Nguyen Thanh Tuan, MD, MS, PhD - VinUni

Home Nguyen Thanh Tuan Nguyen Thanh Tuan, MD, PhD

College of Health Sciences

Assistant Professor

International Breastfeeding Journal

Associate Editor

University of Canberra

Visiting Fellow

Email: [email protected]

Biography

Dr. Tuan Nguyen is a dedicated medical epidemiologist with nearly 30 years of experience in international health, making a significant impact on global communities.

His research encompasses maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, health disparities, nutrition policy, health system strengthening, food systems, health economics, and climate change. With advanced training from renowned institutions such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, and Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Nguyen has provided technical support and conducted studies in 35 countries.

He has co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, along with numerous guidelines, reports, and newspaper articles. He has also served as an editor and referee for esteemed journals and adjunct faculty member at prestigious universities, including the University of Southern California. Dr. Nguyen has contributed to the development of innovative global digital tools, including the Mothers’ Milk Tool, the Green Feeding Tool, and the Human Milk Bank Costing Tool. Earlier, he served as a technical advisor at FHI 360, adjunct faculty at VinUniversity, and lecturer at Hanoi Medical University.

Research Interests

• Nutrition and Chronic Diseases • Disparities in Nutrition and Health • Barriers and Interventions to Improve Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition • Health, Sustainability, and Economic Aspects of Interventions

Teaching Interests

• Nutrition and Food Hygiene • Big Idea: Climate Change, Nutrition, and Health • Fundamentals of Population & Health Research

Selected Publications

Dr. Tuan Nguyen has contributed 91 peer-reviewed papers, over 20 book chapters and reports, global innovative tools, and more than 65 presentations at international and national forums. He has also authored over 70 newspaper articles (in Vietnamese) to promote maternal and child health and healthier lifestyles.

Peer reviewed publications: 1. Ching C, Nguyen TT, Pereira-Kotze C, Zambrano P, Baker P, Mathisen R. Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and maternity protection: correlations with commercial milk formula consumption in East Asia and the Pacific. Frontiers in Pediatrics 2025;Volume 13 – 2025. doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1553599. 2. Nguyen TT, Hajeebhoy N, Remancus S, Mathisen R. Empowering breastfeeding support: a review of challenges, solutions, and lessons learned from large-scale interventions in Vietnam. J Public Health Emerg 2025. doi: 10.21037/jphe-24-103. 3. Nguyen TT, Tran HT, Tran KTN, Nguyen OTX, Nguyen ATT, Mathisen R. Application of a locally developed open-access digital monitoring system for the human milk bank network in Vietnam. Int Breastfeed J 2025;20(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13006-025-00745-1. 4. Hoang MV, Nguyen TT, Tran AT, Luu TQ, Vu MQ, Tran HT, Nguyen OTX, Mathisen R. Cost analysis of establishing and operating the first human milk bank at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children in Vietnam: an activity-based costing ingredients study. International Breastfeeding Journal 2024;19(1):47. doi: 10.1186/s13006-024-00657-6. 5. Smith J, Iellamo A, Nguyen T, Borg B, Mathisen R, Thomas S. Human milk: A win-win-win for health, sustainability, and economics? Field Exchange 72 2024;72:4. 6. Nam NTT, Lan VTH, Tuan N, Quyen BTT. Strengthening primary health care through integration of non-communicable disease services: Insights from the abundant health model in Vietnam. International Journal of Healthcare Management 2024:1-11. doi: 10.1080/20479700.2024.2318147. 7. Sun X, Yon DK, Nguyen TT, Tanisawa K, Son K, Zhang L, Shu J, Peng W, Yang Y, Branca F, Wahlqvist ML, Lim H, Wang Y. Dietary and other lifestyle factors and their influence on non-communicable diseases in the Western Pacific region. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 2024;43:100842. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100842. 8. Blankenship J, Nguyen T, White JM, Badham J, Zambrano P, Vu D, Nguyen H-A, Cashin J, Kupka R. Overpromoted and underregulated: National binding legal measures related to commercially produced complementary foods in seven Southeast Asian countries are not fully aligned with available guidance. Matern Child Nutr 2023;19(S2):e13588. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13588. 9. Becker GE, Ching C, Nguyen TT, Cashin J, Zambrano P, Mathisen R. Babies before business: protecting the integrity of health professionals from institutional conflict of interest. BMJ Global Health 2022;7(8):e009640. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009640. 10. Becker GE, Cashin J, Nguyen TT, Zambrano P. Expanding Integrated Competency-Focused Health Worker Curricula for Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition. Education Sciences 2022;12(8). doi: 10.3390/educsci12080518. 11. Nguyen TT, Tran HTT, Cashin J, Nguyen VDC, Weissman A, Nguyen TT, Kelly B, Mathisen R. Implementation of the Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes in Vietnam: Marketing Practices by the Industry and Perceptions of Caregivers and Health Workers. Nutrients 2021;13(8). doi: 10.3390/nu13082884. 12. Tran HT, Nguyen TT, Giang HT, Huynh LT, Barnett D, Mathisen R, Murray JCS. Factors Associated with the Use of Pasteurized Donor Milk for Healthy Newborns: Experience from the First Human Milk Bank in Vietnam. Nutrients 2021;13(4). doi: 10.3390/nu13041151. 13. Tran HT, Nguyen TT, Mathisen R. The use of human donor milk. Bmj 2020;371:m4243. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m4243. 14. Li J, Nguyen TT, Wang X, Mathisen R, Fang J. Breastfeeding practices and associated factors at the individual, family, health facility and environmental levels in China. Matern Child Nutr 2020;16 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):e13002. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13002. 15. Nguyen TT, Darnell A, Weissman A, Cashin J, Withers M, Mathisen R, Lapping K, Mastro TD, Frongillo EA. National nutrition strategies that focus on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition in Southeast Asia do not consistently align with regional and international recommendations. Matern Child Nutr 2020;16 Suppl 2:e12937. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12937. 16. Nguyen TT, Hoang MV. Non-communicable diseases, food and nutrition in Vietnam from 1975 to 2015: the burden and national response. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition 2018;27(1):19-28. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.032017.13. 17. Nguyen TT, Alayon S, Jimerson A, Naugle D, Nguyen PH, Hajeebhoy N, Baker J, Baume C, Frongillo EA. The Association of a Large-Scale Television Campaign With Exclusive Breastfeeding Prevalence in Vietnam. Am J Public Health 2017;107(2):312-8. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303561. 18. Nguyen TT, Withers M, Hajeebhoy N, Frongillo EA. Infant Formula Feeding at Birth Is Common and Inversely Associated with Subsequent Breastfeeding Behavior in Vietnam. J Nutr 2016;146(10):2102-8. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.235077. 19. Nguyen TT, Nguyen PH, Hajeebhoy N, Nguyen HV, Frongillo EA. Infant and young child feeding practices differ by ethnicity of Vietnamese mothers. BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2016;16(1):214. doi: 10.1186/s12884-016-0995-8. 20. Nguyen TT, Wang Y. Adiposity assessments: agreement between dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and anthropometric measures in U.S. children. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2014;22(6):1495-504. doi: 10.1002/oby.20689. 21. Nguyen TT, Butte NF, Wang Y. Demographic and socioeconomic correlates of adiposity assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in US children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96(5):1104-12. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.111.019232. 22. Lim H, Nguyen TT, Choue R, Wang Y. Sociodemographic disparities in the composition of metabolic syndrome components among adults in South Korea. Diabetes Care 2012;35(10):2028-35. doi: 10.2337/dc11-1841. 23. Nguyen TT, Adair LS, Suchindran CM, He K, Popkin BM. The association between body mass index and hypertension is different between East and Southeast Asians. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89(6):1905-12. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.26809. 24. Nguyen TT, Adair LS, He K, Popkin BM. Optimal cutoff values for overweight: using body mass index to predict incidence of hypertension in 18- to 65-year-old Chinese adults. J Nutr 2008;138(7):1377-82. 25. Nguyen TT, Tuong PD, Popkin BM. Body mass index (BMI) dynamics in Vietnam. Eur J Clin Nutr 2008;62(1):78-86. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602675. 26. Nguyen TT, Tuong PD. Efficacy of soygurt and soymilk supplementation for the improvement of nutritional status of 6-24-month-old children. Vietnam Journal of Medical Research, Vol. 20 (4), January 2002: 267-272. 27. Thang NV, Tuong PD, Nguyen TT et al. Risk factors of meningo-cerebral hemorrhage among newborn infants due to vitamin K deficiency. Hanoi Medical University Monographs, 2000: 174-180.

Book chapters, Guidelines, and Reports 1. ASEAN, WFP, UNICEF. Minimum Standards and Guidelines for ASEAN School Nutrition Package. Jakarta: UNICEF 2024. 2. ASEAN, UNICEF. ASEAN Regional Guideline on Minimum Standards for the Management of Child Wasting in National Health Systems. Jakarta: UNICEF 2024. 3. Vietnam Ministry of Health, National Institute of Nutrition. Technical guidance on nutrition preparedness and response in emergencies. Hanoi, Vietnam, 2024. 4. UNICEF EAPRO, Alive & Thrive, Access to Nutrition Initiative, Helen Keller International, JB Consultancy, University of Leeds, World Food Programme APRO. Consortium for Improving Complementary Foods in Southeast Asia (COMMIT) – Compendium of international standards and guidelines for the improved composition and labelling of commercially produced complementary foods in Southeast Asia. Bangkok: UNICEF, 2023. 5. ASEAN, UNICEF, WFP. ASEAN Food and Nutrition Security Report 2021, Volume 2. Jakarta: UNICEF, 2022. 6. ASEAN, UNICEF, WFP. ASEAN Food and Nutrition Security Report 2021, Volume 1. Jakarta: UNICEF, 2022. 7. Nguyen TT. Nutritional issues in conditions of natural disasters. In Tuong PD, (Ed.), Textbook of Nutrition and Food Safety. Medical Publishing House, Honoi. 2012. p 179-88. 8. Baranowski T, Baranowski J, Cullen K, Hingle M, Hughes S, Jago R, Ledoux T, Mendoza J, Nguyen TT, O’Connor T, Thompson D, and Watson K. Problems and possible solutions for interventions among children and adolescents. In O’Dea J, and Eriksen M, (Eds.), Childhood Obesity Prevention, International Research, Controversies, and Interventions. Oxford U Press, Oxford UK. 2010. p 408-21. 9. Tuong PD, Nguyen TT. Functional Foods. In Khoi HH, (Ed.), Textbook of Nutrition and Food Safety. Medical Publishing House, Hanoi. 2004. p 235-41. 10. Tuong PD, Nguyen TT. Overview of nutritional interventions. In Khoi HH, (Ed.), Textbook of Nutrition and Food Safety. Medical Publishing House, Hanoi. 2004. p 422-34.

Innovative tools

• Mothers’ Milk Tool -Valuing breastfeeding through the Mothers’ Milk Tool. Tuan Nguyen is a part of the development team from Australian National University and Alive & Thrive.
• Green Feeding Tool – Innovating to Improve Nutrition can help meet Climate Targets. Tuan Nguyen is a part of the development team from Australian National University and Alive & Thrive.
• Human Milk Bank Costing Tool – The first tool is the costing tool, which helps provide cost estimates using both default and user-selected cost components.
• Human milk bank monitoring system. Tuan Nguyen designed the system. Data are used for to improve program performance, decision making, and publications. The information about the monitoring component has been used for National Guidelines for Vietnam and Southeast Asian Standards.

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.

Selected Awards & Honors

• Early Career Scholar Award by the American Society for Nutrition, 2016. • Ward Cates Emerging Scientific Leader Award by FHI 360, 2016. • The Best Presenter Award by the Vietnam Education Foundation, 2009. • Student Scientific Award by the American Society of Nutrition, 2008. • 1st Scientific Award of National Scientific and Technology Conference by the National Scientific Committee, 2002. • 1st Scientific Award of Scientific and Technology Conference by Hanoi Medical University, 2001. • Award for a writing contest about Primary Health Care and Protection of Environment by Science and Life Newspaper, 1993.

Related websites

• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0737-430X • ‪Google Scholar‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8NPP34UAAAAJ&hl=en • Websites: https://sites.google.com/view/tuan-nguyen-fhi360 • Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tuan-nguyen-901b2616/