About the instructor:
Dr. Tran Dang Nguyen is the founder of the Center for Computational Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases (CEID) in Vietnam, established following his tenure as a Research Assistant Professor at Temple University and PennState University. He earned his Ph.D. from The Open University, UK, in 2016, with a focus on individual-based simulations to combat the spread of antimalarial drug resistance. During his doctoral and postdoctoral work, Dr. Nguyen developed and validated a microsimulation model for malaria, which has been used to evaluate strategies such as multiple first-line therapies, triple artemisinin-based combination therapies (TACTs), and mass drug administration (MDA). His research has informed policy decisions in countries including Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Dr. Nawaphan specializes in disease modeling, with expertise in both agent-based and compartmental approaches to support disease control strategies in resource-limited settings. She leverages her background in clinical research and pharmacy to ensure that modeling outputs are practical, policy-relevant, and grounded in real-world application. Nawaphan earned her PhD from the University of Bonn, Germany, with funding from the German government. During her doctoral research, she collaborated closely with the Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) to evaluate novel gene drive strategies for malaria elimination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prior to her PhD, Nawaphan completed her pharmacy degree and earned master’s degrees in clinical research and business administration from the University of Washington and Imperial College London. She is currently focused on advancing clinical research, health data management, and disease modeling capacity in Southeast Asia.
Seminar Summary
The AMMnet Asia-Pacific group was excited to launch its new quarterly seminar series. The seminar featured two engaging talks from Drs. Tran Dang Nguyen and Nawaphan Metchanun.
Modeling Optimal Antimalarial Deployment Strategies to Combat Artemisinin Resistance in Uganda
Dr. Tran Dang Nguyen presented findings from an individual-based mathematical model that evaluated 53 strategies for deploying antimalarial therapies in Uganda to address the threat of artemisinin-resistant malaria. The study showed that switching to ASAQ or implementing ASAQ-dominant multiple first-line therapies could have significantly reduced treatment failures, while also highlighting the risks of resistance associated with DHA-PPQ. Dr. Nguyen, founder of the CEID in Vietnam and an expert in computational epidemiology, developed models that informed malaria policy decisions in several African countries.
Evaluating the Impact of Chloroquine Mass Drug Administration on P. vivax Malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Application of Population-level Transmission Dynamic Modelling
Dr. Nawaphan Metchanun presented a study that used population-level transmission dynamic modelling to predict the impact of chloroquine Mass Drug Administration (CQ MDA) on P. vivax malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Despite public health progress, the region continued to face challenges in eliminating P. vivax, the predominant malaria species. Dr. Nawaphan, an expert in agent-based and compartmental disease modeling, applied her clinical research and pharmacy background to produce practical, policy-relevant insights for malaria control in resource-limited settings.
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