Women of substance

THE APPLAUSE was loud and the smiles wide last week as three Thai female scientists walked up to the stage to receive the much-coveted fellowships for their contributions to the world of science from L’Oreal Thailand.

Now in its 14th year and supported by the Thai National Commission for Unesco, L’Oreal Thailand’s “For Women in Science” programme has recognised 58 Thai female researchers to date for their roles in the sustainable development of the country’s scientific sector.

The award in the Life Science category went to Dr Sudjit Luanpitpong of the Siriraj Centre of Excellence for Stem Cell Research at Mahidol University for her distinctive study entitled, “Roles of reactive oxygen species in lymphoma stem cells and chemotherapeutic resistance”.

Dr Nadnudda Rodthongkum from the Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute at Chulalongkorn University received the Materials Science prize for her outstanding study, “Nanocomposite Material Innovation for Medical Diagnosis and Environmental Pollutant Detection”, while the third fellowship in the Chemistry category was awarded to Dr Supawadee Namuangruk from Nanoscale Simulation Laboratory, National Nanotechnology Centre, National Science and Technology Development Agency, for her research entitled: “3D-molecular modeling and advanced computational techniques for design and development of nanomaterials in sustainable energy and environmental applications”.

In time-honoured tradition, each grant was carefully assessed by a jury comprised of respected members from various scientific fields, with selection criteria based on the benefits of the research, accurate research methodologies and peer acceptance.

“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most common haematologic cancer in Thailand,” Dr Sudjit told XP after the award ceremony. 

“Today, more and more people are losing those they love to cancer. Although most NHL patients initially respond to chemotherapy, a substantial number of patients confront a relapse and the three-year survival rate of advanced NHL is a disappointing 30 per cent. Emerging evidence suggests that the cancer stem cell (CSC) subpopulation is a driving force of tumorigenesis and aggressive cancer behaviours, leading to chemotherapeutic resistance. As increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) are observed in the microenvironment of aggressive tumours, our hypothesis is that ROS play a critical role in the chemotherapeutic resistance of NHL through the regulation of lymphoma stem cells (LSCs).

“The knowledge gained from this study will provide new critical information on the cause-effect relationship and key contributing factors to the chemotherapeutic resistance found in many patients. The study focuses on the cause of aggressive cancer in the lymphoma stem cells (LSC), whicch have an unlimited ability to multiply. The findings on the reactive oxygen species regulation of LSCs is expected to have a clinical impact on the future clinical design of new NHL therapies, and other cancers where the etiology is dependent on ROS regulation. The developed model of acquired NHL chemotherapeutic resistance can thus be applied to other studies that aim to investigate the mechanistic insight of aggressive NHL,” she explains.

“To me the advance of scientific development is crucial and essential to push forward the world’s evolution. If this research works at the genetic level, we can design specific medical treatments that will better target bad stem cells and one day hopefully the disease will disappear,” she adds.

Dr Nadnudda says that her research underlines how medical diagnosis and environmental pollutant control are directly related to the quality of life. “That relationship makes it crucial to develop a high-performance, high-sensitivity and low-cost detection system,” she explains.

The steps of study include material composition design, material preparation and material fabrication process. Each step is optimised in order to obtain the desired material properties that are suitable for sensor applications. The physical, chemical and electrochemical properties of such nanocomposites are characterised and these materials are applied for electrode surface modification to improve the performance and sensitivity of the electrochemical sensors.

“This innovative research will provide knowledge of the nanocomposite materials that possess suitable properties for the creation of new sensors to be used in medical diagnosis and environmental pollutant detection. The newly developed portable sensors have high performance, high sensitivity, and convenience usage without the need of expensive instruments. This preventive approach will greatly benefit medical services in remote areas and contribute further to a sustainable improvement in the quality of human life,” she explains.

Dr Supawadee, meanwhile, reveals that her comprehensive insight into the molecular level of chemical processes in nanomaterials is key to the development of nanomaterials for specific purposes such as air treatment and bioenergy production from biomass.

“However, the design, development and commercialisation of a new material can take several years. Molecular simulation is a powerful tool to accelerate functional material development and can help explore the nanomaterial at a significantly faster rate and lower cost than can typically be done experimentally. This helps collaborative experimentalists to focus only on the most promising materials. Our research offers a deep understanding of the adsorption and reaction mechanism of toxic compounds at the nanoscale through 3D molecular modelling and advanced computational techniques. Our computational design and calculation has led to promising nanomaterials being suggested, such as first catalysts for conversion of biomass to biofuels/biochemical and secondly, adsorbents for mercury removal from flue gas, before they are synthesised.”

“Global population growth and the demand for energy consumption increases every year, and my research project aspires to positively impact on alternative energy development, and create more solutions for air pollution in the hope that the results will benefit both economies and environments worldwide,” she says.

Research has been the core of L’Oreal’s business for more than a century. “It aligns with our founder, Eugene Schueller’s belief that advancing science and technology is key to raising quality of life around the world,” says the company’s managing director Nathalie Gerschtein Keraudy.

“We are delighted to run the programme and become a part of the inspiration that supports Thai female researchers. Over the years, we are proud that our fellowship recipients have advanced in their careers and this year we have three talented researchers with their outstanding studies that will assist in develop our country and eventually the world sustainably.”

  FURTHERING SCIENCE

 - L’Oreal “For Women in Science” fellowship programme was established in 1997. To date, the programme has offered fellowships to more than 2,530 female scientists and researchers from 112 countries around the world. In Thailand, the L’Oreal “For Women in Science” fellowship programme has been running in 2002 and offers a Bt250,000 grant to each of selected Thai female researchers aged between 25-40 years old across three categories – Life Science, Materials Science and Chemistry.