Tu Youyou, the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize in science, has made us all proud. Tu, born in 1930, discovered artemisinin (青蒿素), a drug that has reduced the death rates for patients suffering from malaria (疟疾). "Artemisinin is a gift for the world people from the traditional Chinese medicine". It is of great importance for curing malaria and other infectious diseases and for protecting the health of the world people.

　　Tu's winning the prize shows that China has made rapid progress in scientific and technological field and marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese medicine to the cause of human health.

　　Tu was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China on 30 December, 1930. Tu studied at Beijing Medical University School of Pharmacy, and graduated in 1955. Later Tu was trained for two and a half years in traditional Chinese medicine. Tu worked at the Academy of Chinese Medicine in Beijing after graduation. She was promoted to a researcher in 1980 only after the Chinese economic reform. In 2011, Tu became the first scientist in China to win America's Lasker Award (拉斯克奖) for her achievements. Currently she is the Chief Scientist in the Academy.