Kinal Prize 2023: A team of students from the University of Health Sciences on the top step of the podium

On December 16, in the presence of Dr. Pas Muslim, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hay Ly Eang, Founder and President of PPM Laboratories and of the Kinal Foundation, organizer of the prize, as well as Professor Tep Rainsy, former dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, took place the 2023 Kinal Prize award ceremony whose theme was: “The relationships between stress and pain.

It was a team from the University of Health Sciences (UHS) which won the favor of the jury chaired this year by Professor Chhea Chhorvann, director of the National Institute of Health. A team from Puthisatra University (UP) came in second place while two teams – one from the Institute of Health Sciences of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces, the other bringing together students from UHS and UP – won the third place.

Among 15 applications, the Kinal 2023 prize jury selected 10 teams for the final of the competition. These came from the faculties of pharmacy, dentistry and medicine of four universities: Universities of Health Sciences, Universities of Health Sciences of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces, Puthisastra University and International University.

In his welcome remarks, Dr. Hay Ly Eang recalled that “the main objective of this competition [was] to encourage young people to have research ideas as well as to find ways to move forward. Without research and development, our country cannot move forward”, he pointed out.

  “Today, we celebrate brilliant young minds and their brave quest to solve tough health problems. We come together after a tough time with the pandemic, but even in the shadows, there's hope. The Kinal Prize shines bright, showing the power of young people to build a healthier Cambodia”, said Sakett Sophaseila, Deputy Secretary General of the Kinal Foundation. “We're not just looking for winners, but for future heroes. Not the kind with capes, but the ones with stethoscopes and microscopes, fighting not with weapons, but with knowledge and a never-ending question mark in their minds.»

Created in 2013, the Kinal Prize aims to encourage Cambodian health sciences students to carry out research projects that meet international scientific standards in order for students to reach the best potential in their field, to help them find a job that matches their talents as they embark on their careers and to contribute to the development of scientific research in Cambodia.

The award encourages the younger generation to follow in the footsteps of Dr Kok Sok Kim who, 64 years ago, launched the painkiller Kinal, the first modern medicine produced in Cambodia and marketed just after the country's declaration of independence. Kinal is right now the flagship of PPM Laboratories.