Life & Work with Vincent Law

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Law.  

Hi Vincent, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve lived in Florida for about 5 years now. I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Calgary in Canada when I was young and pretty much grew up there. Nowadays I called all three of these very different places my homes. 

I have to say that my journey was an interesting one getting to where I am at today. Growing up I was always driven by curiosity and creativity. Back when I was still in Hong Kong, I remember my school teachers had recommended my parents to place me into art school because they saw my talent as a painter, which my mother did end up enrolling me into private art lessons outside my normal school hours. 

However, like many Asian parents, they didn’t believe that I could be an artist for a living so instead, they wanted me to excel in subjects like math and science; things that they considered more “practical”. During my high school years in Canada was when I developed a huge interest in biology. It was the time when the Human Genome Project was near completion, and we could finally uncover the secret code of life. This led me to decide to take cellular and molecular biology as my major in university and proceeded to do my Master and Ph.D. in genetics and cancer biology. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I do not think any successes come without struggles. We face hurdles in life all the time and it’s how we overcome them and embrace that experience makes us stronger and wiser as a person. Work challenges for me are mundane day-to-day tasks. For example, as a scientist, I’m trying to answer fundamental questions that are important for the world and it’s a slow process; as an artist, I always try to tap into my emotions and create something impactful to the people who share the same perspective; as business owners, we are always trying to sustain and provide the best production/solution possible for clients; as a writer, I’m trying to convey my thoughts and ideas into words for my readers. But perhaps one of the biggest struggles I had along the way was my health. I had a brain infection in 2011 which resulted in my months-long hospitalization. That incident was a turning point in my life where I realize our time on this planet is extremely minute and we need to make the best of our lives as much as possible (yes, it sounds cliche, but it’s almost humorous it takes a life tragedy to really make people realize the importance health and self-care). I try to balance my schedule, despite how busy it gets, with some alone time for myself to reflect and exercise. This helps keeping my physical and mental well-being in check. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I completed my post-graduate degree in 2013, specialized in molecular biology and cancer biology. However, during my studies, I started a personal blog (which now no longer exists) dedicated to the local and international talents in art, fashion, and culture. The blog was a success, which landed me opportunities to travel the world, and became a Television Host in Canada and a regular contributor international publications like Vogue Italia and EliteGen. I was also a regular panelist for art museums and have judged emerging fashion designer competitions. It was kind of interesting because while I was doing all of that, I was also working as a Researcher full-time at a cancer hospital. When people have asked how do you switch between the two hemispheres of your brain and juggle doing both science and creative work, my answer to that is everything in our universe is somehow interconnected; you can’t do art without understand the basis of your creation, and you can’t perform science without thinking outside the box. Both of which require ideas, and ideas come from curiosity and creativity. 

With intermingling science and art in mind, in 2014, I co-founded Vinegar Designs Lab (VDL), a free-thinking production company that consults, designs, and executes projects using a methodological approach for both profit and non-profit businesses and organizations. My partners and I have collaborated with restaurant businesses, energy corporations, and art museums. While running this business, in 2017 I received an offer to move down to Tampa, Florida to work as a Cancer Researcher at the Neuro-Oncology department at a cancer center. Here, I study the mystery of brain and central nervous system tumors and hopefully one day make a contribution in finding an effective treatment that will better patiently care. 

Currently, in cancer research work, my primary focus is to understand the biology of circulating tumor cells in the cerebral spinal fluid that causes brain metastasis and searching for novel therapy approaches at the lab that could help improve the clinical outcome of patients. Aside from my scientific work, in the creative realm, I am still a regular writer for fashion publications. My company are still operating, helping international clients with creative projects such as editorials, campaigns, and production designs. Thanks to my business partners Paul Lee and Garmann Lee for taking on the roles maneuvering these projects while I’m down in Florida. 

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
When finding a mentor my advice is always to be humble, no matter how much of an expert you are already in your field. There is an old Chinese proverb: “behind a mountain, there’s a taller mountain”. To me, that meant that there is always someone out there who are better than you in something because frankly, we can’t know everything. This is why we are all specialized with a set of skills that are unique to ourselves. I do not believe in unskilled work; everybody’s job is important to make our society function. I also never try to compare myself with someone who is less skillful at what I’m good at, but rather I look for their uniqueness and strengths and try to learn from it. Find out how they did it, and what made them successful at that specific task. We should always stay curious and be a lifetime learners. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/binzento
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/binzento
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/binzento

Image Credits
Garmann Lee
Vinegar Designs Lab
Paul M. Lee.