Professor Lê Văn Tấn joined OUCRU in 2003, and over the past two decades has grown into one of Viet Nam’s leading scientists in emerging infectious diseases. In 2025, he was appointed Full Professor at the University of Oxford.

His work has centered on helping Viet Nam prepare for and respond to emerging infectious threats, from avian influenza, hand, foot and mouth disease, and COVID-19, to measles and mpox. In close partnership with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), Children’s Hospital 1, Institute of Pasteur in Nha Trang, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC), and other local partners, his team has strengthened rapid testing, genomic surveillance, serum banking, and outbreak response systems to provide timely evidence for public health decision-making.

Under his leadership, the reach of OUCRU’s work has extended well beyond Viet Nam. One of international Consortia he is currently leading is the SEACOVARIANTS, a Wellcome-funded regional initiative building capacity for surveillance and epidemic preparedness. SEACOVARIANTS was instrumental in OUCRU and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases being designated a WHO CoViNet reference laboratory for coronavirus surveillance in 2026.

Professor Tấn’s appointment recognises his scientific leadership, his long-standing partnerships in Viet Nam, and his commitment to training the next generation of Vietnamese researchers.

Professor Kevin Baird remains Interim Programme Director of OUCRU, overseeing its four units in Viet Nam, Indonesia and Nepal.

The full story is available on the OUCRU website.