Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, from Hai Duong, researches science for life

Pedal to success

Associate Professor, PhD Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai was born in 1981, from Hai Duong City. She loved biology and was passionate about medical research since she was in high school. At Nguyen Trai High School for the Gifted, in 1999, she was selected to be on the national team for the International Biology Olympiad and received a certificate of merit from the Organizing Committee.

Outstanding achievements at Nguyen Trai High School for the Gifted helped Ms. Hoai get direct admission to university and continue to pass the entrance exam to the talented bachelor of science training program of the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). She won third prize in the school-level student scientific research competition.

After graduating from the University of Natural Sciences, she stayed at the school as a teaching assistant and a research student. She then went to Germany to study for a doctorate and then to Belgium to continue her research in the field of pathogenic microorganisms and drug resistance.

According to Ms. Hoai, antibiotic resistance is currently widespread, causing many deaths. Without early intervention, the consequences will be very serious. Ms. Hoai's research focuses on early diagnosis of drug resistance. Recently, she has focused on applying digital droplet PCR, a new technology with high accuracy and reproducibility, the ability to quantify microorganisms even at very low concentrations and works well with clinical samples. The success of this research will support doctors in diagnosing drug resistance and suggesting appropriate drug use, thereby limiting the development and spread of drug resistance, helping to protect human health. She is also actively researching bacterial virulence, antibacterial compounds and antibiotic alternatives.

With her proposal to research and develop methods for rapid and accurate diagnosis of antibiotic resistance to provide effective treatment regimens and reduce the spread of multi-resistant and pan-resistant strains, Ms. Hoai received the L'Oréal - UNESCO Science Award for Women in Science 2023.

Dedication

Along with scientific research, Ms. Hoai actively participates in writing articles, books and guiding graduate students. To date, she has had 73 articles, of which 31 are published in international journals, the rest are domestic journals and full-text publications in conference proceedings. During her teaching career, Ms. Hoai has guided many students and graduate students in their master's and doctoral theses, and supervised 14 student research projects. She also participates in many organizations and projects on medicine. She also spends time teaching at universities in and outside the country, giving presentations at many international conferences in the field...

Achieving many achievements in scientific research as well as in daily life, Ms. Hoai's secret is to arrange her work reasonably, try her best in every task and not be discouraged by difficulties and hardships. She also receives strong support from her family and relatives.

Sharing her plans for the future, Ms. Hoai said she will continue to stick with scientific research and teaching. “I find joy and passion in research projects because they bring practical benefits to life,” Ms. Hoai shared.