With nearly 30 years of experience in teaching and researching Organic Chemistry and Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong, Chairwoman of the Chemistry Training Program Development Council, School of Chemistry and Life Sciences - Hanoi University of Science and Technology, has a special love for nature, plants, and flowers. With her passion for Chemistry, she and her colleagues have successfully researched and been granted many exclusive patents with high applicability in life.
From "the girl who loved to ask why" to PhD in Chemistry at 27
It seems that every child's love of discovery starts with the question "why". The same goes for little Tran Thu Huong's childhood. Why are chili seeds spicy? Why is the lemon sour but the lemon peel fragrant? Why can onion and perilla porridge cure colds?
Why are leaves green, flowers have many bright colors?... Thousands of "why" questions urged the little girl to find answers.
Born and raised in a family with a tradition of studying Chemistry, in high school, Thu Huong passed the entrance exam to the first specialized Chemistry class of Ly Thuong Kiet High School (currently Viet Duc High School, Hanoi).
In college, she majored in Chemistry at Hanoi University of Science (now the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi). After graduating, she was one of two outstanding students of the course selected to transfer to study for a PhD.
During her time as a graduate student, she got married and had a child at the age of 26. Being both a mother and a graduate student, she had a lot of work on her shoulders.
She said: "When my child was 7 months old, I had to send him to daycare. My new working day usually starts at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 12 midnight. Sometimes I have to concentrate and devote all my mind to my work to complete my PhD thesis."
At the 1996 doctoral thesis defense ceremony, the late Professor Hoang Trong Yem (former Principal of Hanoi University of Science and Technology) jokingly told the Council: "I give you three 10s. The first 10 is getting married. The second 10 is having children. And the third 10 is the doctoral thesis score."
At that moment, looking at her 2-year-old son and his family attending her defense, her joy exploded. Her PhD thesis was given a perfect score of 10 by 7/7 members of the Council.
So, within 5 years after graduating from university, with her inner strength, Ms. Huong successfully completed all 3 important tasks of her life: getting married, having children and receiving a PhD in Chemistry at the age of 27.
After receiving her PhD, although she was invited to work at many international agencies and organizations, Ms. Huong decided to choose the Department of Organic Chemistry at Hanoi University of Science and Technology to pursue her career, which she has done ever since.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong (sitting, 3rd from right) with teachers and students of the Organic Chemistry - Pharmaceutical Chemistry major group
Success for family and colleagues
I had the opportunity to meet and talk with some colleagues at the School of Chemistry and Life Sciences - Hanoi University of Science and Technology, where Ms. Huong is working. Her colleagues and associates in the school all named her "the person with the most Patents and useful solutions at the School of Chemistry".
However, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thu Huong never considered herself an excellent or talented person, but "because I have a united and passionate team of scientists, I have achieved success. The success bears my name, but it is the effort of the whole team". And she always says, "I thank life, thank the agency because I am a very lucky person".
She explained her "extreme luck" very honestly: "As the first child of both my paternal and maternal families, my family has always created conditions for me to study in the best environment. Throughout my education from kindergarten to university and graduate school, I have always had wonderful teachers.
Even when I worked at Hanoi University of Science and Technology for nearly 30 years, I always received sincere support from teachers and colleagues. Living and working in such a favorable environment, there is no reason for me not to strive to study and work well."
According to Ms. Huong, behind the success of a scientist is the shadow of a group of colleagues and family.
"When doing a difficult math problem, you can solve it by yourself. But in the field of experimental chemistry, to research a topic/project, you can hardly succeed if you work alone. Therefore, with each granted Patent, I only dare to claim that I am the first author because behind it, there is a whole group that contributes to create that success."
Ms. Huong said that she strives to succeed in science not to prove herself but simply to satisfy her passion. And above all: "Success is the most beautiful gratitude for life. I would like to dedicate my success to my family and colleagues."
"The noble mission of scientists is to serve life"
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong, with the major in Chemistry of natural compounds, discovering new compounds from plants, microorganisms, and animals with biological activity is a very interesting and meaningful journey.
With passion, she and her research team have successfully researched and found active ingredients in many plants such as blood dragon, golden comb, mango, mangosteen, sakê...
She said that her latest inventions and useful solutions from 2020 to 2023 all revolve around mangosteen peel, a very familiar tropical fruit in Vietnam.
In recent studies, new xanthone and tannin compounds from mangosteen peel with hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antioxidant activities... have been used in the preparation of functional foods.
"Vietnam has an extremely rich flora. It seems that every plant can be a folk medicine. And the task of our scientists in the field of Natural Compound Chemistry is to perform the method of extraction and isolation of active ingredients to scientifically explain folk remedies, thereby creating pharmaceuticals and functional foods to serve life.
Each of our studies not only aims to solve scientific problems but also to apply them to practice, bringing benefits to the community. I believe that the noble mission of a scientist is to serve life," Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong expressed.
With the amount of substances extracted and isolated from plants, microorganisms... being extremely small, requiring many subsequent analysis steps to determine the structure and test biological activity, the field of Natural Compound Chemistry requires high skill and carefulness.
Research on compounds from plants and microorganisms requires meticulousness and care in every step of analysis and testing, just a small mistake can lead to loss of substance, spoilage or unsatisfactory aroma.
"The chemistry of natural compounds is a multidisciplinary field, related to Chemistry, Botany, Biology, Pharmacy, Physics... Therefore, it requires the synthesis of individuals from each field. In the research group implementing the topic, each member is an important and indispensable link.
All stages, from sample collection, scientific name determination, extraction, structure determination, biological activity testing, scientific paper writing... require absolute precision. Therefore, the success of the topics and inventions is not my own, but the result created by the joint efforts and consensus of the entire research team", Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong affirmed.
In addition to the Certificates of Merit, Patents, and scientific articles, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thu Huong especially appreciates the letters and souvenirs from generations of students, graduate students, and researchers. To her, these are invaluable assets, deepening her love for the profession and her attachment to Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
To date, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong and her colleagues have published more than 140 domestic and international scientific articles; have owned 6 Patents and 1 Utility Solution Patent, all in the field of Chemistry of Natural Compounds. In addition, she also has a number of initiatives in the process of registering for Patents and Utility Solutions.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thu Huong has successfully guided 6 PhDs, many Masters; is currently guiding 3 PhD students, many graduate students and other students.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/chuyen-nu-pho-giao-su-co-nhieu-bang-sang-che-nhat-o-truong-hoa-va-khoa-hoc-su-song-20241114152941559.htm
Comment (0)