The 8th HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureates was held in Tsukuba, Japan on 7 – 11 March 2016.

Eve Wang Chao, PhD Student under the Department of Pharmacology (Dr Alan Prem Kumar’s group), was privileged to be selected to attend this meeting and given the exceptional opportunity to learn from a lineup of distinguished Nobel Laureates.

The HOPE Meetings have been organized annually by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science since 2008. It aims to advance science and technology within Asia-Pacific and Africa region by providing a platform for selected outstanding doctoral students and young researchers from these regions to congregate and share their ideas. The title “HOPE” signifies the promise held for young scientists and optimism for a bright science and technology future in these regions.

Over the course of five days, Eve had the opportunity to attend dialogues with Nobel Laureates, and engage in scientific discussions with them. Through this meeting, she gained a tremendous sense of motivation from the Nobel Laureates’ commitment to science.

Notably, Eve had an inspiring conversation with Australian Nobel Laureate Prof. Barry Marshall, who in 1982 identified the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and its role in gastric ulcers and stomach cancer. Eve also mentioned that she was deeply impressed with Prof. Marshall’s dedication to his hypothesis that this bacteria was the cause of most peptic ulcers, and even consumed a petri dish culture of H. pylori in order to prove it.

The opportunity to meet with established scientists gave her an in-depth perspective of the Nobel Prize, and also the revelation that the Nobel Prize is not only about the Nobel Laureates, but above that the groundbreaking and beneficial discoveries and innovations for which the awards were achieved.