The girl pursued scientific research with the desire to help the sick.

After graduating with honors and earning her doctorate at the age of 28, she went on to work at a leading research institute in the United States. She hopes to use her research to find the cause and cure for a number of diseases related to the nervous system.

Study journey in the UK

Le Viet HangThat is the story of (30 years old). Hang was born and raised in Da Nang City . After completing high school, she decided to study abroad in England. "In 2012, I went to England and studied biomedical science at Nottingham University. The reason I decided to study abroad was because I wanted to go abroad, change the environment to broaden my mind and gain knowledge," Hang shared.

Viet Hang has a passion for scientific research.

NVCC

At that time, Hang received a partial scholarship for university preparation at Nottingham. The girl from Da Nang said that receiving a scholarship was not the most important factor in deciding to study abroad. "Studying in an environment with a good training program in the field I like is my top priority," Hang said.

Coming from a chemistry class at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Da Nang), Hang is very interested in natural sciences. "When studying chemistry, I realized the application of chemicals and medicine in life. I feel excited about research, wanting to discover new things, find out the causes of diseases and treatment methods," Hang shared.

That is the reason why she pursued biomedical science. When she first went to study abroad in the UK, Hang encountered many difficulties in terms of culture, lifestyle, weather as well as changing learning methods. The 9X girl recounted: "Before I left, I was very excited, but when I arrived, I saw many changes. I had to start adapting to the new environment, lifestyle, being independent and taking care of everything... so I felt lost. Not to mention, the changing environment and learning methods caused me some obstacles in the beginning."

Viet Hang received her doctorate at the age of 28.

Despite the difficulties, throughout her four years at university, Hang always maintained excellent academic performance and was at the top of her class. As a result, she graduated with honors and was the valedictorian of the biomedical sciences major. "I tried to achieve good results to maintain the scholarship. That money helped me a lot in covering my living expenses. But I didn't expect that my efforts would also help me become valedictorian," Hang said.

Not stopping there, after graduating from university, the girl from Da Nang also received a full Elphinstone PhD scholarship from Aberdeen University. The scholarship is only available to 1% of applicants. Therefore, Hang continued her education. She studied for a PhD in neurodevelopment at Aberdeen University and completed the program at the age of 28.

Pursuing the path of research

After nearly 10 years of living in the UK, Hang decided to move to the US to continue pursuing her research career. "I did not continue to stay in the UK but went to the US to do postdoctoral research to change the environment. Because the field I am pursuing is biomedicine, professors often advise me to try to change the environment to understand the research mindset in many different places. From there, I will learn more things," Hang shared.

Currently, she is working at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This is one of the leading research institutes in the US on genes and neurology, and is also where the structure of DNA was discovered. The 9X girl said that her research area is on the mechanism of epilepsy and seizures in patients with rare genes and the influence of the nervous system on metastatic cancer cells. "Once I understand those key points, I can find a way to prevent this disease from forming and develop drugs to treat it," Hang said.

Hang is also very active in participating in activities to support and encourage women in scientific research. "Through this, I hope to raise awareness about issues surrounding women in research. At the same time, I encourage more girls to participate in scientific research," Hang said.

When asked about the pressure, Hang shared: "Of course it is inevitable to have pressure, but this is the path I chose and I do the work I like, so even though there are difficulties, I still happily overcome them. What always worries me the most is returning to my country. I always want to return to Vietnam because this is where I want to contribute. However, at the present time, I am still quite young in the research field so I am not confident enough to return. My biggest wish now is to find a research direction that can develop gene therapy to help cure diseases."

Viet Hang (far left) actively participates in activities to support and encourage women in scientific research.

Professor Neil Vargesson, Head of the Department of Developmental Biology at the University of Aberdeen, UK, shared: "I have known Hang since her PhD. Hang is a girl with independent and critical thinking. She always has a direction for her work, specifically plans experiments and carries them out to high standards. Hang has also performed very well, she supervises many undergraduate and graduate student projects in the lab . In fact, Hang was a key member of the team and I have great confidence in her."

Thanhnien.vn