Dr. Dao Viet Ha: To do science, one must be diligent and endure hardship.

Dr. Dao Viet Ha (right) at a scientific conference - Photo provided by the character

I sent the school's education department an application with a political theory essay expressing my passion in that field.

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Like many other children, I loved to explore the world around me. When I was little, every time I discovered a special manifestation of a certain creature, the questions “why, how?” kept dancing in my head... Everything around the little girl that was me had an attractive mysterious look. Growing up a little, learning and verifying many natural phenomena, I wanted to go to the end of the vast world even more.

I was selected to study political economics at Hanoi University thanks to my good exam scores, but I decided to transfer to the Biology department. Many people might think I was foolish, because at that time political economics was the “trend”. But the more I learned from the school, the more I believed I was on the right path.

Connect

In 1991, after graduating, I left Hanoi to work at the Institute of Oceanography (Nha Trang). Here, I experienced many ups and downs in different specialties before choosing my own research direction: natural toxins in marine organisms.

The university only provided a general background knowledge, so when I started doing research in the biochemistry lab, I started learning from very small things, such as how to wash bottles in the lab properly.

When the first poisoning case with 83 victims in Binh Thuan was caused by eating blue-spotted octopus patties, the Center for Preventive Medicine, Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health) came to us to request updated information on the toxic nature of this creature. The challenge at that time was that knowledge about marine life poisoning cases in Vietnam was almost a blank.

From there, we chose to research and follow the cases of food poisoning in Vietnam caused by marine creatures when no one knew the reason. Poisoning occurs more and more in coastal residential areas, typically due to eating puffer fish, due to fishermen's lack of knowledge, only trusting personal experience...

I remember once fishermen in Khanh Hoa coastal area affirmed that when puffer fish is used to make fish sauce, the poison will disappear. According to their argument, the process of making fish sauce has decomposed the toxin. Immediately, we rushed to... make fish sauce for a whole year. The results showed that the reason that fish sauce is not deadly poisonous is because the toxin content decreased after the process of making fish sauce...

Whenever a new “question mark” appears, we set out together to find answers for the community with solid scientific evidence.

Next, my colleagues and I delved into the mechanisms of why organisms produce toxins, when they are produced, and their origins (microorganisms, micro-products, or self-produced...). At the same time, I participated in international collaborative voyages to collect samples, process, and extract raw materials... to serve research purposes.

We were delighted with the new discovery of the mechanism of accumulation of toxins causing memory loss in humans in microalgae in Khanh Hoa sea. Originating from the detail that coastal people often feel drunk when eating oysters.

During our research, we found that at certain times of the year, the toxin content in oysters was 15 times higher than the world's food safety standards. This has never been recorded in any country in the world. And this is one of our first discoveries about the mechanism of accumulation of this toxin in tropical waters.

Recently, our research on marine toxins has been recognized in countries in the region and the world. Our experience and knowledge in this field are highly appreciated. I constantly travel to friendly countries to assert myself and learn things I do not understand.

To me, to pursue one's passion, one must be patient, endure hardship, and endure pressure from many sides. Only those who are not afraid to learn, persevere in reading, researching, and accepting high demands... can achieve success.

Confident

The most profound memory in my research life that always makes me smile when I recall it took place at the 7th scientific conference of the IOC/WESTPAC Organization. I was the first and only Vietnamese among six typical rapporteurs from 20 countries in the Western Pacific region.

At first, I was under a lot of pressure from the dissenting reactions of some individuals. They even said directly that the reporter in this case should have at least a PhD (while at that time I had not defended my thesis). It is difficult to blame them because scientific ability is often evaluated first through academic degrees.

But after my report, many delegates came to shake my hand and congratulate me. I am happy to have contributed to changing the way international friends view the capacity and intelligence of Vietnamese people.

I remember when I stood on the podium, my Vietnamese colleagues sitting below looked at me with trust. That gave me more confidence in front of nearly 500 delegates.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tien-si-dao-viet-ha-lam-khoa-hoc-phai-chiu-kho-chiu-kho-431457.htm