The Lasker luster
Tu notes that artemisinin is a gift from the “treasure house” of the traditional Chinese medicine crystallized through the hard work of many scientists. But her hard work and dedication is itself a gift of life to millions the world over. She is elated but circumspect about the honor of being awarded the 2011 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, saying, “[When I heard I won, I had] multiple reactions: I was extremely honored as the winner of the renowned Lasker Award; humbled as an ordinary phytochemist without rich international publications; proud as a Chinese scientist with a discovery based on old Chinese medicine recognized by international science circles.”
Tu finished the interview by noting that her parents were central in setting her down the right path from birth, “My [first] name, Youyou, was given by my father, who adapted it from the sentence ‘呦呦鹿鸣, 食野之蒿’ translated as ‘Deer bleat “youyou” while they are eating the wild Hao’ (note: ‘Hao’ in this context means qinghao) in the Chinese Book of Odes. How this links my whole life with qinghao will probably remain an interesting coincidence forever.” http://www.jci.org/articles/view/60887