By Wannapa Phetdee
The Nation
Published on August 25, 2008

A young woman is about to take her first steps toward a childhood dream of becoming a biochemist.

She's won a scholarship to study in the US. But, she will be learning by reading lips - in English.

Jakrada Attarataya, 23, is deaf. She's been communicat?ing through lip reading since she kindergarten.
Now she's taking her Civil Service scholarship to the Wisconsin, where she will complete her masters and doc?torate in biochemistry and biotechnology.

When complete, she hopes to research protein structures using radiation.

Jakrada is the first deaf woman to compete with hear?ing people and win the scholarship. "It is a dream of my family to see me study abroad. My parents helped me so much to teach me to commu?nicate with others, and live with them," says Jakrada.

Job back home

After her six years of studies in the US, Jakrada will return home for a job at the National Synchrotron Research Centre.

NSRC chief Dr Weerapong Pairsuwan says when she grad?uates she will apply radiation to proteins to discover the molecular structure of food, viruses or herbs.

This will help researchers find ways of making cooking food safer, discover how viruses work and to understand the exact properties of herbs so we can tackle viruses better.

"My daughter's success will open up opportunities for other disabled people," says moth?er Ubonrat.

Jakrada communicates by reading lips and speaking. Surprisingly, she knows very little about sign language.

"I used to think being deaf made me inferior. I decided I would read lips," Jakrada says.

She has a science degree from Chulalongkorn and has worked as a researcher at the National Centre for Genetic and Bioengineering and Biotechnology.