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UP FRONT
Pulling Back the Curtain
Vip Viprakasit, MD, DPhil
In this edition, Vip Viprakasit, MD, DPhil, talks about working in a limited-resource
setting, falling in love with the red cell, and his surprising talent for singing. Dr.
Viprakasit is professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics & Thalassemia
Center at Siriraj Hospital at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. He also is
founder of ATGenes, a biotechnology and diagnostic services company in Thailand.
Dr. Viprakasit in the clinic.
What did you want to be
when you grew up?
I’m fortunate that I am doing
what I thought I would be doing.
During high school, I became
interested in medicine. It seemed
like a challenging field and, more
important, I loved the challenge of
making a diagnosis. To me, it was
like playing the role of the detec-
tive in the mystery novels I loved
to read. As a specialist in red cell
disorders, I like to think of myself
as a detective who finds the culprit
but also cares for patients.
Now, in Thailand, there is
an apprentice training program
where high school students inter-
ested in medicine can go to the
hospital and gain exposure to the
medical world. Back in my time,
that wasn’t available!
To get to where I am today,
I have relied on plenty of luck –
and a bit of hard work.
Did you always know that
you wanted to specialize in
red cell disorders?
I first trained as a general pedia-
trician at Chiang Mai University
in northern Thailand, then con-
tinued my training in pediatric
hematology/oncology at Siriraj
Hospital at Mahidol University
in Bangkok. Later, I pursued my
postgraduate training in molecu-
lar hematology at the Weatherall
Institute of Molecular Medicine
at Oxford University in the U.K.
Typically, when you choose
to subspecialize in pediatric he-
matology, you pursue one of two
routes: classical hematology or
malignant hematology. I quickly
realized that my passion was the
red cell, anemias, and thalassemi-
as. There is no other way to say it:
The red cell is my cup of tea. There
are so many mysteries to solve!
During your training, what
advice did you receive from
your mentors and advisors?
There were two important mentors
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in my career. First, Voravarn
Tanphaichitr, MD, who was my
predecessor in my current posi-
tion at Siriraj Hospital. She also
was the leading expert in red
cells in Thailand and in Southeast
Asia. With her work in thalas-
semia and iron chelation therapy,
she set a great example of work-
ing within your limitations. Even
though she started her research
work 40 to 50 years ago, she
showed me that you can still con-
duct excellent clinical investiga-
tion and do important research if
you have the determination.
The second important mentor
is Douglas R. Higgs, FRS, who
was my supervisor during my
postgraduate training at Oxford
University. Like my earlier mentor,
Prof. Higgs is a world-renowned
expert in the red cell and thalas-
semia and provided a wonderful
example of a successful researcher.
However, he worked in very dif-
ferent circumstances, running one
of the biggest programs in red cell
research at one of the most re-
nowned universities in the world.
Prof. Higgs taught me three
important lessons that I’ve carried
with me throughout my career:
First, he demonstrated logical
thinking; second, he taught me
about critical analysis; and third,
he helped me master my com-
munication skills. Communica-
tion is an important skill for any
practitioner, and, as a non-native
English speaker, I was especially
grateful for his guidance.
Having trained in diverse
settings, what do you see
as the biggest differences
between working in a
limited-resource country
and a developed country?
The two settings are very differ-
ent – both in resources and types
of patients. In Thailand, we
have one of the biggest cohorts
of people with thalassemia and
tropical hematologic disorders
in the world, so our database
for that condition is huge. The
limitation, though, is our infra-
structure. With limited access to
the diagnostic technology, Thai
clinicians and scientists need to
adapt.
Also, while we cannot com-
pete with the infrastructure
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