A Vietnamese female scientist will be honored at an event dedicated to women scientists organized by UNESCO in the middle of this month in France.

Dr. Tran Ha Lien Phuong is pictured in a university lab in Ho Chi Minh City. ( Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Dr. Tran Ha Lien Phuong, a lecturer from the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the International University under the Viet Nam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, has become the first Vietnamese to receive the International Rising Talents Grant under the L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science program.

Phuong will be honored for her project on the development of fucoidan-based polymeric micelles for cancer treatment and diagnosis.

The work has been highly appreciated for its modernity and focus on cancer therapy products which have high effects and limited side effects.

Together with Phuong, 14 other female scientists from around the world will be honored at a ceremony scheduled to be held on March 18 at Sorbonne University in Paris.

International Rising Talents are chosen from countries in each world region, including Africa and the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

The award was established last year and is dedicated to both honoring distinguished women scientists and supporting promising young women researchers throughout their careers.

It has been granted annually to 15 promising young women scientists, doctorates or post-doctorates.

This year’s International Rising Talents are already making significant contributions in disciplines as varied as ecology and sustainable development, physics, pharmacology, epidemiology, medical research, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.