Experts for Media: Antimicrobial Resistance

Caption: Medical illustration of clindamycin-resistant group B Streptococcus bacteria. (CDC/Unsplash)

A resource for journalists to find stories and sources.

At Asia Research News, we have a strong network of researchers at institutes throughout Asia and beyond. 

Below are experts in various aspects of antimicrobial resistance research.

Journalists can contact researchers directly, or reach out to us at [email protected] if you need help finding a source. Join our network of journalists to be the first to receive updates.

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(This list was last updated on 20 February 2023)

Articles on Asia Research News related to Antimicrobial Resistance are available here.

“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest health challenges of our time, and we cannot leave it for our children to solve,”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

Experts on antimicrobial resistance listed below are grouped by country. Use these links to jump to a particular country. 

HONG KONG     JAPAN     MALAYSIA     NEPAL     SINGAPORE     SOUTH KOREA     THAILAND     VIETNAM

 

HONG KONG

 

Dr. Xin Deng

Associate Head & Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: virulence regulation in pathogenic bacteria; antibiotic resistance; host-pathogens interactions; RNA epigenetics
Languages comfortable speaking: English; Chinese

Dr. Deng is a biomedical scientist with a special interest in bacterial virulence, including gene regulation, signaling pathways, and RNA epigenetics. He has worked on virulence regulation in pathogens to discover new therapies against bacterial infections. View full profile.

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Dr. Jian Yan

Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: molecular mechanism of osteosarcoma tumorigenesis and pulmonary metastasis; lncRNA function; transcription factor in transcriptional regulation; genomic tool development
Languages comfortable speaking: English; Chinese

Dr. Yan is an assistant professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong (CityU). His current research focuses on developing genomic tools to dissect lncRNA function and mechanism in diseases and to identify genetic variations that contribute to disease pathogenesis. View full profile.

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Dr. Sophie St-Hilaire

Associate Head / Professor of Aquatic Animal Health
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health
City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: infectious disease control and prevention in aquaculture; veterinary epidemiology; aquatic animal medicine
Languages comfortable speaking: English

Dr. St-Hilaire is associate head and professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, City University of Hong Kong (CityU). She and her colleagues are studying how to fight antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture environments by reducing bacterial and antibiotic levels through improved filtration systems and coating materials. View full profile.

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Dr. Alicia An

Associate Professor, School of Energy and Environment
City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: water and membrane technologies; nanobubble technology in aquaculture
Languages: English; Korean

Dr. An is an associate professor at the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Her research into membrane-based water treatment spans over a decade and covers various new technologies and applications. Among these is the development of a novel membrane system for bacteria-resistant organics oxidation in wastewater. View full profile.

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JAPAN

 

Dr. So Iwata

Professor
Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine
Kyoto University
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: x-ray crystallography; mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance
Languages: English; Japanese

Dr. Iwata is a Professor at the Graduate School of Medicine Kyoto University and also serves as Group Director of the SACLA Science Research Group, RIKEN SPring-8 Center. Using his expertise on protein crystallography, he has investigated how specialized membrane channels remove antimicrobial drugs from inside bacterial cells. View full profile.

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Dr. Toshiyuki Ozawa

Professor
Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medicine
Osaka Metropolitan University
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: Skin surgery, laser skin therapy, skin cancer
Languages: English; Japanese

Dr. Ozawa is a Specially Appointed Professor at the Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University (formerly Osaka City University). His specialized field is skin malignant tumor and surgery. He has served as director for the Japan Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine (JSLSM) as well as heads its editorial committee for publications. Photodynamic therapy, which does not produce drug-resistant bacteria, for malignant tumors and bacteria. View full profile.

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MALAYSIA

 

Dr. Natrah Fatin Bt Mohd Ikhsan

Associate Professor, Deputy Dean (Graduate Studies, Research and International)
Department of Aquaculture
Faculty of Agriculture
University Putra Malaysia (UPM)
Email: natrah@upm.edu.my
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: phycology; aquatic microbial ecology; antimicrobial resistance in shrimp aquaculture; quorum sensing and quenching
Languages: English; Malay

Dr. Natrah Ikhsan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). She is also an Associate Researcher in the Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Bioscience, UPM, and an Interim Member of Laboratory of Sustainable Aquaculture, International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, UPM. Currently, she is the Deputy Dean of Graduate studies, Research and International, Faculty of Agriculture, UPM. View full profile.

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NEPAL

 

Dr. Suraj Bhattarai

Co-founder and Research Fellow
Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: infectious diseases; health systems; urban health
Languages: English; Nepali 

Dr. Suraj Bhattarai is a global health specialist and tropical medicine physician with research interests in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance, health systems, and urban health. His work revealed how drug-resistant bacteria and bacterial infections impact public health, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Nepal. View full profile here.

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SINGAPORE

 

Dr. Andrea Lay Hoon Kwa

Pharmacy Clinician Scientist and Assistant Director
Pharmacy (Research), Singapore General Hospital
Associate Professor
Duke-NUS Medical School
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: Critical care medicine, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance research
Languages: English 

Dr. Kwa is currently a Pharmacy Clinician Scientist and Assistant Director, Pharmacy (Research), at the Singapore General Hospital and an associate professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. She specializes in critical care medicine, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance research. View full profile here.

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Dr. Pablo Bifani

Principal Investigator, Antimicrobial Resistance Lab
A*STAR ID Labs
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Research Director, Translational Research Programme in Infectious Diseases
Yong Yoo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antimicrobial resistance; phage diagnostics and therapy; AMR in TB, malaria and ESKAPE
Languages: English

Dr. Bifani is a principal investigator at A*STAR ID Labs at their Antimicrobial Resistance Lab, with a focus on understanding molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in pathogens and identifying better screening assays for drug discovery. He has extensively researched antimicrobial resistance in tuberculosis and malaria. View full profile.

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Dr. Amit Singhal

Senior Principal Investigator, Bacterial Immunopathology Lab
A*STAR ID Labs
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antimicrobial resistance
Languages: English

Dr. Singhal serves as senior principal investigator at the Bacterial Immunopathology Lab at A*STAR ID Labs in Singapore. He has been researching infectious diseases at A*STAR since 2012, starting at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN). His work at A*STAR ID Labs revolves around three main pathogens: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Gram-negative bacteria and Dengue virus. View full profile.

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Dr. Yue Wang

Adjunct Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
Research Director, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
Senior Principal Investigator, Infectious Diseases Labs
A*STAR
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: pathogenicity and virulence of pathogens belonging to the Candida genus; host factors and diagnosis and treatment of Candida-related infections; antifungal resistance
Languages: English

Dr. Yue Wang is senior principal investigator at the Antifungal Resistance Laboratory of A*STAR ID Labs. His work with the lab focuses on virulence mechanisms of the fungal human pathogen Candida albicans, which causes various health issues like yeast infections and oral thrush. He has made major discoveries in this area, helping identify potential targets for diagnosis and treatment. View full profile.

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Dr. Stefan Oehlers

Investigator
Bacterial Pathogenesis Lab
A*STAR ID Labs
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antibiotic resistance in mycobacterial infections; zebrafish models; in vivo drug/antibiotic screening; live imaging immune cell biology
Languages: English

Dr. Oehlers leads the Bacterial Pathogenesis Laboratory at A*STAR ID Labs, where he and his colleagues focus on identifying molecular bases of mycobacterial disease and thus, deploy therapies that address antibiotic resistance in mycobacterial infections. He specializes in using zebrafish models for research, from inflammatory bowel disease to tuberculosis and cryptococcal meningitis. View full profile.

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Dr. Matthew Tay

Investigator
Antimicrobial Biologics Laboratory
A*STAR ID Labs
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antimicrobial resistance; infectious disease; antibodies; microfluidics; bioassays; Covid-19
Languages: English

Dr. Tay has researched antibodies and diseases like malaria and SARS-CoV-2 at A*STAR. His focus is on discovering methods for developing antibodies that can be used in therapies against multidrug-resistant pathogens. View full profile here.

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SOUTH KOREA

 

Dr. Soojin Jang 

Head
Institut Pasteur Korea’s Antibacterial Resistance Research Laboratory
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antimicrobial/antibacterial resistance
Languages: English; Korean

Dr. Jang heads the Antibacterial Resistance Research Laboratory at Institut Pasteur Korea, where her team focuses on discovering new antibacterial agents for “superbugs” or bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. She also serves as Associate Editor (Infection and Immunity) for the Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences journal. View full profile.

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Dr. Robert Mitchell 

Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: antimicrobial resistance; Bdellovibrio-and-like-organisms (BALOs); biofuel generation from bacterial strains
Languages: English

Dr. Mitchell is a professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). His primary research interest is the study of Bdellovibrio-and-like-organisms (BALOs), bacterial strains that attack and prey on other bacteria – including two groups of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. He and his colleagues at UNIST found that these organisms can also remove the antibiotic resistance genes of their prey bacteria. His work also explores applications of BALOs in industrial and medical facilities and environmental clean-up efforts. He is also interested in the use of bacterial strains for biofuel production. View full profile.

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THAILAND

 

Dr. Ha Thanh Dong

Assistant Professor
Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management,
Department of Food, Agriculture, and Bioresources
The Asian Institute of Technology
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: aquaculture; pathology; infectious diseases; aquatic bioscience
Languages: English 

Dr. Dong currently works at the Asian Institute of Technology. He does research in Aquaculture, Pathology, Infectious Diseases, and Aquatic Bioscience. His research has centered on the discovery and characterization of aquatic pathogens, particularly infectious and emerging infectious diseases of economically important aquaculture species in Asia. View full profile here.

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VIETNAM

 

Dr. Phan Thi Van

Director
Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1,
Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Vietnam
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: aquatic animal health; aquaculture animal disease; environment; good aquaculture practices (GAP); food safety in aquaculture
Languages: English; Vietnamese

Dr. Van is the Director of the Research Institute for Aquaculture No.1 (RIA1) under Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). With her extensive expertise in aquatic animal health and aquaculture safety management and practices, she has served as resource expert by agencies across the world, including FAO and UNDP. Her recent research focused on the use of ozone nanobubble injections in water to help reduce bacterial load and improve fish and shrimp response to pathogens. View full profile.

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Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia

Director
Center for Environment and Disease Monitoring in Aquaculture (CEDMA)
Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1,
Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Vietnam
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: aquatic animal health; aquaculture animal disease; safety in aquaculture environment
Languages: English; Vietnamese

Mr. Nghia is the Director of the Center for Environment and Disease Monitoring in Aquaculture (CEDMA) at the Research Institute for Aquaculture No.1 (RIA1) under Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). He has co-managed various research efforts in Vietnam aquaculture, including recent research into the use of nanobubbles in helping improve aquaculture environment for better fish and shrimp immune responses. View full profile.

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Dr. Mags Crumlish

Professor
Institute of Aquaculture
University of Stirling
Email: [email protected]
Areas of expertise prepared to comment on: aquatic microbial diseases; antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture
Languages: English

Dr. Crumlish has researched aquatic microbial diseases, specifically ones that have economic impact in global aquaculture, and potential solutions to such infectious diseases. She is leading a multidisciplinary project to develop innovative vaccines and delivery methods to reduce AMR development in Vietnam's freshwater aquaculture sector. View full profile here.

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EXPERTS FOR MEDIA: A resource for journalists to find stories and sources

We chose topics that may be of interest to journalists and provide researchers from across Asia who can speak with the media. Visit our Experts for Media page for the complete list.