Her Stem Space

After completing her education, Tu Youyou was assigned to her very first job at the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, which provided her with the opportunities to utilize her skills, whilst still being able to continuously learn and improve. Over her years in the institute, she held various positions, including Head of the Chemistry Department, Head of the Artemisinin Research Center of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and Chief Professor at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Her knowledge expanded further during a government launched program named “a combination of Western and traditional Chinese medicines”, where she chose the traditional Chinese medical theory route, gaining insights into the impacts of processing skills on medicine.

Malaria, a life threatening epidemic disease,  was effectively  controlled for a long period of time using chloroquine and quinoline. However the development of the drug-resistant strains of malaria cause a resurgence of this disease. Leading to widespread infection and a lack of effective treatments. In response, the Chinese government urged scientists to find a new cure. They turned to the Academy of Traditional Chinese medicine and the Institute of Chinese materia medica for assistance. After careful consideration, the academy leader appointed Tu Youyou to lead the project called project 523. This research group, based at the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, aimed to discover a new treatment for malaria.

Under Tu Youyou’s leadership, Project 523 successfully identified artemisinin, a compound derived from the sweet wormwood plant (artemisia annua), which proved to be highly effective against malaria. This breakthrough saved millions of life and earned Tu Youyou numerous accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015. Her work remains a testament to the power of combining traditional knowledge with modern scientific research.

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