Olympia student becomes associate professor working for cancer research institute in the US

Ngo Thi Minh Thuy, a former contestant of the second year of Road to Olympia, is currently an associate professor working at the Knight Cancer Research Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, USA.

At the 25th anniversary of Road to Olympia, the audience got to meet many faces who were contestants of the program many years ago, even more than 20 years ago. Among them, there was Associate Professor Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy, who was a contestant in the second year of Road to Olympia.

Sharing at the program, Ms. Thuy said that growing up in a poor rural area in Thai Nguyen province, participating in the Road to Olympia was an extremely important milestone for her. “Because when I participated in the Olympia competition, it was like opening up a different world . It was the first time I was able to go to the capital, be on television, and more importantly, the opportunity to meet many friends who were better than me.”

Although she only made it to the monthly round, the student in Thai Nguyen at that time felt that there were many people better than her.

“Starting from admiring my friends and then wanting to be as good as them, I began to nurture and dream of going out of the bamboo village to explore the world,” Ms. Thuy said.

Associate Professor Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy, a female student participating in the Road to Olympia in the second year, is now an associate professor working at the Knight Cancer Research Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, USA. Photo cut from clip.

After a period of studying hard, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy is currently working at the Knight Cancer Research Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, USA.

Her current research focus is early cancer diagnosis through blood tests.

“The early cancer diagnosis technology researched in our lab is simply understood as follows: After the growth process, the tumor needs to send out signals to communicate and exchange with other cancer cells and other organs. Those signals are sent into the blood. The second mechanism is that the growing cells also die. The characteristic of tumors is that the cells grow very quickly and therefore, the cells also die. Both of those mechanisms send genetic material or means of communication. Our direction is how to find and decode the signal that the tumor sends and measure it accurately when its concentration is very low in the blood. Regarding the underlying technology, my lab is a pioneer in RNA analysis. The second technology that my lab has registered a copyright is to restore data recorded in DNA in the blood. After having the underlying technology, I use that underlying technology to develop specific tests. My lab has developed There are several methods and procedures for certain types of cancer, including very difficult types like pancreatic cancer," said Ms. Thuy.

Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy at her office at the Knight Cancer Research Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, USA. Photo cut from VTV clip.

The discovery of Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy was ranked as one of the 10 most influential studies in the field of Biomedicine in 2019 and 2020.

To date, the work of Associate Professor Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy and her colleagues has won a number of awards, recognizing their influential problem-solving ideas.

“I myself, as well as other scientists and technology companies, will contribute to the further direction, to make cancer not a worrying disease like the current “death sentence”. That is also the future hope for human medicine”, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thi Minh Thuy shared.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-olympia-tro-thanh-pho-giao-su-lam-viec-cho-vien-nghien-cuu-ung-thu-o-my-2454308.html