STAFF PROFILE
Dr Thi Thu Hao Van
Dr Van is a molecular microbiologist. She has led impactful industry related research which has been recognized internationally and nationally. Her areas of expertise include gut microbiota characterisation and manipulation, identification of bacterial pathogens and deciphering their biology, and developing intervention strategies to combat bacterial diseases, including development of probiotics, antimicrobial compounds and vaccines.
Dr Van has obtained funding for her research from various Australian and Vietnamese government and industry organisations. She is strongly engaged within RMIT and very strongly engaged externally. She has established collaborations with many external institutes and industry, with significant collaborations with staff at Institute of Biotechnology – Vietnam Academy of Science, University of Science-Vietnam National University HCM City, Iowa State University, Central Queensland University, University of Adelaide, University of New England, Scolexia Pty Ltd, and Bioproperties Pty Ltd.
Dr Van has been wholeheartedly committed to the mentorship of the next generation of scientists. She has successfully supervised numerous PhD students, Masters students, Honours and Science project students and visiting scientists from different countries.
Research
Dr Van is currently lead CI/CI in the following projects:
- Manipulating gut microbiota for healthy aging. Funded by RMIT VC Senior Fellowship Program
- Immune responses to Campylobacter hepaticus infection: impact on recovery from Spotty Liver Disease in chickens. Funded by Poultry Hub Australia
- Development of immunological assays to assist the control of Spotty Liver Disease in chickens. Funded by Poultry Hub Australia
- Reducing the health and economic burden of Campylobacter using a live vaccine. Funded by ARC linkage program
- Next generation probiotics to enhance the gut health of chickens. Funded by Agrifutures Australia
Teaching
- Coordinate BIOL2267, BIOL2332 and BIOL2352/2431 Functional genomics and proteomics courses
- Teach into a variety of postgraduate and undergraduate programs
- BAppSc Victoria University
- PhD RMIT
- Yu, S.,Morris, A.,Kayal, A.,Miloševic, I.,Van, T.,Bajagai, Y.,Stanley, D. (2024). Pioneering gut health improvements in piglets with phytogenic feed additives In: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 108, 1 - 17
- Van, T.,Phung, V.,Anwar, A.,Wilson, T.,Scott, P.,Moore, R. (2023). Campylobacter bilis, the second novel Campylobacter species isolated from chickens with Spotty Liver Disease, can cause the disease In: Veterinary Microbiology, 276, 1 - 5
- McDonald, J.,Scott, N.,Underwood, G.,Andrews, D.,Van, T.,Moore, R. (2023). Characterisation of N-linked protein glycosylation in the bacterial pathogen Campylobacter hepaticus In: Scientific Reports, 13, 1 - 12
- Barekatain, R.,Chrystal, P.,Nowland, T.,Moss, A.,Howarth, G.,Van, T.,Moore, R. (2023). Negative consequences of reduced protein diets supplemented with synthetic amino acids for performance, intestinal barrier function, and caecal microbiota composition of broiler chickens In: Animal Nutrition, 13, 216 - 228
- Bosnjak, M.,Karpe, A.,Van, T.,Kotsanas, D.,Moore, R., et al, . (2023). Multi-omics analysis of hospital-acquired diarrhoeal patients reveals biomarkers of enterococcal proliferation and Clostridioides difficile infection In: Nature Communications, 14, 1 - 16
- Chau, K.,Quyen, D.,Van, T.,Moore, R. (2023). Heterologously expressed SacP23, a novel bacteriocin from Paenibacillus polymyxa #23, is active against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus In: Royal Society Open Science, 10, 1 - 17
- Muralidharan, C.,Quinteros, J.,Anwar, A.,Wilson, T.,Scott, P.,Moore, R.,Van, T. (2022). The use of filamentous hemagglutinin adhesin to detect immune responses to Campylobacter hepaticus infections in layer hens In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 1 - 12
- Sarker, S.,Talukder, S.,Anwar, A.,Van, T.,Petrovski, S. (2022). Unravelling Bile Viromes of Free-Range Laying Chickens Clinically Diagnosed with Spotty Liver Disease: Emergence of Many Novel Chaphamaparvoviruses into Multiple Lineages In: Viruses, 14, 1 - 15
- Keerqin, C.,McGlashan, K.,Van, T.,Chinivasagam, H.,Moore, R.,Choct, M.,Wu, S. (2022). A lytic bacteriophage isolate reduced Clostridium perfringens induced lesions in necrotic enteritis challenged broilers In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 1 - 8
- Muralidharan, C.,Huang, J.,Anwar, A.,Scott, P.,Moore, R.,Van, T. (2022). Prevalence of Campylobacter hepaticus specific antibodies among commercial free-range layers in Australia In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 1 - 9
11 PhD Current Supervisions7 PhD Completions and 2 Masters by Research Completions
- Mechanisms of Spotty Liver Disease pathogenesis and immune protection. Funded by: Australian Eggs Limited - Grant from (2024 to 2027)
- Antigenic and immunogenic characterisation of subviral particles (SVPs) derived from the HBV/C4 strain prevalent in Aboriginal Australians (EOI). Funded by: WMIMR Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research Grant (ACH4) from (2023 to 2024)
- Reducing the health and economic burden of Campylobacter using a live vaccine. Funded by: ARC Linkage Project Grants 2019 from (2021 to 2025)
- Immune responses to Campylobacter hepaticus infection: impact on recovery from Spotty Liver Disease in chickens. Funded by: Poultry Hub Australia (competitive grant) from (2021 to 2023)
- Phytobiotic potential for control of Spotty Liver Disease. Funded by: National Feed Solutions Pty Ltd - Competitive from (2019 to 2020)