Vietnamese PhD receives 2023 Southeast Asian Women of the Future Award

Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong was honored at the Women of the Future Southeast Asia 2023 award for her scientific research on health.

Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong, 34 years old, Head of the Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, International University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, was named in the Science, Technology and Digital category at the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia 2023 ceremony, November 29 (local time).

“She has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve in improving mental health policy, both nationally and regionally. This is driven by her personal experience of how mental health issues affected her family,” according to the award website about Dr. Huong.

Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong graduated with a PhD in neuroscience from Stanford University (USA) in 2018. She then returned to Vietnam to seek solutions to brain-related problems, including research on Alzheimer's disease.

In 2022, she was awarded the L'Oreal - UNESCO For Women in Science national science scholarship with a project to create a kit to detect Alzheimer's disease on-site without having to use diagnostic equipment from hospitals. Based on this kit, doctors at district health centers can also use it to diagnose Alzheimer's disease instead of having to use modern imaging equipment.

Most recently, Dr. Huong was one of 10 young faces to receive the 2023 Golden Globe Award for her research on Brain Analytics software, which analyzes MRI images of patients' brains and diagnoses Alzheimer's disease accurately, automatically, and quickly, and has been trained and tested on the ADNI database (USA) with an accuracy of about 96%. The software has been experienced and evaluated by doctors and medical students from 8 different hospitals nationwide, 80% of whom are satisfied with the features that the software brings.

Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong, Head of the Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, International University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, received the Golden Globe Award 2023. Photo: Tung Dinh — Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong, Head of the Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, International University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, received the Golden Globe Award 2023. Photo: *Tung Dinh*

The award is part of the Women of the Future (UK) programme, which was first launched in 2006, to honour emerging female leaders in the region, pioneers who are not afraid to challenge stereotypes, break boundaries and drive positive change through courage, hard work and determination. In Southeast Asia, the programme was first launched in 2018.

The award is open to all women aged 35 and under, from Southeast Asian countries, spanning 12 fields from business, media, culture, arts to science and technology, real estate, sports , and social consulting.

Nhu Quynh

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