Cuong Kieu Nguyen, PhD
Dr. Cuong Kieu Nguyen is a scholar-practitioner with over 25 years of experience in global education, international development, applied research, and governance reform across Southeast Asia and the United States. He has led multidisciplinary programs focused on public health, environmental justice, and local governance—working at the intersection of evidence, policy, and community empowerment.
Prior to joining SIT, Dr. Nguyen held senior leadership roles with USAID-funded initiatives, international NGOs, and national think tanks. He spent over a decade at the Institute of Population, Health and Development—a Vietnamese NGO—where he directed collaborative programs that built lasting partnerships with universities, government agencies, and grassroots organizations. His research has resulted in more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and numerous international conference presentations. He also previously served as local faculty and country coordinator for SIT/IHP programs in Vietnam.
A dedicated mentor and educator, Dr. Nguyen has supported dozens of students and early-career professionals through field-based learning, cross-cultural research, and collaborative inquiry. Trained in science, community health, and international development—with a PhD and MSc from Brown University—he fosters inclusive, interdisciplinary education grounded in experiential learning and rooted in the integration of theory, research, and community engagement.
Courses Taught
SIT Study Abroad
Research Methods and Ethics
SIT International Honors Program
Globalization and Health
Public Health: From Biology to Policy
Selected Publications
Wong, J. A., Dang, L. T., Phan, N. T., Le, T. K., Vu, N. C., Vu, T. D., James, S., Katona, P., Katona, L., Rosen, J., Wong, F. Y., & Nguyen, C. K. (2021). Effectiveness of an Automated Error Checking and Feedback System to Improve Text Message Reporting for Disease Surveillance in Viet Nam. Telemed J E Health, 27(4), 448–453. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0065
Larkin, C., Wijesundara, J., Nguyen, H. L., Ha, D. A., Vuong, A., Nguyen, C. K., Amante, D., Ngo, C. Q., Phan, P. T., Pham, Q. T. L., Nguyen, B. N., Nguyen, A. T. P., Nguyen, P. T. T., Person, S., Allison, J. J., Houston, T. K., & Sadasivam, R. (2021). mHealth Messaging to Motivate Quitline Use and Quitting: Protocol for a Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Vietnam. JMIR Res Protoc, 10(10), e30947. https://doi.org/10.2196/30947
Kilimo, P. J., Le, T., Phan, N. T., Han, H. D., Hoang, H. T., Vu, N. C., Pham, N. T., Cao, H., & Nguyen, C. K. (2019). Testing MD-Link, a Low-Cost Mobile Electrocardiography Monitoring Device, in Patients With Irregular Heartbeat: Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Study. JMIR Res Protoc, 8(1), e2. https://doi.org/10.2196/resprot.8762
Nguyen, H. L., Ha, D. A., Goldberg, R. J., Kiefe, C. I., Chiriboga, G., Ly, H. N., Nguyen, C. K., Phan, N. T., Vu, N. C., Nguyen, Q. P., & Allison, J. J. (2018). Culturally adaptive storytelling intervention versus didactic intervention to improve hypertension control in Vietnam- 12 month follow up results: A cluster randomized controlled feasibility trial. PLoS One, 13(12), e0209912. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209912
Lam, J. A., Dang, L. T., Phan, N. T., Trinh, H. T., Vu, N. C., & Nguyen, C. K. (2018). Mobile Health Initiatives in Vietnam: Scoping Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 6(4), e106. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8639
Wong, J. A., Dang, L. T., Le, T. K., Phan, N. T., James, S. L., Katona, P., Vu, N. C., Vu, T. D., Katona, L., Rosen, J. M., & Nguyen, C. K. (2017). Strengthening health system – Evidence from the use of bi-directional SMS-based screening and feedback system to improve efficiency and quality of disease surveillance in Vietnam. Annals of Global Health, 83(1), 121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aogh.2017.03.270
Escobar, T. M., Kanellopoulou, C., Kugler, D. G., Kilaru, G. K., Nguyen, C. K., Nagarajan, V., Bhairavabhotla, R., Northrup, D., Zahr, R., Burr, P., Liu, X., Zhao, K., Sher, A., Jankovic, D., Zhu, J., & Muljo, S. A. (2014). miR-155 activates cytokine gene expression in Th17 cells by regulating the DNA-binding protein Jarid2 to relieve polycomb-mediated repression. Immunity, 40(6), 865—879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2014.03.014
Yuan, J., Nguyen, C. K., Liu, X., Kanellopoulou, C., & Muljo, S. A. (2012). Lin28b reprograms adult bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors to mediate fetal-like lymphopoiesis. Science, 335(6073), 1195—1200. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1216557
Nguyen, C. K., Gusev, V. E., & Diebold, G. J. (2008). Potential distributions from electroacoustic polarization sources. Applied physics letters, 93(18), 184104. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.299860
Selected Presentations
Laroski, J. A., Vaules, C. W., Dang, L. T., Vu, N. C., & Nguyen, C. K. (2024, April 17—20). Exploring Vietnamese Older Adults’ ICT Use and its Association with Health. Population Association of America (PAA) 2024 Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH, United States.
Shen, J., Le, T. N. H., Vu, V. P., Nguyen, C. T., Vu, T. L., & Nguyen, C. K. (2023, April 14—16). Relations between WASH and Menstrual Health for Women Living in a Rural Village in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. The 14th Annual Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Conference: Global Health at a Crossroads: Equity, Climate Change and Microbial Threats, Washington, DC, United States.
Park, J. J., Trinh, H. T., Le, T. N. H., Nguyen, B. N., Vu, N. C., Nguyen, C. T., Vuong, A. T., & Nguyen, C. K. (2020, April 18—20). Relations between Mental Health and Water Insecurity in rural areas of Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. The 11th Annual Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Global Health Conference: Global Health in a Time of Worldwide Political Change, Washington, DC, United States.
Larkin, C., Houston, T., Nguyen, H. L., Amante, D., Fu, S., Nguyen, C. K., Vuong, A. T., Wijesundara, J., & Sadasivam, R. S. (2020, December 15—17). Cultural tailoring of a texting intervention to increase uptake of smoking cessation support services in Vietnam. The 13th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation, Washington, DC, United States.
Tai N. Le, Le-Lan Tran, Hoc Thai Hoang, Huy-Dung Han, Ngoc T. Phan, Nguyen C. Vu, Tuan A Nguyen, Nga TT Pham, Hung Cao, & Nguyen, C. K. (2019, May 06—08). MD-Link: A portable ECG monitoring device with active dry electrodes and its validation. The IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) 2019 International Microwave Biomedical Conference (IMBioC 2019), Nanjing, China.
Lam, J. A., Dang, L. T., Phan, N. T., Trinh, H. T., Vu, N. C., & Nguyen, C. K. (2018, June 01—05). Sustaining mHealth interventions in Vietnam: the challenges. The 15th Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Annual Meeting: Strengthening the Evidence-to-Action Connection, Vancouver, Canada.
Kilimo, P. J., Phan, N. T., Le, T., Hoang, H. T., Han, D. H., Dang, L. T., Vu, N. C., Pham, N. T., Nguyen, T. A., Cao, H., & Nguyen, C. K. (2018, June 01—05). Usability evaluation of a portable dry-electrode ECG device in Vietnam. The 15th Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Annual Meeting: Strengthening the Evidence-to-Action Connection, Vancouver, Canada.
Trinh, H. T., McBride, B., Nguyen, C. K., & Nguyen, L. T. (2017, November 27—30). Mobile Health to improve access to maternal and child health services among ethnic minorities women in difficult-to-reach regions: a qualitative evaluation. The 9th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSHR), Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
Phan, N. T., Dang, L. T., Wong, J. A., Le, T. K., James, S. L., Katona, P., Vu, N. C., Vu, T. D., Katona, L., Rosen, J. M., & Nguyen, C. K. (2017, November 1—3). From paper-based to real-time health information reporting: a practical Vietnamese mHealth solution. The 2017 HIMAA NCCH National Conference: Health Information Management: Challenging a Changing Landscape, Cairns City, QLD, Australia.
Lam, J. A., Dang, L. T., Phan, N. T., Trinh, H. T., Vu, N. C., & Nguyen, C. K. (2017, November 14—16). Advantages and challenges of mHealth in Vietnam: a qualitative examination of sociocultural and technological factors. The 7th European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) International Conference on Wireless Mobile Communication and Healthcare: Transforming healthcare through innovations in mobile and wireless technologies, Vienna, Austria.
Education
- PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Brown University
- MSc, Biomedical Physics, Brown University
- BSc, Physics, VNU University of Science
