Research
I work on infectious-disease epidemiology and health systems in Vietnam: antimicrobial resistance, tuberculosis, dengue, and the use of routine surveillance and health records for policy. I build the analyses as reproducible pipelines in R.
Projects
National AMR data-to-policy program
2026–present. Analyst and co-investigator. Ministry of Health / VNASS, VinUniversity and US CDC.
Turning Vietnam’s national antimicrobial resistance surveillance, from 60 sentinel hospitals, into empirical-treatment protocols and a national carbapenem action plan, through a reproducible R pipeline. It is the next step of my VinUniversity Seed Grant on ESKAPE+ antimicrobial resistance (see Grants), taking that work from one institution to the national scale.
Kharituwe: TB household contact investigation in South Africa
With Prof. David Dowdy (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).
The Kharituwe Study (meaning “Let’s go” in isiVenda) is a pragmatic, individually randomized controlled trial evaluating alternative timing strategies for tuberculosis (TB) household contact investigation in South Africa. I began working with its data on household-contact TB in my MPH capstone; a first paper, “Not All That Grows is TB”, was accepted by the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in 2026.
Infectious diseases
With Prof. Andrew Taylor-Robinson (College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity). Part of this work is grant-funded.
A broad collaboration on infectious diseases in Vietnam and Southeast Asia:
- Social determinants: how Vietnam’s fifty-year transformation created a “paradox of progress”, easing diseases of poverty while bringing new infectious-disease risks with urbanization, inequality and climate change (Nature Communications, 2026).
- Dengue prediction: modeling dengue burden across Vietnam and Southeast Asia from Vietnam’s 1998–2021 provincial surveillance data (Gibb et al., 2023) and the OpenDengue database, including whether it peaks in fast-urbanizing provinces, and simple climate thresholds for early warning.
- Mosquito mapping (GIS) in Hanoi: a field study pairing drone 3D mapping of a 2.4 km × 2.4 km urban area, at 10 cm resolution, with mosquito trapping and climate data, to link the built environment with Aedes mosquitoes and transmission risk.
- Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infections: two journal collections on antimicrobial resistance that we edit together, and papers on arboviruses, avian influenza, rabies and COVID-19.
VINCohort: electronic health records
With Prof. Le Cu Linh (College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity). Since 2023.
A longitudinal cohort built from electronic health records (hundreds of thousands of health-check records) and nationally representative survey data (WHO STEPS), to measure the burden of noncommunicable diseases in Vietnam. I was its research coordinator in 2023–2024 and have supported data analysis and paper writing; my focus is the electronic health records, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in people whose BMI is normal by Western cutoffs.
Global Burden of Disease
2023–present. Senior collaborator, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
Studying health risks with electronic health records, administrative and insurance-claims data, and registries.
Earlier projects
- Systematic reviews and meta-analysis, working-group leader, Prof. Huy Nguyen’s lab, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University. Led teams that conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and analyzed secondary observational data on infectious diseases, health insurance and public registries.
- Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and AMR in Vietnam (2022), research assistant, VinUni–Illinois Smart Health Center (PI: Prof. Andrew Taylor-Robinson).
Grants
- VinUniversity Seed Grant, principal investigator: ESKAPE+ antimicrobial resistance at one institution, where this line of work began.
- National AMR data-to-policy program (2026–present), analyst and co-investigator, with the Ministry of Health, VinUniversity and US CDC: the natural next step of the Seed Grant, taking the work from one institution to the national scale.
Publications
Journal articles and book chapters, newest first. An asterisk marks equal contribution. The full record is on Google Scholar.
2026
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Not All That Grows is TB: High Prevalence of TB-Negative Cultures Among Household Contacts in South Africa. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2026.
Accepted September 2026. -
A “paradox of progress” shapes the social determinants of infectious diseases in Vietnam, 1975–2025. Nat Commun. 2026. doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71419-7
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The Second Silent Pandemic: Why Arboviruses Demand an Orchestrated Global Health Response. Pathogens. 2026. doi:10.3390/pathogens15040398
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“Climatic determinants” and simple thresholds for dengue early warning in Vietnam: a One Health perspective. Sci One Health. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.soh.2026.100159
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Outcomes of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange Among Children With Autoimmune Encephalitis in Vietnam. J Child Neurol. 2026. doi:10.1177/08830738251356122
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Global, regional, and national burden of chronic respiratory diseases and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990–2023: a Global Burden of Disease study. Nat Med. 2026. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04077-9
2025
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Global age-sex-specific all-cause mortality and life expectancy estimates for 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations, 1950–2023: a demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. Lancet. 2025. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01330-3
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Behavioral Interventions for Preventing Infectious Diseases. In: Liamputtong P, ed. Handbook of Concepts in Health, Health Behavior and Environmental Health. Springer, Singapore. 2025. doi:10.1007/978-981-97-0821-5_35-1
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Human Behavior and One Health: A Framework for Change. In: Liamputtong P, ed. Handbook of Concepts in Health, Health Behavior and Environmental Health. Springer, Singapore. 2025. doi:10.1007/978-981-97-0821-5_45-1
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Identifying scope and research question. In: Practical Approach to Conducting a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. IGI Global. 2025. doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-3007-4
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How a Meta-analysis Works. In: Practical Approach to Conducting a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. IGI Global. 2025. doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-3007-4
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Heterogeneity and Prediction Intervals in Meta-Analysis. In: Practical Approach to Conducting a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. IGI Global. 2025. doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-3007-4
2024
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Alterations in aortic elasticity indices among type 2 diabetes patients in a low and middle income country using M-mode echocardiography: A cross-sectional comparative study. PLoS One. 2024. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0305799
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A comprehensive review of Langya virus and framework for future zoonotic disease control. Rev Med Virol. 2024. doi:10.1002/rmv.2520
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Combatting rabies outbreaks in Vietnam: High time to enforce restrictions on dog meat farming, a key source of transmission. IJID Reg. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.ijregi.2024.100490
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Divergent immune profiles in distinct populations - A vietnamese-german comparison. Brain Behav Immun Integr. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.bbii.2024.100083
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A comprehensive analysis of the immune system in healthy Vietnamese people. Heliyon. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30647
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Perspective Chapter: Rationale, Implementation and Effectiveness of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Malaria Control, Prevention and Elimination Program, 2015–2030–A Progress Report. Infectious Diseases. IntechOpen. 2024. doi:10.5772/intechopen.115106
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Global estimates on the number of people blind or visually impaired by cataract: a meta-analysis from 2000 to 2020. Eye (Lond). 2024. doi:10.1038/s41433-024-02961-1
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Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality burden of non-COVID-19 lower respiratory infections and aetiologies, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Infect Dis. 2024. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00176-2
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Global age-sex-specific mortality, life expectancy, and population estimates in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1950–2021, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2024. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00476-8
- Tips from an expert panel on the development of a clinical research protocol. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2024. doi:10.1186/s12874-024-02315-1 Erratum: BMC Med Res Methodol 2024;24(1):300, doi:10.1186/s12874-024-02438-5.
2023
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The global COVID-19 vaccine surplus: Tackling expiring stockpiles. Infect Dis Poverty. 2023. doi:10.1186/s40249-023-01070-7
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Vietnam’s Evolving Healthcare System: Notable Successes and Significant Challenges. Cureus. 2023. doi:10.7759/cureus.40414
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Telepharmacy: A Systematic Review of Field Application, Benefits, Limitations, and Applicability During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Telemed J E Health. 2023. doi:10.1089/tmj.2021.0575
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Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Policy of Holding the Second Dose of Vaccination: Lessons from the Outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City. Vaccines (Basel). 2023. doi:10.3390/vaccines11020293
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Could human-to-human transmission of avian influenza spark a public health crisis in Southeast Asia? Infect Dis Health. 2023. doi:10.1016/j.idh.2023.05.004
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Molnupiravir as the COVID-19 panacea: False beliefs in low- and middle-income countries. Pathog Glob Health. 2023. doi:10.1080/20477724.2023.2232593
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Detect and suppress future zoonotic-derived outbreaks: A lesson from the last two decades. J Med Virol. 2023. doi:10.1002/jmv.28530
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Healthcare in Vietnam: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to Improve Patient Care Outcomes. Cureus. 2023. doi:10.7759/cureus.45006
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Social Surveys and Public Health. In: Liamputtong P, ed. Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health. Springer. 2023. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-96778-9_68-1
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Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis in Public Health. In: Liamputtong P, ed. Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health. Springer. 2023. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-96778-9_143-1
2022
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Is checklist an effective tool for teaching research students? A survey-based study. BMC Med Educ. 2022. doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03632-z
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Global “flu-ization” of COVID-19: A perspective from Vietnam. Front Public Health. 2022. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.987467
2021
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Feto-Maternal Outcomes of Breastfeeding during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Trop Pediatr. 2021. doi:10.1093/tropej/fmab097
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COVID-19 Timeline of Vietnam: Important Milestones Through Four Waves of the Pandemic and Lesson Learned. Front Public Health. 2021. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.709067
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The feasibility and utility of a mobile app in supporting Vietnamese children with cancer. Ann Oncol. 2021. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2021.08.631
2020
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Identifying the etiological profile of children presented with hepatomegaly admitted to a tertiary care hospital. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020. doi:10.38103/jcmhch.2020.64.15