Priscilla Chan’s journey from the daughter of Vietnamese refugees to a Harvard graduate, paediatrician and major science philanthropist is rooted in a family story shaped by war and migration. Her grandparents put her parents, who were teenagers at the time, on boats to flee Vietnam during the war. Chan grew up in Massachusetts, where her parents worked to build a new life after arriving in the US as refugees. She became the first person in her family to attend college, graduating from Harvard before earning her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. Her experiences as a teacher and paediatrician later influenced her approach to philanthropy. Alongside her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, she went on to help direct substantial funding towards scientific research through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Her extraordinary journey demonstrates how personal hardship and resilience can ultimately translate into a profound commitment toward improving healthcare access and scientific understanding for future generations worldwide.
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