A leading pediatric endoscopic surgeon, Nguyen was the first in Vietnam to perform a laparoscopic surgery on a child in 1997 and the first to carry out kidney and liver transplantations in Vietnam’s children’s hospitals. Apart from his surgical career, Nguyen is the director of the Vinmec Research Institute of Stem Cell and Gene Technology where he pioneers stem cell therapies for diseases such as cerebral palsy and autism. For his notable medical contributions over the years, Nguyen was awarded the 2018 Nikkei Asia Prize for Science and Technology. (Photo: Vinmec Research Institute of Stem Cell and Gene Technology)