Where angels tread

And, if a person has such gene "defects" and also drinks regularly, the risks of getting esophageal cancer will increase four times compared with those who don't have such a genetic makeup and don't drink.

Wu spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in Harvard University, before joining Cancer Hospital in 2013.

Widely considered the best Chinese institute for cancer research and treatment, the hospital has been studying esophageal cancer since the 1960s－especially after scientists found the cancer's incidence rate to be significantly higher in areas south of the Taihang Mountains along the borders of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces than in the rest of the country.

Over the past two decades, the hospital's researchers have delved into etiology, the branch of medicine that studies causes and origins of diseases, and traced environmental factors that cause esophageal cancer. The hospital also enhanced its study of cancer genetics from 2000 due to progress in technology, Wu says.

Developing a bank with genetic samples of more than 20,000 cases is a big achievement of the hospital, she adds.

While strongly committed to research, Wu says she believes women in science are just like those in any other field and should not be treated differently－either through discrimination or praise.

The stereotypical image of a female scientist is someone in a white lab coat with little care for her appearance.

Although Wu wears little makeup, she says it is up to a woman to decide how she wants to look. Besides, "a woman's confidence is her best makeup", she adds.

"I am doing a job I like, and it is what I have always wanted."