Five Vietnamese scientists have been listed in the 2021 edition of Asian Scientist 100, an annual list that recognises the achievements of the region's outstanding researchers by Singapore's Asian Scientist magazine.

(From left to rìght) Scientists Tran Thi Thu Ha, Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, Le Thi Quynh Mai, Phạm Tien Son and Nguyễn Trương Thanh Hiếu. Photo www.asianscientist.com

The list highlights their contributions to solving urgent global issues including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha of Thai Nguyen University; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in HCM City; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thi Quynh Mai from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE); Pham Tien Son of Da Lat University; and Dr. Nguyen Truong Thanh Hieu from Ton Duc Thang University.

Ha was named ninth on the list, while Lan, Mai, Son and Hieu ranked 19th, 21st, 89th and 98th, respectively.

Tran Thi Thu Ha won the 2019 Vietnamese Kovalevskaya Award for her research into the breeding and intensive cultivation of trees, the rearing of non-timber forest products and the development of medicinal plants.

Le Thi Quynh Mai leads a team of women who were awarded the 2019 Vietnamese Kovalevskaya Award for further successful isolation of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2, making Vietnam one of the first four countries to successfully isolate the virus in 2020.

Her team has spent the last two decades fighting deadly diseases, most notably SARS, A / H5N1 bird flu and H1N1.

Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan was one of the three recipients of 2020 Ta Quang Buu Award thanks to her study on the efficiency between the transfer of fresh or frozen embryos in women without polycystic ovaries for in vitro fertilization (IVF). It showed the transfer of frozen embryos yielded similar results to fresh ones, and the research has helped doctors and patients make better choices and increase the chance of success of IVF.

Ta Quang Buu Award is an annual prize held by the Ministry of Science and Technology to encourage scientists with outstanding achievements in basic research in the field natural sciences and engineering.

Pham Tien Son and Nguyen Truong Thanh Hieu were also recipients of the 2020 Ta Quang Buu Award.

Pham Tien Son was honorable for the project 'Generic properties for semialgebraic program' which was published by SIAM Journal on Optimization, while Hieu was awarded for a project entitled 'Low energy electron inelastic mean free path in materials'.

To be considered for the 2021 edition of Asian Scientist 100, individuals must have been awarded a national or international prize in 2020 for their research.

Alternatively, the honoree must have a significant accomplishment in scientific discovery or leadership that benefits academia or industry.

As COVID-19 spread across the world last year, scientists from all across Asia joined forces to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.

“It is now clearer than ever that science - and scientists - are what will help us overcome challenges like COVID-19 and longer term issues like climate change,” said Dr. Rebecca Tan, editor-in-chief of Asian Scientist Magazine.

“We are committed to shining a spotlight on the scientists who often work behind-the-scenes to bring much needed innovations like new vaccines to the world,” he said.

Source: VNS