The Scientific Dream

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI), and in celebration, we’re doing our part to increase representation. A 2020 demographic study of 7 commonly used biology textbooks revealed that less than 3% of featured scientists were Asian. Not only that, but there was not a single Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander scientist represented. This is just a sliver of the incredible history of AAPI scientists, and many people continue these legacies today.

Dr. Barry Paw

Born in Myanmar, Burma, Barry Paw became a refugee at age 7 when his family immigrated to the US. He grew up in California, attending public schools before earning both an MD and a PhD in biological chemistry from UCLA. His dissertation explored the molecular basis of Tay-Sachs disease, a rare genetic disorder with an average life expectancy of 4 years that destroys nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal

Born in Guanzhou, China, Yee Ching Wong was encouraged to adopt an English name to further her academic opportunities, and Flossie Wong made her debut. Wong immigrated to the US to attend UCLA, where she worked her way to a PhD in molecular biology. Upon graduation, she joined the National Cancer Institute, researching retroviruses under Dr. Robert Gallo.

Retroviruses invade cells and insert their own genes into the DNA of their host, completely changing the genome of that cell. Together, Wong-Staal and Gallo identified HTLV-III, a retrovirus that they believed was responsible for the transmission and development of AIDS. This was confirmed by concurrent research by French scientist Dr. Luc Montagnier.

HTLV-III is now known as HIV, and Wong-Staal was the first to clone it. She came to understand that it evaded the body’s immune system by disguising itself as part of its host. Though her research saved countless lives, Wong-Staal is not mentioned in the US Department of Health and Human Services timeline that chronicles the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Montagnier, not Gallo or Wong-Staal. However, her work was vital to the development of HIV antibody tests and antiretroviral drugs, and it laid the foundation for COVID-19 research decades later.

Paw’s investigation of Tay-Sachs disease was the beginning of a long career in pediatric hematology and oncology. Hematology is the study of blood and blood disorders, such as sickle cell disease or hemophilia. While completing his residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, Paw introduced the zebrafish as an animal model to investigate human blood disorders.

The process of blood cell formation is quite similar between zebrafish and higher vertebrates such as humans, and they’re very accessible, which makes the species perfect for hematology research. Paw’s introduction of the zebrafish paved the way for other researchers for years to come. His studies alone identified several new genes and their functions, contributing to our understanding of red cell disorders such as anemia.