Education:

• M.D. First Class honor, Mahidol University, Thailand
• B.Sc. (Mathematics), Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand
• Fellow of The Royal College of Pediatricians of Thailand

Biography:

I got M.D. (1st class honor and gold medal) from Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, the Certificate of Proficiency in Pediatrics from Chiangmai University and also earned B.Sc. in both Medical Sciences and Mathematics. I worked in two small hospitals in southern Thailand for a few years before joining the Department of Microbiology where I have been working with molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) since then. I also worked on anti-tuberculous drug discovery and helped building the BSL3 lab in the Department. I was later seconded to National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) where I served in several administrative positions including Executive Vice President and was involved intensively in national pandemic preparedness programs and founding of a few related organizations such as National Vaccine Committee, National Vaccine Institute, and Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Science. I also served as Vice President of Mahidol University and in steering or advisory committees of several organizations. I founded and leads the Pornchai Matangkasombut Center for Microbial Genomics, which was initially supported by the Japanese SATREP research program. Currently, I am also a council member of two universities and a steering committee member of two faculties and a planning committee of the Asian and Pacific Rim Research Integrity Network as well as Thailand Research Integrity Network. I have published about 120 scientific articles, serve as an editorial board member of two journals and review regularly for several journals and funding agencies in Thailand and abroad.

Current research interests:

My current research interests are on the genomic and molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) as well as drug resistant bacteria with health importance, such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and other health-care-associated infections. The works aim mainly to utilize genomic information for generating new knowledge, tools or policy that would lead to better control of tuberculosis (TB) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The works on TB is in close collaboration with Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health and currently focusing on using NGS for tracing transmission of the diseases in Chiangrai, northern Thailand. The works include the study of MTB-genome-to-human-genome interactions, leveraging the data generated by the Genomics Thailand program. We also explore the utility of 3^rd generation sequencing in studying the structural variants of pe/ppe gene family, which is likely to play significant roles in MTB pathogenesis. The same technology is also used for AMR to study of genetic organization of AMR genes in various organisms, in collaboration with several researchers in Thailand and abroad. Recent published studies include the studies of fljA-fljB-hin region of monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium and Salmonella Genomic Island 1-K of S. Kentucky.

Awards and honours:

• Outstanding Alumnus of Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital 2015
• Top 1% Mahidol University Researcher Award, 2022
• Top 1% Mahidol University Researcher Award, 2023

Publications link:

• MUREX