'I am Dung - a son of Nghe An'

Although he has lived and worked in the Federal Republic of Germany for many years, Dr. Le Duc Dung (born in 1981) still has a burning love for his homeland and country and always strives to realize that love through activities connecting and promoting international cooperation projects towards Nghe An, Vietnam.

Dr. Le Duc Dung. Photo: NVCC

Building a bridge connecting homeland

I have known Dr. Le Duc Dung for a long time through many articles published in prestigious newspapers, but recently, when I accidentally "met" him on a share in the Artisan group, I decided to strike up a conversation. It was because I recognized the passionate love of an artist who became famous in a foreign land, still not missing any opportunity to build a bridge connecting advanced and useful knowledge and technology with his homeland.

He shared that in late February and early March 2023, he and a group of German professors and doctors will return to Hanoi to work at the invitation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to discuss cooperation programs between Vietnam and Germany; in this project, Germany will support Vietnam in training and transferring technology of modern treatment methods to treat blood diseases and cancer... This is a non-profit project - the result of his connection over the course of 2 years, and Dr. Le Duc Dung's wish is to have a few hospitals in Nghe An participate in this useful project.

This is not the first project that Dr. Le Duc Dung has played a role in connecting and promoting the homeland. Having lived and worked in Germany for nearly 20 years, pursuing in-depth research in the fields of immunology, oncology and hematology, Dr. Dung understands that this is a difficult field and in fact, in hospitals in Vietnam, this field still has certain limitations. Therefore, the projects that he focuses on connecting are mainly in the fields of hematology and oncology for both adults and children.

According to him, through such projects, Vietnam will be able to access, learn and apply modern treatment methods, doctors will have the opportunity to be exposed to advanced science, expand high-quality international relationships, thereby gradually establishing links in long-term research, training and expertise.

Dr. Le Duc Dung. Photo: NVCC

“When I was exposed to modern science in Europe, I always thought about Vietnam, so I tried to establish relationships with colleagues in my home country to grasp the development situation as well as the needs of science and technology in Vietnam. Although these two areas of Vietnam have made progress, there is clearly still a huge gap compared to developed countries, this gap certainly cannot be shortened quickly, but must have a very long-term investment plan. In particular, expanding international cooperation is the fastest and best way for us to improve and update our science. Finding a good partner means finding a good teacher, a good guide” – Dr. Dung shared.

He also expressed his opinion: To build effective cooperative relationships, there always needs to be people in the middle to promote them. Vietnamese people who are studying and working in foreign units are the most ideal people who can coordinate cooperation and foreign support for Vietnam, because they are the ones who understand both cultures and know the development situation of both countries.

With the belief that living and working in one’s homeland is not the only way to create good things for the homeland, and contributions do not necessarily have to wait for great opportunities, for more than 10 years now, Dr. Dung has always generously shared useful knowledge towards Vietnam, such as consulting and teaching students and postgraduates; regularly writing articles published in major Vietnamese newspapers on science and education topics; frankly expressing constructive views on health and science policies, etc.

Dr. Le Duc Dung. Photo: NVCC

Proud to be Nghe An

Dr. Le Duc Dung was born in 1981 in Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district; his hometown is Thanh Chuong district. After finishing high school in Nam Dan, he passed the entrance exam to the Biology department at Hue University; then, he went to study abroad in Germany. This Nghe An native boy made his mark in a foreign land when, in Hannover, Germany, he studied and graduated in Biology from three universities: the University of Medicine, the University of Veterinary Medicine and the University of General Medicine. After that, he was honored to receive a full scholarship for the PhD Program in Biomedicine at Hannover Medical University and Saarland University Hospital, pursuing a career in in-depth research in immunology. After graduating with his doctorate, he moved to the University Hospital of Würzburg to work and conduct post-doctoral research in immunology, oncology and hematology.

During his many years of working at many university hospitals and research institutes, he has won many awards in Germany, Europe and the US for his contributions and scientific works. Notably, in March 2021, Dr. Dung was honored with a very prestigious award for the best scientific work from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). He said that this was the work that he and his colleagues had been researching for 5 years, and was also the result of international cooperation with colleagues from Harvard University (USA), the University of Marseille (France) and many other universities in Germany.

Having lived and worked in Germany for nearly 20 years, as an Asian with a smaller appearance than the native community, in the impression of many colleagues and partners, Dr. Le Duc Dung has always been a trustworthy, mature, and persistent man in everything. Those qualities, according to Dr. Dung himself, are purely Nghe's personality.

“Of course, there are some characteristics of Nghe that I see that need to be adjusted, such as being hot-tempered, conservative, and too stubborn: stubbornness in some things is good, but in matters related to knowledge and academics, one should be open to accepting new things and diverse perspectives” - Dr. Le Duc Dung said.

Having celebrated many Tet holidays away from home, this year, he and his family will celebrate another Lunar New Year in a distant snowy land. However, the cozy house is still fully furnished with traditional dishes and gifts. Far from home but not far from heart, in Dr. Le Duc Dung, the memories and love for the harsh but affectionate Central region are still intact, so that no matter where he lives and works in the world, he still firmly holds the pride of being a son of Nghe An.