Flossie Wong-Staal Biography (1947-)

Nationality
Chinese, American
Gender
Female
Occupation
Virologist

Wong is considered one of the world's top experts in viruses and a codiscoverer of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, but her interest in science did not come naturally.

Born as Yee Ching Wong in communist mainland China, she fled with her familyin 1952 to Hong Kong, where she entered an all-girls Catholic school. When students there achieved good grades, they were steered into scientific studies.The young Wong had excellent marks, but initially had no plans of becoming ascientist. Against her expectations, she gradually fell in love with science. Another significant result of attending the private school was the changingof her name. The school encouraged Wong to adopt an English name. Her father, who did not speak English, chose the name Flossie from newspaper accounts of Typhoon Flossie, which had struck Hong Kong the previous week. For many years, the name was an embarrassment to her.

Even though none of Wong's female relatives had ever gone to college or university (all were housewives), her family enthusiastically supported her education and in 1965 she went to the United States to study at the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1968, Wong graduated magna cum laude with a B.A.in bacteriology, also obtaining a doctorate in molecular biology in 1972.

During postgraduate work at the university's San Diego campus in 1971-72, Wong married and added Staal to her name. The marriage eventually ended in divorce.

In 1973, Wong-Staal moved to Bethesda, Maryland, where she worked at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with AIDS pioneer Robert Gallo, studying retroviruses--the mysterious family of viruses to which HIV belongs. Searching for acause for the newly discovered AIDS epidemic, Gallo, Wong-Staal and other NCIcolleagues identified HIV in 1983, simultaneously with a French researcher.In 1985, Wong-Stall was responsible for the first cloning of HIV. Her effortsalso led to the first genetic mapping of the virus, allowing eventual development of tests that screen patients and donated blood for HIV.

In 1990, the Institute for Scientific Information declared Wong-Staal as thetop woman scientist of the previous decade, and the fourth-ranked scientist under the age of 45.

That same year, Wong-Staal returned to the University of California at San Diego to continue her AIDS research. Four years later, the university created anew Center for AIDS Research, headed by Wong-Staal. There, she has worked tofind both vaccines against HIV and a cure for AIDS, using the new technologyof gene therapy.

User Contributions:

1
Aletha Andrews
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Wong Staal is a true inspiration in so many different ways.From her struggles in childhood to the never ending race to find a cure for AIDS, Wong Staal is a remarkable woman. And with her struggles, she has had an enormous impact n the lives of millions. There will never be enough money in the world that can be given for the work she has done.
2
Jessie Joiner
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Wong started out with so many different directions in her life, first she and her family had to flee their birth home, to find some kind of life in another part of her world, then sent to an all girl's Catholic school and strived to achieve good grades, then steered into scientific studies, that Wong herself had no expectations of becoming a scientist but ended up loving what she was doing, Wong even had to put up with the embarrassment of being forced to be named after a Typhoon. she was the only female in her family to ever go to college,and still she pushed on, Wong came to the United States to study at a university also she married and divorced, she still pushed on, to become Wong-Staal a top woman scientist and ranked the fourth scientist under the age of 45.Wong continued her study into the AIDS research, the university created a new center for which Wong headed to find vaccines for (HIV) AND (AIDS) using new technology of gene therapy. What a woman!!! this story just makes me want to reach out a hug her, and I would tell her what a good example you have set for all of the women all over the world. I could not even begin to think of my self going threw what she has went threw in her life time.
3
Bayleigh Forsyth
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Aug 23, 2021 @ 9:09 am
I think her story was interesting because she had no plan to attend college because none of her family members have not. So she decided to go to college to study HIV
4
Nikcholl Peeples
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Aug 23, 2021 @ 8:20 pm
Wong was very undecided when she first started off but she knew that's she wanted to go to school and she had no plans of becoming scientist on a very High demanding job but she did know she wanted to go to school for something and she did. Wong and her family had to leave home for a better life for all of them to overcome , and to become something great n a different world. But her not knowing she was going to fall in love with what she do , Wong loves being a scientist and knowing she helping people. Wong had some challenges in the road she was heading down dealing with her divorce,, however she still managed to overcome all of that Wong-Staal was the first female scientist at the age of 45. She study to find the cure for HIV & AIDS and used new technology gf gene therapy to do it. so Wong Staal wasting just know anybody she gave the people hope , and made other woman realize it just takes hard work and a mindset to it and become great.
5
Yazmin Gray
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Aug 30, 2021 @ 10:10 am
Flossie is a very outstanding woman. She overcame many obstacles in her lifetime and is truly an inspiration to me. I admire the fact that no matter what Flossie went through, she never gave up. Women like Flossie Wong-Staal really encourage me to do better in life.
6
Tamekia Mims
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Jan 27, 2023 @ 2:14 pm
The first thing that stuck out to me was the fact that she was in a catholic school as a child. That this where her guidance to Science came about. Spirit Led. She took her family and stepped out on faith, she had strong faith and from all the accomplishments from what of read about Flossie it appears that she had a strong finish. And all by the age of 45. I'm 45. This woman out here finding clones for the HIV tryna find a cure. All sorts of AIDS research she spend most of her life doing. Probably whe Magic Jhonson and so many other famous and or non famous people who were previously diagnosed with the HIV are not undetected.

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