Priscilla Chan’s parents fled Vietnam; she became the first to attend college and fund science

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.Priscilla Chan’s parents fled Vietnam by boatChan was born in Massachusetts to Chinese-Vietnamese refugee parents. Her family’s story stretches back to the Vietnam War, when her grandparents decided to send their children away in search of safety. Chan has said her grandparents put their children on boats near Saigon and sent them out to sea, knowing there was a poss...