80-year-old vaccine researcher honoured with Hero of Labour title

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Prof. Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien is a senior specialist at the State-owned Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (Vabiotech) under the Ministry of Health, who devoted her 53 years from 1966 to 2019 to scientific research, making great contributions to promoting Vietnam’s vaccine production industry and the preventive medicine sector.

Prof., Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien (L) receives the “Labour Hero in Renewal Period” title from Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.

The title was presented to the 80-year-old professor by Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh in a ceremony held at the Hanoi-based Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on January 19.

The Labour Hero title is to honour individuals with exceptional achievements in work and innovation, contributing to the building of socialism in Vietnam and safeguarding the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long said the noble title is a recognition by the Party and State for the professor’s relentless work and daring and creative spirit in vaccine research and application, which is critical to the country’s efforts to combat communicable diseases and protect people’s well-being.

Despite many challenges, Prof. Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien and her co-workers at Vabiotech have successfully produced vaccines against cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox and Japanese encephalitis, and participated in twelve State-level scientific studies.

The first-generation vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, developed by her team at Vabiotech, has been used in the National Expanded Program on Immunization since 1997. It is also the first made-in-Vietnam vaccine exported overseas.