience
“In my family, both of my parents are teachers. My mother teaches biology and my father teaches chemistry. Since my childhood, I had the chance to acquire knowledge in natural and social sciences. In high school, I followed biology classes, then I decided to study neuroscience to better understand how the brain works so that I could develop more effective diagnostic and treatment methods for mental health and neurological disorders,” she said. explain.
When she chose neuroscience, she considered continuing her studies abroad. “Vietnam then only offered neuroscience training programs aimed at training doctors, and I wanted to dedicate myself to scientific research.” .
Doctor Hà Thi Thanh Huong at the post-graduate graduation ceremony. Photo: NVCC/CVN
While studying, she began looking into neuroscience training programs abroad. “I knew of many good schools, not only in the United States and Singapore, but also in Germany and Australia. However, at the time I was particularly interested in a subject related to genetic factors, particularly how whose biological molecular proteins influence patients. There were only a few professors in the world working on this topic, and Stanford University had the largest number of research groups in this area. So I submitted my application and was accepted to Stanford.
Hà Thi Thanh Huong already had plans to return to Vietnam after studying abroad. She said her motivation for studying abroad was a desire to change the way society views mental health, so that people understand that mental disorders are illnesses, not a patient fad. She emphasizes that in the brain, there are many changes at the molecular and chemical levels, which lead the patient to modify the way he thinks and behaves. Doctors must therefore use precise methods to diagnose, monitor and treat patients.
Difficulties
“You can’t just meet a depressed person and tell them to be less depressed, less sad, or meet a patient with an anxiety disorder and tell them to be less anxious. Likewise, for a patient with Alzheimer’s, you can’t tell them to try to remember. Because they really can’t do it. I want to go back to Vietnam to change that perspective and contribute to that process of change.”
Doctor Hà Thi Thanh Huong (left) performs a test on a patient. Photo: NVCC/CVN
She encountered many difficulties at the start of her doctoral thesis. “My university major was biotechnology, and in graduate school I studied neuroscience. At university I learned in Vietnamese, while for the doctoral thesis I learned in English. The two fields are totally different , just like languages, so it took me a while to adapt.”
His research project also requires many techniques, including animal dissection and microscopic examination. These techniques require a lot of practice to then conduct in-depth, methodical experiments and answer practical questions.
The research work is technically difficult and sometimes expensive. “There were many times when I felt like giving up because the job was too difficult.” The Doctor added that she had friends and family members who understood and always supported her.
She considers herself lucky to work in the laboratory of Associate Professor-Doctor Hô Huynh Thùy Duong, who is one of the pioneers of molecular biology in Vietnam, for her university dissertation. Ms. Thùy Duong entrusted him with a project related to the creation of protein lines with a view to developing a cervical cancer diagnostic kit. Hà Thi Thanh Huong completed this project in just two months, instead of the planned six months.
“The project was quickly completed thanks to the specialized biotechnology teachers at the University of Natural Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City, who very carefully taught me the techniques needed to complete a senior thesis. So when I became a lecturer, I thought that if I wanted to see students succeed, I had to teach them methodical skills like I had been taught.”
Doctor Hà Thi Thanh Huong (2nd from right) during the award ceremony for the “L’Oréal – UNESCO – For Women in Science” Prize, 2022. Photo: Thu Trang/CVN
Prestigious award
In 2012, Hà Thi Thanh Huong was awarded a doctoral scholarship to study neurology at the prestigious Stanford University in the United States. She returned to Vietnam in 2018 and became a lecturer at the International University of the National University of Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2020, at the age of 31, Huong was one of 15 researchers worldwide to receive the Early Career Award.
With her research project on early detection techniques for Alzheimer’s disease through the use of a plasma biomarker, the p-tau 217 protein, she was one of three scientists honored in 2022 with the Prize “L’Oréal – UNESCO – For women and science”. Each winner received a prize of 150 million dong (more than 6,000 USD) to conduct further research.
“The idea for the topic came from a third-year student in the research group, Pham Hoài Bao. This award helps me raise funds to implement the project.”
For her, science is a discipline where certain qualities such as prudence, the ability to multitask – traits that many women possess – play a crucial role. However, it is regrettable that the rate of women engaging in research, particularly to reach the “summits” of science, is still very low. This is easily reflected in the results of major scientific prizes around the world.
Sometimes, prejudices within the family and society lead girls to believe that they are not suited to science and that they can only work in professions other than accounting, banking, etc.
The “L’Oréal – UNESCO – For Women and Science” award is a success in Vietnam, demonstrating that women can also carry out scientific work that is important to society. “I’m honored to be a part of it. I hope there will be more awards like this for young people to show them examples and encourage them to pursue this path.”
Hoang Phuong – Hong Nhung/CVN
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