Dr. Hung Nguyen has been appointed as the Regional Director for Asia at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), effective 1 August 2025. He is a Senior Principal Scientist at ILRI, leading One Health under the CGIAR Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods Program, with a research focus on food safety, zoonotic and infectious diseases, and risk-based interventions in informal markets.
Dr. Nguyen has over 20 years of international experience across Asia, Africa, and Europe. At ILRI and CGIAR, he previously served as Health Program Leader (2020–2025), Regional Representative for East and Southeast Asia (2017–2020), and played leading roles in the CGIAR Initiative on One Health, the Food Safety Flagship of A4NH, and the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub.
He is a member of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) and has contributed to global health efforts, including serving on the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) and the 2021 WHO mission to investigate SARS-CoV-2 origins in Wuhan, China.
Before ILRI, he worked at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Sandec/Eawag in Switzerland, and co-founded the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER) in Vietnam. Originally from Vietnam, he holds a PhD in Life and Environmental Sciences (France) and is widely published in One Health, food safety, agriculture, and livestock.
Source: ILRI