Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoang Duong, who goes by the name Kelly Nguyen, was announced as the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Colworth Medal, awarded by the Biochemical Society.

The Colworth Medal has been awarded by the Biochemical Society every year since 1963 to a biochemist of any nationality who has carried out the majority of their work in the UK or Ireland.

Duong, a group leader in the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC-LMB)’s Structural Studies Division in Cambridge, is the first Vietnamese to receive the Colworth Medal in its 60-year history.

Her reserach focuses primarily on the mechanisms by which telomeres – the protective nucleoproteins that cap the ends of chromosomes in eukaryotic cells – are maintained.

The research holds significant clinical implications as telomerase is an important drug which fights cancers and ageing diseases, according to an April 12 press release from the Biochemical Society.

“I would like to share the honor with all the past and present laboratory members, mentors, colleagues, and collaborators who have made essential contributions to every step of this journey,” she said during an address to the Biochemical Society.

“I also want to highlight the stimulating and supportive environment at MRC-LMB, which has shaped my scientific approach.

“Being recognized in this way is very encouraging for my laboratory and will motivate us to continue tackling challenging problems and making exciting discoveries.”

Duong was born in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam.

She received a full scholarship for the high school program at Wellington Girls’ College in New Zealand before completing a bachelor’s degree at the Australian National University and a PhD at the MRC-LMB.

Her telomerase research has also earned her the 2022 Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators, the 2020 Suffrage Science Award curated by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMB), and the 2017 Early Career Research Award from the Biochemical Society.

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