A leading force in cholera vaccine research, Dr. Firdausi Qadri at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research (icddr,b) has dedicated her career to combating this dramatic mortal disease through the innovative improvement of oral cholera vaccination, aiming to large-scale vaccination effort in developing countries. Upon receiving the 2024 VinFuture Special Prize, valued at $500,000, Dr. Qadri generously committed the entire award to expanding ideSHi—the Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives in Bangladesh.

In the face of societal barriers, particularly in Bangladesh, she remains committed to empowering women in science and using her VinFuture Prize to strengthen the country’s scientific community.

– What does the 2024 VinFuture Special Prize mean to you personally and professionally, and how have you used it to contribute to your developing country and its scientific community?

Dr. Qadri: The VinFuture Prize was completely unexpected, but it has given me immense energy and a profound sense of purpose. It reinforces my commitment to not just advancing research but also ensuring that scientific solutions are translated into real-world applications that benefit those in adverse settings, including humanitarian crises globally.

The VinFuture Prize also enabled me to do something for Bangladesh. I formed a non-profit research institution in 2014, ideSHi (Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives), located on the 11th floor of Blue Moon Gram Tower in ECB Chattar, Dhaka. This facility is dedicated to improving public health and nurturing the next generation of scientists. Together with the VinFuture Prize money and about one-fourth of my personal funds, I took a bold step forward, acquiring an additional 5,000 square feet of space within the same building as ideSHi’s original facility. Since then, this institute provides state-of-the-art facilities, offers training programs, collaborates with international partners, conducts research on genetic diseases including thalessemia – the most common blood disorder in Bangladesh – as well as infectious diseases.

Over the past decade, ideSHi has expanded tremendously, and this new extension will allow us to tackle even more critical health challenges while further strengthening scientific capacity in Bangladesh. With the advocacy of the VinFuture Prize, I am confident that this support will help ideSHi develop pragmatic solutions to public health challenges and ultimately help advance Bangladesh’s position in biomedical research.

The ongoing battle against cholera

Your dedication to scientific research and your success in the cholera vaccine area serves as an inspiration for young women all over the world. What sparked your initial passion for the field of science?

Dr. Qadri: I remain humble but also much more inspired to devote myself to the cause of uplifting the lives of Bangladesh and beyond by applying scientific innovations.

My journey began as a scientist with a deep passion for immunology. At the time, I started with the laboratory work, however, I realized then that lab research alone would not be able to prevent what I wanted to prevent. Therefore, I extended my work from the lab to the field and to working outside my sphere of interest.

However, when working on diarrheal diseases, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of cholera at our main hospital in Bangladesh. Every year, about 200,000 diarrheal disease patients including those who have cholera arrive, with 90-95% coming from impoverished backgrounds. Living in overcrowded conditions with shared toilets, kitchens, and bathrooms accelerates the spread of the disease. It is very difficult to control.

I began working directly with communities, studying vaccine effectiveness, distribution strategies, and public health interventions. I expanded my collaborations beyond academia to work more with the government, talking to them about what should and needs to be done.

Over 15 to 20 years, my work has evolved to encompass not just vaccine development, but also implementation strategies – exploring the effectiveness of different modes in delivering vaccines and also on understanding as to how to integrate WASH with vaccination programs to achieve cholera control. In a setting with limited resources like ours, we must find ways to deploy vaccines strategically and efficiently to save lives.

Therefore, I remain deeply grateful and overjoyed to have received this prestigious award from the VinFuture Foundation. This recognition is a tremendous honor and serves as a motivation for me to move ahead. Cholera is a disease of poverty that people don’t want to talk about due to its association with inadequate sanitation and clean water access. Some governments hesitated to acknowledge its prevalence due to concerns about their global image.

Breaking glass ceilings

Women in science, particularly in developing countries in Asia, face significant barriers, from entrenched prejudices to invisible glass ceilings. In your experience, what are the biggest barriers women must face when pursuing science?

Dr. Qadri: I always want to be known as a scientist, not a “woman scientist,” who works alongside men as equals. But I cannot deny that acceptance has not always come easily.

Throughout my career, I have had to work hard as a woman to compete in the man’s world. However, I have chosen to concentrate on my work and not to see myself as weaker or believe that there were limits to what I could achieve.

My family played a crucial role in reinforcing this belief, encouraging me to push boundaries and proving that a woman is just as capable as a man. I traveled to remote areas, worked long hours in the field, and committed myself fully to scientific research. I have managed to overcome many prejudices, though challenges remain. These barriers exist not just in Bangladesh or Asia, but globally. The reality is that gender disparities persist across the world.

As a passionate advocate for STEM education, could you share what makes this cause so deeply meaningful and why you believe it is crucial to empower women in STEM?

Dr. Qadri: Women are still underrepresented in STEM not only in developing countries but also in advanced economies. The statistics speak for themselves. If we truly want to make a meaningful contribution to the world, women must be part of this transformation.

However, many women hesitate to enter STEM fields, not because they lack ability, but because of deeply ingrained societal perceptions. In certain disciplines, including engineering and mathematics, women remain significantly underrepresented. Cultural biases often dictate which fields are considered “appropriate” for men and women, creating invisible barriers that discourage women from pursuing STEM careers.

Another critical factor is the cost and commitment required. Success in STEM requires years of dedication and persistence, making it an uphill battle, especially for women who must balance professional ambitions with societal expectations of family life. Many women are forced to make difficult choices, prioritizing family responsibilities over career advancement.

I try to use my journey to show young women that it is possible to have a family, raise children, and do science. You just need to know the mechanism to do it. There is no secret formula: just focus, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to the work you choose to do.

What areas are you focusing on in your continued research?

How will your research contribute to making mass vaccination a reality in resource-limited settings to minimize and finally, hopefully, defeat these kinds of epidemics?

Dr. Qadri: My large-scale clinical studies, using a Vietnamese live vaccine strain, allowed me to conclude the benefit, power and feasibility of an oral dose of an affordable vaccine. This finding enables large-scale vaccination campaigns in my country and other resource-limited countries, aiming to prevent outbreaks.

But only vaccines will not be able to prevent cholera. A comprehensive approach is essential, which includes improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), strengthening education, and implementing robust surveillance systems to track bacterial spread, which is the most critical.

Vaccines provide crucial protection in the short term. There are two key strategies: reactive vaccination during an outbreak and preventive vaccination to build long-term immunity. A major obstacle we face is the global shortage of cholera vaccines. Despite cholera affecting millions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, only 80 million vaccine doses are currently available annually. This is far below what is needed. Since cholera is often considered a “disease of poverty,” many pharmaceutical companies hesitate to invest in its production due to low-profit margins, so we are advocating for increased vaccine production in Bangladesh and this is already happening.

Therefore, we are striving to achieve the same, and we have already taken critical steps forward. One of our key achievements has been demonstrating that in a major outbreak, giving the vaccine in a reactive way can quickly reduce the number of cases. We have implemented this strategy in multiple regions of Bangladesh. More importantly, as a result of our dedication, we now have a national cholera control plan – a significant milestone in our fight against the disease. Our national control plan is centered on preventive vaccination, ensuring that people receive doses regularly – whether annually or every three years – to stay protected before outbreaks occur.