Never give up

Award for Scientists researching new fields.

Always be ready to change and take risks

Professor Kristi S. Anseth, VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Female Scientists, shares about her career journey. She started her research in the field of chemical engineering because of her passion for solving problems in the energy sector and water filtration systems. She is also particularly interested in using this knowledge to improve people's lives. Therefore, when she saw that many people lacked the opportunity to receive medical treatment, she switched to a new field: biomedical research. During that process, she collaborated with other colleagues and from there decided what she was interested in.

Professor Michel Sadelain, winner of the VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Scientists Researching New Fields, shared that when he first started, he did not know which research direction was right. He studied epidemiology and initially did not know what it was, which path would be suitable for him, but then he studied more deeply, from master's to doctorate to learn about the field he wanted to know. After that, he switched to clinical research, almost starting from scratch and innovating in the clinical field.

Professor Carl H. June, the 2024 VinFuture Special Prize for Scientists Researching New Fields, did not immediately find the right path for himself. He was born into a family with an engineer father. At the age of 19, he joined the navy during the war and then, when the opportunity arose, he switched to research in medical physics. This was a new direction because his family did not have a tradition in this field, but with an open mind and always ready to seek opportunities for self-development, he found the path that was right for him.

“Sometimes we have to take risks and there may be no choice. But as a basketball player in the US said, if we see a path, we should continue to pursue it,” said Professor Carl H. June, recalling the girl Emily, the first patient treated with CarT cell solution when she was only 7 years old. Now, after 14 years, this girl has grown up and still carries CarT cells, her leukemia is gone. She is continuing her research at Stanford (USA).

This story illustrates the problem that it is difficult to know how biomedicine will change in the future. 25 years ago, the idea was not entirely welcomed. Many people even considered it an illusion because it involved genetic modification. So right from the start, the research team was very cautious. But after a few patients showed positive progress, many diseases were treated with CarT cells, people gradually became more optimistic. Many miracles happened. Diseases improved positively, including cancer. Some cancers even disappeared.

Find the right advisors

Professor Kristi S. Anseth received the VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Female Scientists.

Professor Kristi S. Anseth was born and raised in a remote rural area of ​​the United States. There were no urban areas there, and she did not know any engineers or scientists. But a chance encounter at work later gave her the opportunity to meet Professor Leslie Leinwand, a person who taught Professor Kristi S. Anseth a lot, encouraged her to go to university, taught her skills... Expressing gratitude to Professor Leslie Leinwand and many people who have become her mentors and guides over the years, the winner of the 2024 VinFuture Prize for Women Scientists gave advice to young people that when you have the opportunity, take the initiative to introduce yourself to others, maybe the opportunity will come to you.

Professor Michel Sadelain's experience in finding his advisors is to actively communicate with students and lecturers so that when there is an opportunity to interact, we can take advantage of all the advantages we have. Meanwhile, Professor Carl H. June recalls his advisors as 7th grade teachers, physical education teachers... There are people who accompany and guide you in the short term and long term, but no matter how long it is, consider it an opportunity to build relationships.

It is never too late to change your journey. To achieve success, you can seek advice and guidance from many people, such as teachers, friends, colleagues, relatives... with relationships to help each other. Especially for students who are still in school, Professor Kristi S. Anseth gives advice that is to be curious, not afraid to ask questions and not afraid of being judged by others.

Struggling to save people at a reasonable cost

The VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Scientists researching new fields was awarded to Professor Zelig Eshhar (Israel), Professor Carl H. June and Professor Michel Sadelain (USA) for the development of CAR T cell therapy to treat cancer and other diseases.

Professor Zelig Eshhar’s groundbreaking work revolutionized cancer treatment by developing CAR T-cell therapy, saving countless lives and fueling a booming biopharmaceutical industry. This innovation offers hope for new medical applications and affordable treatments for people around the world.

Professors Carl H. June and Michel Sadelain have continued to advance CAR T-cell therapy, effectively treating cancers and autoimmune diseases that do not respond to conventional therapies. Their pioneering work led to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first CAR T-cell therapy in 2017 for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adolescents. The therapy is now being considered for clinical use around the world.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nha-khoa-hoc-vinfuture-khong-bao-gio-bo-cuoc-10296044.html