Vietnamese female doctor wins ASEAN-US Science Prize 2026
On the afternoon of October 14, the final round of the ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women 2026 takes place within the framework of the plenary session of the 90th ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation Conference (COSTI-90). Here, four female scientists representing four countries took turns presenting their research and giving feedback directly to the expert council.
The project of Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong, Head of the Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, International University (National University of Ho Chi Minh City), builds technical models to support doctors in diagnosing, monitoring and intervening in neuropsychiatric diseases including Alzheimer's, depression and anxiety disorders. The project received funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City National University and international organizations.
The team has developed three main technological solutions. In particular, the Brain Train application cooperates with the Department of Information Technology of International University and 175 Military Hospital to help people with mild cognitive impairment practice on their own to slow down the progression to Alzheimer's.
The team also built an application to support patients with depression and anxiety disorders to practice cognitive-behavioral therapy at home. Along with that, AI software analyzes brain and voice images to early detect Alzheimer's disease in the early and moderate stages.
Dr. Huong said this achievement comes from the contribution of an interdisciplinary research team, including many scientists, doctors, engineers and students. "This is a great source of encouragement for collaborators and students, as well as an opportunity to introduce Vietnam's scientific capacity to international partners to jointly solve public health problems," Dr. Huong said.
The ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women was established in 2014 within the COSTI framework. 2026 is the 12th time the award is held, the theme focuses on AI applications in healthcare. Evaluation criteria include scientific excellence (50 points), role in mentoring women in STEM (25 points) and level of cooperation and regional impact (25 points).
In the Mid-Career Scientist category (45 years old or younger), Dr. Ha Thi Thanh Huong won first prize with a reward of 12,500 USD, the Honorable Mention prize of 5,000 USD went to Dr. Latifah Nurahmi (Indonesia). In the Senior category (46 years old or older), Dr. Joanne Ngeow (Singapore) won first prize, and Dr. Wai Yie Leong (Malaysia) received the Honorable Mention award.
From 2014 to 2024, the award received 418 applications from 10 countries, awarding 23 female scientists with a total value of 240,000 USD. Before Dr. Huong, Vietnam had a scientist who won this award, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hiep in 2017.
Collaboratively share data and research infrastructure
Speaking at the COSTI-90 plenary session, Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan assessed that over the past years, COSTI has built a solid foundation for regional cooperation. Digital platforms connect talent and technology, and networks of experts are growing. The first steps towards sharing research infrastructure across the region have already been taken. "These are valuable assets for us to continue to promote," he said.
According to the Minister, facing challenges of health security, food security and climate change, member countries need to promote stronger cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN Action Plan on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI) for the period 2026-2035.
To make it happen, members should move from knowledge sharing to common solutions, from individual projects to stronger regional partnerships. "We should make the most of each other's research capacity, infrastructure and data to jointly solve challenges that no country can solve alone," said Minister Vu Hai Quan.
The head of the science and technology industry affirmed that Vietnam always values intra-bloc cooperation, and emphasized that science and technology not only supports socio-economic development but also contributes to shaping the future of ASEAN.
COSTI is a cooperation mechanism at the senior official level of ASEAN in the fields of science, technology and innovation, supporting the ASEAN Ministerial Conference and implementing regional cooperation orientations.
COSTI-90 is hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, held in Da Nang from October 13 to 15, gathering about 250 delegates from ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, partners, experts and scientists.
Nguyen Dong