I was born in Nha Trang, a city with a beautiful beach in the centre of Vietnam. When I was 6 years old, I watched a programme on television that influenced my career decision. It was a scientific programme about exploring the life in water. In the programme, the microbial contents of one drop of water, taken from a lake, were shown under the microscope. From then on, I knew that I wanted to work in science. It was not a real decision but more a strong sense of curiosity.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG visited the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit on the morning of Wednesday 10 September. This was The Duke of York’s second visit to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and was part of a three-day official visit to Vietnam to celebrate 35 years of diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and Viet Nam as well as to help promote bilateral links in trade, investment and education.

On the 14th and 15th August 2008 a delegation from the Ministry of Science and Technology Viet Nam visited the Wellcome Trust and Oxford University accompanied by Jeremy Farrar.

At the Wellcome Trust we were met by Professor Jimmy Whitworth (Head of International Activities) and Dr Ric Davies (Technology Transfer Wellcome Trust). We discussed areas of mutual interest and the Wellcome Trust’s approach to the funding of science.

Ms Anna Griffiths (Guys and St Thomas’s Hospital Echocardiology Department) and Dr Sophie Yacoub (Imperial College London) will be visiting OUCRU and HTD between 15 September and 11 October.  They are experts in their field and will be teaching and training members of staff in the use of echocardiology and ultrasound with a particular interest in cardiac changes in dengue, sepsis and other severe infectious diseases