Contents
Tu Youyou
Discovering artemisinin, a breakthrough in malaria treatment.
Effective extract · Artemisinin
- Born
- 30 December 1930
- Birthplace
- Ningbo, China
More people
Tu Youyou
A Chinese pharmaceutical researcher whose team combined study of traditional remedies with laboratory investigation. Her work led to medicines used against malaria internationally.
Early life
Ningbo upbringing
Grew up in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
Pharmaceutical training
Studied pharmacy in Beijing and trained in traditional Chinese medicine.
Career
- 1955
Research career
Joined the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
- 1969
Malaria project
Became head of a research group within Project 523.
- 1970s
Artemisinin
Her team developed and investigated an effective antimalarial compound.
- 2015
Nobel Prize
Shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Contributions
Effective extract
Developed an extraction approach that preserved antimalarial activity.
Artemisinin
Isolated the compound that became central to new malaria treatments.
Lasker Award
Received international recognition for the discovery.
Beyond the laboratory
Research method
Used an old medical text as a clue, then tested and refined the preparation experimentally.
Team science
Her Nobel recognition followed work carried out with colleagues in a national research programme.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel autobiography ↗Photo: Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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