AsianScientist (Mar. 08, 2025) – This International Women’s Day, Asian Scientist Magazine profiles six women scientists who were awarded for their pathbreaking research, serving underserved communities and leadership in 2024 in Asia.
1. Nieng Yan
Professor, Tsinghua University, China
Yan won the 2024 L’Oreal–UNESCO for Women in Science International Awards for Asia and the Pacific. She is recognized for discovering the atomic structure of multiple membrane proteins that mediate the traffic of ions and sugars across the cell membrane, revealing principles that govern crossmembrane transport. Her exceptional research has informed multiple disorders such as epilepsy and arrhythmia and guided the treatment of pain syndrome. As a leading authority in her field, Yan inspires female scientists globally and is a strong advocate for gender equality in research and science education.
2. Hairong Lyu
Assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Lyu won the 2024 Croucher Tak Wah Mak Innovation Award for her work in addressing global demand for fine chemicals, crucial in drug discovery for generating compound libraries, manipulating natural products, and optimising lead compound. Her team uses boron-based strategies that could reduce the time and cost associated with the development of new drugs. Additionally, Lyu’s focus on sustainability could help reduce the environmental impacts associated with chemical synthesis.
3. Farwiza Farhan
Founder, Yayasan Hutan Alam dan Lingkungan Aceh (HAkA), Indonesia
Farhan was conferred the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award for leading HAkA’s efforts to protect Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem and empower local communities to safeguard their future. Despite being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the Leuser Ecosystem has continued to be ravaged by deforestation, infrastructure, commercialization and weak law enforcement. Instead of depending solely on the government, HAkA believed in the power of local people, especially women, to safeguard the ecosystem through a vigorous advocacy campaign, forest monitoring and community empowerment. HAka has even helped to achieve a court verdict that led to US$26 million in fines against a palm oil company that burned forests in the Leuser Ecosystem, and stopped a hydroelectric dam that would have threatened the elephant’s habitat. The money was used by the local government to rehabilitate the damaged areas. In HAkA’s programs, women are given paralegal and citizenjournalism training. Women also lead ranger groups that patrol forest areas to monitor poaching and illegal logging.
4. Purnima Devi Barman
Senior Wildlife Biologist, Avifauna Research and Conservation Division, India
Barman won the Whitley Gold Award 2024 for her work to protect the Greater Adjutant Stork and its wetland habitat. There were just about 450 storks or “hargila” (local name of storks in Assam, India), before Barman started working to save them. Their natural habitats were destroyed by the building of roads and mobile phone towers in Assam. Barman and her team worked with local communities, especially women, to create the “Hargila Army” to safeguard storks’ nests. The army rehabilitates injured storks which fall down from their nests and arranges “baby showers” to celebrate the arrival of newborn chicks. The effort led to an increase in the number of storks, which have now quadrupled to more than 1,800. Barman aims to double the population of the bird to 5,000 by 2030, working across the stork’s range in India and Cambodia.
5. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong
Former Director, Tu Du Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Vietnam
Phuong won the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award for championing the fight against the devastating effects of Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War. She continued to seek justice for victims while pioneering reproductive health solutions and offering hope to affected families. Phuong, who became a doctor during the war, was deeply affected by witnessing severe birth defects in newborns. This led her to dedicate her life to uncovering the truth about Agent Orange, aiding the afflicted through her research and working with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. For Phoung, the battle has not only been in the laboratory but also on the international stage. She has taken up the cause of Agent Orange victims with the American Public Health Association, among other forums, and supported legal action to demand compensation from chemical companies.
6. Bin Liu
Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Liu was awarded the 2024 President’s Science Award for her discovery of the role of isomers in the light-emitting properties of a particular organic compound, carbazole, at room temperature. Her work opened new opportunities and applications into the optical properties of organic semiconductors. She specializes in exploring organic semiconductors in water-based solutions with a focus on their applications in biomedical research, security and electronic devices. In recent years, she has worked on biocompatible lightemitting compounds that can serve as highly sensitive light-up molecular probes and nanoparticle probes. This technology can improve non-invasive tracking of chemical substances and biological processes. Liu is also passionate about nurturing the next generation of research leaders and encouraging more women to pursue careers in engineering and science.
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Image: Wey Wen Wong/ Asian Scientist Magazine
