Telephone interview with Youyou Tu

"Good News for the National Holiday!"

Telephone interview with Youyou Tu following the announcement of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 5 October 2015. The interviewer is Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer of Nobel Media. Professor Tu speaks in Chinese during the interview and the English questions and Professor Tu's answers are translated by Jin Li from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

[Jin Li] Hello.

[Adam Smith] This is Adam Smith, calling from Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Prize, in Stockholm.

[JL] Yes, this is Professor Tu Youyou's home.

[AS} So first of all, may we ask what is Professor Tu's reaction to the award of the Nobel Prize?

[JL for Youyou Tu] Yes, Professor Tu Youyou is very glad to own the Nobel Prize.  

[AS] Thank you very much. And what does the award of the Nobel Prize mean for her and for Chinese science?

[JL for TY] I'm very glad that the new anti-malaria drug artemisinin earns international recognition from the Nobel Prize committee.

Also, I want to show my gratitude and respect to Nobel Committee, Karolinska Institute and Sweden people.

Yes, Chinese people wish to win Nobel Prize for long time, and this time artemisinin win this Prize. Shows that our work to research anti-malaria drugs is at a high level and achieve good result.

So at the moment when we begin to research anti-malaria drug this old drug had already got drug resistance. As a result we worked very hard to find anti-malaria drug artemisinin and to save millions of lives. It shows that as a scientific worker we need innovation spirit to find new things.

[AS] It's a great pleasure to speak to you and to Professor Tu, thank you very much. May we convey our…

[JL for TY] Yes, thanks, yes.

[AS] We would like to convey our congratulations and also say we are very much looking forward to welcoming her to Stockholm in December.

[JL for TY] Yes, thanks a lot.

[AS] Thank you. One last question, it's late evening there in Beijing. Will Professor Tu have time to celebrate tonight?

[JL for TY] I have many friends to come home to share my happiness. Even for Chinese people is also a good thing, a good news for the national holiday. Thanks a lot.

[AS] Yes, it's perfect timing, yes. Thank you very much. OK, well, Xie Xie, thank you.

[JL for TY] Thank you. Thank you very much.

[AS] Thank you, bye bye.  

Link:http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2015/tu-interview.html