Imagine moving to a different country by yourself at 18, getting a PhD by 26, and then decrypting the genome of one of the scariest viruses in the US at the time.

Flossie Wong-Staal was a pioneering molecular biologist and virologist whose work reshaped our understanding of HIV and AIDS. Born in China and later making her mark in the United States, Wong-Staal became the first scientist to clone HIV and map its genes, a breakthrough that opened the door to blood tests and lifesaving treatments. Beyond her discoveries, she was also a role model for women and immigrants in science, proving that persistence and vision can break barriers. Today, we will be exploring her journey, her groundbreaking contributions, and the lasting impact she left on medicine and society.

References:

https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/flossie-wong-staal

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe4095

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-t-lymphotropic-virus-type-1

https://ccr.cancer.gov/news/article/in-memoriam-flossie-wong-staal-phd

https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/flossie-wongstaal/

https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-and-aids-basics#:~:text=The%20abbreviation%20%E2%80%9CHIV%E2%80%9D%20can%20refer,lymphocytes)%20of%20the%20immune%20system.

https://www.cdc.gov/museum/online/story-of-cdc/aids/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flossie_Wong-Staal#cite_note-nyt20200717-22