Prof. Dr. Thanh Mai has blazed a trail on hundreds of compounds from medicinal herbs with new structures that produce various biological effects. She has led and completed 14 scientific research projects at different levels, including 10 ministerial-level (07 at VNUHCM level and 03 funded by Nafosted) and 04 provincial-level projects. Moreover, she has published 141 scientific papers, 75 of which are in international journals and the other 66 in domestic journals. Besides, Prof. Dr. Thanh Mai has published her monographs and textbooks. She has obtained two patents granted by the Intellectual Property Office and is the leader of a big research group under the VNU-HCMC’s Drug Chemistry Research Program in 2020.
With her passion for discovering and researching medicinal herbs, Prof. Dr. Thanh Mai has collaborated with Toyama University (Japan) to conduct research on medicinal herbs and active ingredients that exert cytotoxic effects on pancreatic cancer cell lines under nutrient deprivation. As a result of this program, her research team has discovered many active ingredients with new structures unknown to the world before. Specifically, the active ingredient from the Boesenbergia Rotunda (also known as “fingerroot”) grown in An Giang province produces a very strong cytotoxic effect on pancreatic cancer cell lines. “We have found 21 new compounds and 36 new active ingredients with strong anti-pancreatic cancer effects. Consequently, we have successfully extracted and prepared products with the intervention of nanotechnology that are effective in treating gastrointestinal cancer.” – said Pro. Dr. Thanh Mai.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai instructs her students during the research