Post-event Articles from Students

Diocesan Boys’ School

I was excited and grateful to be one of the selected students participating in the event, ‘Lunch with Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn’. Dr. Blackburn is a really nice and friendly person. She intently listened and responded to every single question we asked. The whole conversation flowed like a dialogue between a mother and her children, earnest yet natural and airy. Not only did she share with us her views on the future development of cancer research and its related ethical issues, she also talked about her experience as being a biomedical researcher, including the impediment and some interesting events involved in her research. Being a student who has a strong interest in medicine, Dr. Blackburn’s inspiring words have further given me the motivation and determination to purse this career. Last but not least, I would like to thank the University of Hong Kong for giving me this precious opportunity to meet with and learn from such a distinguished scholar.

Jerry Yeung Wan Lung

Heep Yunn School

How many secondary school students would have the chance to chat with a Nobel Laureate face to face? I am much honoured and grateful to have such a rare opportunity to talk, discuss and exchange views with Professor Blackburn.

During the intimate chat, Professor Blackburn not only shared her research work about telomere with us but also inspired us with her personal experience in pursuing her dream. I was especially impressed by how resolved she was to dedicate herself to the research field and the perseverance she exhibited in seeking truths. However, what amazed me most was her determination to understand and inspire teenagers’ minds, which she takes as great responsibility.

Having enjoyed such a fulfilling and fruitful chat with Professor Blackburn, I feel the importance to be ready to take risks and surmount any challenges in pursuing my ambition. At last, I would like to take the chance to thank HKU for having offered us such a precious opportunity, which has definitely equipped us for pursuing our dreams and achieving the strong will to improve public health.

Killopp Cheung

If you think that scientists are those wearing thick glasses and sitting inside a laboratory all day long, I can now give you a solid proof that your idea is not true. Dr. Blackburn devotes her life to research, has a perfect family and is even going to start her business! Talking to Dr. Blackburn was like travelling back to her old days. I saw how she was inspired by Marie Curie, worked hard and got a Nobel-prize, but still stay very humble. What so inspiring about Dr. Blackburn is that she always opens up to new ideas. She gave us a precious advice-- "Think out of the boundary". This was probably how she discovered telomere. I will certainly share this message with my schoolmates and apply it in my life. Thank you Dr. Blackburn!

Vickie Tsang

I am very grateful that The University of Hong Kong has given me this precious opportunity to join the “Lunch with a Novel Laureate” and have a conversation with Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn. Despite being a renowned scientist, Prof. Blackburn is approachable and friendly, and she is more than will to share with us her experience.

One thing she impressed me most is her strong passion in science. She makes her passion her profession and really enjoys what she is doing. Every time when we asked a question concerning her research, I could always see her eyes shining with excitement. I believe it is this strong passion of her that leads her to success. I also appreciate a lot how she is able to learn from other scholars and integrate different ideas together. She reminds me that greatest people in the world are not those who work alone, but those who are able to accept new ideas and work in a team.

This will surely be an experience which I will remember for the rest of my life. I hope that one day, I will also be able to join the medical profession and solve the riddle of the ‘incurable’.

Bithia Wong

‘Conceive, Believe, Achieve’, it was indeed an invaluable opportunity to learn from Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn.

As a senior secondary school student who has dreams and visions yet still lacks in confidence, I was deeply inspired by Dr. Blackburn’s determination to follow her interest and pursue her dream. Only in such learning and working environment could we find joys and satisfactions, and these would motivate us all the way through.

The keys to success are humbleness and enthusiasm. What I have learnt from Dr. Blackburn is to keep thinking out of the box. Great scientific discoveries do not pop up all of a sudden but require a long process of trial and error. Her story to success will definitely be borne in my mind and always remind me of being perseverant.

We can be as successful as her one day if we have the determination to achieve high.

Jenny Sin

A Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology is just a stranger with significant contributions in science, yet simply too distant from a senior secondary student who has not even had a taste of scientific research—this thought was pretty convincing until I was offered the marked opportunity to have a dialogue with Professor Elizabeth Blackburn. Not only was she an admirable biological researcher, but she was also a genuine educator enthusiastically demonstrating how the passion for the quest of truth, the willingness to embrace different views and approaches, and most importantly, the resilience to strive for one’s aspiration have led to her successful career as a scientist. Here, her success is not just confined to the discovery of telomeres and telomerase, which placed cancer biology on a new footing—it is also defined by how her passion, willingness and resilience in work brings about her self-recognition and confidence emotionally. These inspirations have undoubtedly transcended the discipline of cancer biology, provoking me into pondering where my heart truly belongs to, and what my career path will mean to me as I look back into the past. After this invaluable experience, I can proudly share with my peers that I had a light lunch, adding to merely a casual chat, with one of the greatest feminine Nobel Laureate in the world.

Adrina Tse

Hong Kong Taoist Association Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School

This event has been an eye-opener to me. Professor Blackburn is an energetic and inspirational person scintillating with wit. Much can be learnt from her experiences -- winning the noble prize is no easy task. It is intriguing to listen to the hindrances she met and the ways she overcame them. She strives to ‘dream things that never were and says why not’, instead of merely ‘see things that are and ask why’. Her indefatigable attitude definitely deserves our applause and it is my great honor to be invited to such a meaningful event.

Eddie Chung Wai Hung

It was such a precious opportunity that I was able to meet a Nobel Laureate --- Professor Blackburn. We had a simple lunch and then a sharing with her. I had never thought that Nobel Laureates could be so nice and friendly before I met Professor Blackburn. She was really kind and easygoing. Since we were only secondary students, we could not really understand her research thoroughly. However, we knew more about her career path of being a scientist and her research process. Her wisdom and profundity in the sharing really inspired me to think about my future career and my life.

Alex Lam Tun Kin

It's indeed my honour to be invited by the University of Hong Kong to join this event. We chatted with Prof. Blackburn directly at the lunch. It was such an unforgettable experience. Prof. Blackburn talked about her research, philosophy and experience. When she told us about the successful criteria of being a scientist, I’m deeply inspired by her sharing. I’ve acquired knowledge about her research, as well as some important attitudes towards life. It’s not easy to become a successful person like Prof. Blackburn. In the future, I will try my best to contribute to society.

Chow Chu Han

It was my honour to be invited by the University of Hong Kong as one of the secondary school students joining lunch with Professor Blackburn. It was definitely the most unforgettable experience in my secondary school life!

Throughout the informal discussion, Professor Blackburn talked about why she was determined to be a scientist when she was young. I found that her intense interests in the nature were the greatest driving force pushing her to devote her life to science. That was why she never feels fed up with her works. Instead, she enjoys and loves her work very much.

I think that was the most insightful message for me. As a secondary school student, I should now figure out my ultimate interests and decide my life career. I hope I can contribute to society or even the world one day, like what Professor Blackburn has been doing!

Chan Tsz Kin

Having a chance to meet Professor Blackburn was my honour and one of the most precious experiences. I learned a lot from her, not only the information of her research in telomere and telomerase, but also the inspiration she gave us. I remembered that she told us to work with people who were cleverer than us. The best way to make improvement is to learn from others. She said it was terrible to be the most intelligent person because you would have no more to learn. I could feel that she was so humble even though she was already a talented scientist. She also explained to us patiently about how telomere and telomerase work and could be used to cure cancer. That enriches my knowledge about cancer and stem cells, not just the brief idea taught by textbooks.

At first, I thought that the atmosphere might be very serious during the lunch as our guest was a renowned scientist. However, the real experience proved me wrong. She was nice and humorous that she could light up the tension. When she saw me missed the chance to ask, she even invited me to ask what I wanted to know afterwards.

This was really a valuable experience that not everyone can have a chance in their life time. Her experience in helping others in a macro way solidified my determination to work in medical field to help patients in a micro way.

Wong Kit Yee

Wah Yan College

This was undoubtedly a very unforgettable experience to me because I could exchange ideas with a Nobel Laureate, Professor Blackburn. She was unexpectedly very nice to all of us. I was fortunately given a chance to ask her a question, “Why do you support stem cell research? How do you regard about the ethics issue?” She said that stem cell research was definitely advantageous to human beings and used pencils as an example. Stem cell research was like a pencil which could also be dangerous and depended on how you used it. This was really very enlightening to me and I learnt that I should never view things in a single perspective.

Herbert Lee

Having lunch and chatting with a Nobel Laureate is never only a dream. I am very honored to attend the program and had a nice chat with a Nobel Laureate, Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009.

She discovered the molecular nature of telomeres, which may be the key to solve the aging problem of humans. Although telomeres are not included in the present school syllabus as the idea is very innovative, it had brought up our interest of digging out more about telomere, for example why is it so critical in cell division, why is it considered as a breakthrough in modern medicine. This program has certainly widened our horizon in terms of biological knowledge.

It was very enjoyable to chat with the Nobel Prize Winner. She is a modest lady and is very nice to us. She answered all our questions and gave much additional knowledge to us. From our conversation, we learnt more about her life and her reasons of doing research in genetics. The experience is simply irreplaceable and I hope that I can join the medical research field like her, so as to contribute to society and help the needed.

Ambrose Lau

There are nearly 7 billion people in the world. How many will get a chance to meet a Nobel Laureate, up-close and personal? And exceedingly fortunate, I was one of the 7 billion. Although time for the conversation was insufficient, I still appreciated the time spent with Prof Blackburn. Throughout the flow, we mostly exchanged our ideas on science and some inspirations in our life. I grasped this golden opportunity to learn from her. And I have learnt several things.

They are: believe in yourself, challenge yourself and do what you want. First of all, we should believe in ourselves. We should not follow suit just because we are afraid that we may be wrong or not good at doing something! This is the key to success for Prof Blackburn. Take her as an example, she had the same torment before her success and it is "Am I really good at doing scientific research?" She was a lucky person because along her way, there were always people supporting her. Or maybe it was because she was really great at doing such research. When other people thought that the cap of chromosomes did not worth any investigation, she had her belief and finally led to her Nobel Prize. Therefore no matter how hard the way it will be, we should have a strong mind to believe in ourselves.

Secondly, we should challenge ourselves. This is true especially for the young generation in Hong Kong. Currently, many youth in Hong Kong think that the greatest life is to be stable and flat. However, at least there should be colors in your "life picture". Otherwise, it would only be grey and white which makes life too dull.

Finally, we should do what we want. It means that we should find out our interest and make it as our career. It is vitally important to choose what we like as our career, as we need to face it for the rest of our life. The situation is just like when we were forced to work with a person that we did not like. Like Prof. Blackburn, her grandfather was a geologist, her father was a physicist, her son is working in a computer software company while she and her husband are biologists. We can see that her family all work in what they like. Her interest in biology is one of the reasons which lead to her success.

It was really enlightening to have such a conversation with her. Hope that there would be another chance in my life to meet with other smart person like her. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Paul Cheung, Prof. George Tsao and the organizing committee for their effort in organizing such a meaningful event for us.

Mathew Chan