Never give up

The award is given to scientists who conduct research in new fields.

Always be ready to change and take risks.

Professor Kristi S. Anseth, recipient of the VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Female Scientists, shared her career journey. She began her research in chemical engineering because of her passion for seeing how chemical engineering solves problems in energy and water filtration systems. She was also particularly interested in using this knowledge to improve people's lives. Therefore, seeing many people lacking access to medical treatment, she switched to the new field of biomedical research. During this process, she collaborated with other colleagues, which helped her determine what truly interested her.

Professor Michel Sadelain, winner of the VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for scientists researching emerging fields, shared that when he started, he didn't know which research direction was right for him. He studied epidemiology and initially didn't know what it was or which path would suit him, but then he delved deeper into his studies, from master's to doctoral degrees, to explore the field he wanted to understand. Afterward, he switched to clinical research, almost starting from scratch and innovating in the clinical field.

Professor Carl H. June, recipient of the VinFuture 2024 Special Prize for Scientists Researching Emerging in New Fields, didn't immediately find his direction. Born into a family with an engineer father, he joined the navy at 19 during wartime and later, when the opportunity arose, switched to medical physics research. This was a new path as his family had no tradition in this field, but with an open mind and a willingness to seek opportunities for self-development, he found the path that suited him.

“Sometimes we have to take risks and there may be no other choice. But as an American basketball player said, if you see a path, keep going,” Professor Carl H. June said, recalling Emily, the first patient treated with CarT cell therapy at the age of 7. Now, 14 years later, she is a grown woman who still carries CarT cells, and her leukemia is gone. She is continuing her research at Stanford (USA).

This story illustrates a problem: it's difficult to know how biomedical science will change in the future. Twenty-five years ago, the idea wasn't entirely welcomed. Many even considered it a fantasy because of its genetic modification implications. Therefore, the research team was very cautious from the start. But after several patients showed positive progress, and many diseases were treated with CarT cells, people became more optimistic. Many miracles occurred. Diseases improved significantly, including cancer. Some cancers even disappeared.

Find the right mentors.

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

Professor Kristi S. Anseth was born and raised in a remote rural area of ​​the United States. There were no urban centers there, and she didn't know any engineers or scientists. However, a fortunate turn of events in her career led her to meet Professor Leslie Leinwand, who taught her a great deal, encouraged her to attend university, and provided her with valuable skills. Expressing her gratitude to Professor Leslie Leinwand and many others who have mentored and guided her over the years, the recipient of the VinFuture 2024 Award for Female Scientists advises young people to proactively introduce themselves to others when the opportunity arises; opportunities may come their way.

Professor Michel Sadelain's experience in finding mentors was to proactively engage with students and faculty, taking advantage of opportunities to network whenever possible. Meanwhile, Professor Carl H. June recalls his mentors were his seventh-grade teacher and physical education teacher… Some mentors are short-term or long-term, but regardless of the duration, consider it an opportunity to build relationships.

It's never too late to change your path. To achieve success, you can seek guidance and mentorship from many people—teachers, friends, colleagues, family members, and others—through these relationships that support each other. Especially for students still in school, Professor Kristi S. Anseth advises that you should be curious, not be afraid to ask questions, and not be afraid of being judged by others.

The challenge is to save lives 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 their development of CAR T cell therapy for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Professor Zelig Eshhar's groundbreaking work has revolutionized cancer treatment by developing CAR T cell therapy, saving countless lives and driving the rapid growth of the biopharmaceutical industry. This innovation offers hope for new applications in medicine and provides affordable treatments for people worldwide .

Professor Carl H. June and Professor Michel Sadelain have further refined CAR T cell therapy, enabling effective treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases unresponsive to conventional therapies. Their pioneering work led to the U.S. 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. This therapy is now under consideration for clinical use worldwide.

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