Le Thi Kim Tuyen and her husband, Vu Do Quynh search for documents on the Internet. Doctor Le Thi Kim Tuyen. Dr. Le Thi Kim Tuyen spares her time for children at the Sao Mai Centre. Being born and growing up in France Le Thi Kim Tuyen only knew about Vietnam via her parent’s stories. Yet, she always desired to return to the homeland. She is a successful scientist and doctor whose scientific researches have made practical contributions to the health care and protection of people. Being influenced by both Vietnamese and French cultures Since she was a little girl, Kim Tuyen was taught Vietnamese by her parents and often listened to stories about Vietnam . She was taken care of by a French baby-sitter so she was influenced by both the Vietnamese and French cultures. Despite having a strong and decisive appearance, Kim Tuyen has the gentle and profound beauty of an Oriental woman. At the age of seven, she saw the images of Vietnam being bombed by the US on television that haunted her until she grew up and was urged to do useful things for the homeland. In 1966, she joined the Vietnamese Youth Union in France and participated in the anti-war movement and national protection. Particularly, she established relations with French organizations, such as the French Communist Party, the French Youth Union, etc., which supported Vietnam and protested against the US invasion in Vietnam . In 1986, she made an important decision: returning to Vietnam to devote her knowledge to the country which marked a turning point in her life. “During the time I lived in France , I only asked for extending a residence permit by three months at a time and did not apply for French citizenship because I always cherished my Vietnamese citizenship," she said. Posing with the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Returning to devote to the Homeland Doctor Le Thi Kim Tuyen returned to Vietnam at the time when the country was carrying out the renewal cause and faced tremendous difficulties. During her first days in Vietnam , she was new to everything. She said: “At that time I worked in the Institute of Epidemic Prevention which had facilities so poor that I did not know how I could start the work.” However, she overcame all difficulties and carried out some researches. She successfully produced the medicine for early pregnancy diagnosis (1989) that completely replaced the previous backward test methods. Then, she and her colleagues successfully carried out the research on infectious diseases in Vietnam via analysing micro-organic bacteria and viruses.  In 1999, she started doing her PhD thesis “Searching for the restriction enzyme from Vietnamese natural bacteria to apply to epidemiology research and diagnosis of disease by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method” that was highly appreciated by the Jury Board. “For me, it was a precious recognition that I will never forget,” she said. When telling us about her life and career, she did not forget to express her gratitude to her husband – Vu Do Quynh who always supports her in her work. They met when participating in union activities in France . They shared the love for the homeland and scientific research. They married in 1976 and since then together work on their target of returning to the homeland. Now that she is retired, she engages in a new job – researching the social psychophysiology. Twice every week she goes to Sao Mai Centre for Consulting, Early Discover of and Taking Care of Mentally Retarded Children in Hanoi to apply treatments to the children. She said that she finds joy and feels very happy in the new job, making a small contribution to the country. Story by Ha Anh - Photos by An Thanh Dat, Nam Suong