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Sydney Vietnam Academic Network
Impacting lives through collaborative research and education
The Sydney Vietnam Academic Network brings together researchers and educators in Vietnam and Australia. We aim to improve the lives of people across Vietnam and beyond by generating and sharing new knowledge.
Australia and Vietnam share many challenges such as regional security, health security, COVID-19 response, agriculture modernisation, climate change, harnessing new technologies, ageing populations, environmental degradation, urban development and many others.
The University of Sydney has worked with partners in Vietnam for over two decades, across a wide range of disciplines.
Our vision is to be a leading multi-disciplinary network of researchers and educators, working together to develop the evidence required to improve the lives of individuals, societies, and the environments within which they live.
Nodes:
The Sydney Vietnam Academic Network's Academic Nodes support the breadth and depth of our research in Vietnam, focusing upon disciplinary strengths of the University of Sydney. These include:
Our research priorities include:
- Urban Transport Planning and Policy
- Data Analytics for Business, Resources and Environment
- Social Enterprises and health care
- Leadership and women entrepreneurs
- Applied research in the areas of transport, logistics and supply chains
Our partners include Vietnam National University, Vietnam-German University, Vietnam Institute for Advanced Studies in Mathematics, Vin University and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
Contact Professor Minh Ngoc Tran at minh-ngoc.tran@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Sustainable production of safe, healthy food (agriculture and health, strategy for sustainable agriculture, supply chain sustainability)
- One-health connections between agriculture (crops, fish and livestock), the environment and humans
- Food policy and planning
Our partners include Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University of Economics, Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI), Western Agricultural Science Institute (WASI) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF).
Contact Professor Daniel Tan at daniel.tan@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Tuberculosis, fungal pathogens and antimicrobial resistance
- Food and water-borne pathogens
- Pandemic infectious diseases, such as COVID-19
- One Health
This Node is also connected with the Sydney Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Our partners include National Lung Hospital; National TB Programme; Hanoi Medical University; NIHE; Ministry of Health; University of Medicine and Pharmacy HCMC; National Hospital for Tropical Diseases; Danang Hospital for Women and Children; Hospital for Tropical Diseases HCMC; Vietnam National Children’s Hospital; University of Science and Technology of Hanoi; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST); Hanoi University of Pharmacy.
Contact Dr Justin Beardsley at justin.beardsley@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Chronic lung diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Cancer screening and prevention
- Eye disease
- Air pollution
- Tobacco control
- Obesity and Diabetes
Our partners include Vietnam Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Hanoi Medical University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National Cancer Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Hung Vuong Hospital.
Contact Dr Yun Trieu at phuong.trieu@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Neurodevelopmental conditions (cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder)
- Adverse obstetric outcomes
- Paediatric infectious diseases
- Education and training in paediatric diagnosis and management
- Mentoring in research methods
Our partners include the National Children's Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam and Hanoi Medical University.
Contact Professor Elizabeth Elliott at elizabeth.elliott@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Economics, including agricultural and environmental economics
- Art Society, Culture and the Environment, private investment into environmental and agriculture research
- Digital media, Cultural Industries and Media Policy
- Human Ethics
- Public policy
- Languages
- Visual Art and Design in Vietnam Curatorial Practice, Creativity and Innovation
- Heritage and museum studies
Our partners include Vietnam National University of Agriculture (Faculty of Economics). Hue University (Faculty of Economics) UNESCO, Hanoi, Vietnam Institute of culture and arts studies (VICAS) and the Ministry of Culture, University of Architecture, HCMC, University of Culture and Heritage, HCMC, Museum of HCMC.
Contact Associate Professor Jane Gavan at jane.gavan@sydney.edu.au.
Our research priorities include:
- Health education, including continuing professional development, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy and allied health disciplines.
- Postgraduate education, including PhD and Masters programs
- Research methods, including clinical trials and epidemiological research
- Educational exchange
Contact Professor Lynette Mackenzie at lynette.mackenzie@sydney.edu.au.
What's new
In May 2021, Hanoi Medical University, the University of Sydney, and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint research laboratory, based in the Department of Microbiology at Hanoi Medical University. With COVID-19 disruptions reducing us, the lab is now almost ready to launch. This well-equipped, properly staffed, and academically supported laboratory has modern facilities, including biosafety cabinet class II, real-time PCR facilities, Vitek2 compact, MALDI biotyper, and more, and aims to become an advanced central One Health research lab for Southeast Asia. The facilities can process samples from all sources and can accommodate many fields of research including general bacteriology, mycology, immunology, and more. Several funded projects have restarted, including a prospective clinical cohort study of TB survivors in Vietnam in collaboration with the National Lung Hospital, Antimicrobial Resistance studies on Aspergillus and Candida isolated from the environment of Vietnam and Australia, and new collaborative projects with colleagues from Duke University.
The primary aims of this initiative are to develop research capacity (especially in mycology, a neglected area) and to provide opportunities for domestic and international researchers to collaborate on projects in a high disease burden setting. The laboratory will facilitate joint research funding opportunities, promote research student mobility activities, and encourage the exchange of scientific materials, publications, and other information between the Institutions. We welcome all colleagues who are interested in One Health and Infectious Diseases to join us working on research, training, and teaching projects to further enhance the relationship between the institutions.
In late May 2022, SVAN Director Professor Greg Fox, Deputy Director Dr Justin Beardsley, and members of the executive Ms Elyse Guevara, Centre Manager and Ms Leanne Howie, Office of Global Health completed their first trip to Vietnam in an official capacity. This was the first opportunity Sydney-based SVI members to travel to Vietnam and follow up existing projects and meet with research partners in Vietnam, after the prolonged pandemic-related border closures.
The assembly met with the Australian Ambassador in Hanoi, the Consul General in HCM, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham)’s Executive Officer to discuss SVI’s upcoming plan and future cooperation opportunities. They both showed great interest in SVAN and promised to support its future activities.
