Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. 2011.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. 2010.
PhD, Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health. 2008.
MSc, Regional Center for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, Jakarta. 2000.
MD, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. 1995.
Country Experience
Working or providing technical support (10 countries): Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, United States and Vietnam.
Conducting studies (35 countries): East and West Africa (Ethiopia and Nigeria); Central America (Nicaragua); North America (United States); East Asia (China, Japan, Mongolia, and South Korea); South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka); Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam); Middle East and North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates); Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).
Languages
Vietnamese (native), English (proficient), Chinese (basic), French (basic) and Russian (basic)
Professional Experience
2022 – Present: Regional Technical Advisor in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation, Alive & Thrive East Asia Pacific, FHI 360.
2022 – Present: Member and Co-Lead, DEI+ Regional Council, FHI 360 APRO.
2016 – 2022: Regional Technical Specialist in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation, Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia, FHI 360.
2011 – 2015: Specialist in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation, Alive & Thrive Vietnam, FHI 360, Hanoi, Vietnam. Senior Technical Officer, Strategic Information (2011-2015), FHI 360, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2010 – 2011: Fellow, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
2008 – 2010: Fellow, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
2004 – 2008: Student, Research and Teaching assistant, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1995 – 2009: Researcher, Assistant lecturer, and Lecturer, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
Professional Affiliations
Member, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health Academy 2019 to present
Member, American Society for Nutrition 2005 to present
Member, Vietnam Association of Nutrition 2001 to present
Community services
Editorial and Referee role:
Associate Editor : International Breastfeeding Journal (biomedcentral.com)
Guest Editor: Nutrients | Special Issue: Systems Epidemiology: A New Direction in Nutrition and Chronic Disease Research (mdpi.com)
Reviewer: Reviewed for over 30 journals, totaling more than 60 reviews (since 2016).
Academic Services:
College of Health Sciences, VinUni, Vietnam (2020 – date): Teaching Nutrition and Food Hygiene course for medical students. Contributing to the documentation of findings from the Vietnam Colorectal Cancer and Polyp Research (VinCAPR).
Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, USA (2015 – date): Collaborating in research initiatives; delivering lectures in Global Health Leadership courses; and mentoring five graduate students.
Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children (2016 – date): training, coaching, collaboration in research, monitoring and evaluation, and dissemination of findings, including publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
School of Population and Global Health - McGill University, Canada (2020 – date): Engaging in research collaborations and mentoring one graduate student.
Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland (2020 – date): Engaging in research and research proposal collaborations.
The Australian National University (2021 – date) and The University of Sydney (2024 – date): Collaborating in developing Green Feeding Tool and Mothers’ Milk Tool, conducting research, grant application, and mentoring three graduate students.
Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway (2015-2020): Mentoring 3 graduate students.
National and International Expert Consultation:
Programme Steering Committee for the Maximise support for breastfeeding for sustainable population health and wellbeing: Integrated knowledge translation approach (Max/Bf) Research Project at University College Cork (March 2025 – date).
Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Network (BFHI Network)’s Breastfeeding Competency Verification Expert Advisory Committee (Nov 2023 – date).
Member of Stakeholder Group - Global Nutrition Report (January 2024 – date).
Vietnam Ministry of Health, National Institute of Nutrition. Technical guidance on nutrition preparedness and response in emergencies. Hanoi, Vietnam (June – December 2024).
ASEAN Regional Guideline on Minimum Standards for the Management of Child Wasting in National Health Systems (May 2023 – September 2024).
Minimum Standards and Guidelines for the ASEAN School Nutrition Package (Oct 2022 – August 2024).
Regional Strategic Framework & Action Plan for the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on the Reformulation & Production of Healthier Food & Beverage Option (Dec 2023 – May 2024).
Vietnam School Nutrition recommendations (Nov 2022 – June 2023).
ASEAN Guidelines and Minimum Standards for the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding (May 2021 – Apr 2022).
ASEAN Food and Nutrition Security Report 2021 Volume 1 & Volume 2 (2021 – 2022).
Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods (COMMIT) to better regulations for first foods UNICEF East Asia and Pacific (Oct 2022 – Dec 2023).
DFC Technical Advisory Group | Drivers of Food Choice (2017 – 2021)
Viet Nam Human Milk Bank Guidelines (June 2019 – May 2021).
Minimum Standards for the Establishment and Operation of Human Milk Banks in Southeast Asia (Feb 2020 – Aug 2021).