Poor girl wins PhD scholarship at Germany's largest cancer institute

Determined that only through education could she escape poverty, Kieu Trinh graduated with honors from university in Taiwan and won a full scholarship to do her PhD in Germany.

Dinh Kieu Trinh is currently a member of the doctoral research program at the German Cancer Research Center, Germany's largest cancer research institute, in the city of Heidelberg. In 2021, Trinh won a four-year full scholarship worth 4 billion VND from this institute, studying in parallel at Heidelberg University. This is the oldest university in Germany, ranked 47th in the world, according to THE 2024.

Outside of school hours, she and her colleagues study of the immune function of Yes-Associate Protein (YAP) in tumor microenvironment components, especially in cancer cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells.

"I didn't think I would come this far. I didn't like Biology," said Trinh, 29.

Trinh attended a scientific conference in Taiwan in 2020. Photo: Character provided — Trinh attended a scientific conference in Taiwan in 2020. Photo: *Character provided*

During high school, Trinh only focused on studying block A subjects (Math, Physics, Chemistry) to take the entrance exam for her favorite major in Economics. Having Math and Chemistry, Trinh "randomly" took the exam for block B, Biology at the University of Natural Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City, as a backup. In the end, she failed block A and passed block B.

Although she passed the university entrance exam, Trinh was worried because she had no knowledge of Biology. She said that her first year was "very boring" because she only studied theory; her scores in Math, Physics, and Chemistry were always high, while Biology only got 5 or 6.

"I planned to retake the Economics exam but I thought I had to study and was lazy so I gave up," Trinh shared.

In her second year of practical training, Trinh became curious and found it interesting, so she asked to join the faculty lab to help out. At first, she helped her seniors wash bottles and jars and watched them do experiments. Gradually, she became more interested in research, so she tried to study well and work hard in the lab.

Born into a large family, Trinh witnessed her parents working hard as farmers and repairing bicycles to earn money for their children's education. Wanting to escape poverty and repay her parents, she told herself that the only way was to study. Thinking that it would be difficult to find a high-paying job in Biology in Vietnam, Trinh sought a scholarship to study abroad. In 2014, Trinh won a full scholarship to study Biomedical Engineering at National Tsinghua University (Taiwan).

Trinh said that to study for a master's degree, she had to balance her studies at school and her work in the lab. To avoid being overloaded, she reviewed her lessons right after each class. During exams, she often stayed up studying for 2-3 hours. Thanks to her diligence, Trinh scored 96/100 on her graduation thesis.

During her two years of master's studies, Trinh had five scientific articles on liver cancer treatment drugs published in Q1 journals, one of which she was the co-lead author. The article published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces with an impact factor (IF) of 10.3 was about a tumor-targeting nanoparticle called NanoMnSor, which simultaneously delivers sorafenib and MnO2-oxygenating. Treatment with NanoMnSor resulted in reduced angiogenesis, reduced tumor and metastasis, and improved survival in a mouse cancer model.

NanoMnSor also reprograms the immune system in the tumor microenvironment by increasing the number of cytotoxic T cells (CD8+ T cells), resulting in increased therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

With her research achievements, experience attending conferences and a near-perfect GPA of 4.24/4.3, Trinh passed the application round for a scholarship from the German Cancer Research Institute. After three rounds of interviews with the institute and an entrance exam from Heidelberg University, she became the only candidate for the research team of Dr. Michael Dill, senior physician in the department of gastroenterology, infection and poisoning at Heidelberg University Hospital.

However, when she came to Germany, Trinh was still shocked by the completely different research direction. She also had the most difficulty getting used to the cutting-edge research techniques in the laboratory.

In Taiwan, she only grew cells on the surface of a dish, with a two-dimensional (2D) space, while in Germany, the 3D culture technique is more advanced, keeping the inherent structural and functional properties.

"3D farming is much more difficult, so I had to learn it myself and do it again if I made a mistake," Trinh said.

Trinh was the first PhD student of her supervisor at the institute, so at first she felt pressured by his expectations. After about half a year, she got used to the research environment and adapted to the culture here.

Trinh said that in Germany, every six months to a year, graduate students have to present their topics to the council. Trinh's research topic is about the function of a protein in fibroblast cells that affects the tumor environment. In the second presentation, the report was evaluated by the thesis advisory council as "very logical, with professional diagrams".

In the comments section, Dr. Michael Dill and three professors on the council wrote: "The presentation is clear. The research process shows clear progress, has a lot of potential and has many more promising results. There is a spirit of readiness to accept new things and learn."

Trinh plans to go to the US to do her post-doctorate work, trying out famous schools like Harvard. She also wants to become a professor, pursuing a career in teaching and research.

Trinh works in the laboratory of the German Cancer Research Institute. Photo: Character provided — Trinh works in the laboratory of the German Cancer Research Institute. Photo: *Character provided*

Trinh said Biology came to her by chance and on her journey to discover it, she was fortunate to meet dedicated teachers. After achieving success in her career, Trinh returned to help Vietnamese students find scholarships to study abroad.

"There are many paths to better life experiences, but for me, the shortest path is through education. Try to accumulate experience in the laboratory, have articles published in scientific journals, and attend many seminars to increase your chances of getting a scholarship," Trinh said.

Dawn

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