About
Dr. Hoan Thanh Ngo joined Florida Polytechnic University as an assistant professor of electrical, computer, and cybersecurity engineering in 2025. Prior to this, he was an assistant professor in Florida Southern College’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Ngo’s research interest concerns the development of technologies and systems for precision medical diagnosis and treatment by leveraging advances in biosensors, biophotonics, lab-on-a-chip, and artificial intelligence-for-health. His work has been published in Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Nanoscale, Analytical Chemistry, Lab-on-a-Chip, Medical Imaging with Deep Learning conference, and others.
Throughout his educational and professional career, Ngo has worked to advance knowledge in his field. After earning his master’s degree in South Korea, he taught undergraduate students at International University in Vietnam. In 2009, he assosted Dr. Toi Van Vo, a Tufts University emeritus professor and former executive director of Vietnam Education Foundation, in setting up the first undergraduate biomedical engineering program in Vietnam at International University.
While pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with specialization in biophotonics at Duke University, he conducted doctoral research Under supervision of Dr. Tuan Vo-Dinh on the development of novel nanobiosensors and integrated devices for molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancer. Ngo then completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Joseph Izatt at Duke biomedical engineering and Dr. Cynthia Toth at Duke Eye Center on Optical Coherence Tomography for ophthalmology.
In 2018, Ngo returned to Vietnam to serve as vice chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department, Chair of the Medical Instrumentation Department, and Co-head of the Clinical Engineering Laboratory, School of Biomedical Engineering, at International University, Vietnam National Universities in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ngo conducted his second postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering in 2021.
Education
- Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, 2017
- M.Eng. in Control and Instrumentation, Korea Maritime University, Busan, South Korea, 2008
- B.S. in Mechatronics, Bach Khoa University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2006
Awards and Honors
- Fitzpatrick Foundation Scholars Fellowship, 2014-2016
- Best Poster Award, Duke University Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics Symposium, 2015
- Best Paper Award from SPIE, 2014
- Vietnam Education Foundation Fellow, 2011
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude and received Silver Medal, University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2006
Expertise
- Artificial Intelligence for Health
- Point-of-Care Diagnostic Devices
Professional Activities
- Member, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- Member, International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART)
- Member, International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE)
- Co-chair, Machine Learning II session, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting, 2024
- Associate Editor, Frontiers in Lab on a Chip Technologies, 2023-current
- Manuscript Reviewer, Nature Communication, Sensors, etc.
- Co-organizer of third (2010), seventh (2018), and eighth (2020) International Conference on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam
- Organizer, the AI for Health workshop at International University – Vietnam National University, HCM City, 2019
Patents Granted/Published
- T Vo-Dinh, N Gandra and HT Ngo, “Nanoprobe compositions and methods of use thereof”, US Patent 10,876,150, 2020.
Select Publications
- Quan Thanh Huynh, Hieu Xuan Le, Lien Tran, Trung Nguyen, Luan Nguyen, Alex Mremi, Daniel Mbwambo, Walter Lee, Hoan Thanh Ngo. Explainable 1 AI for Thyroid Cancer Detection using Smartphone-captured Cytopathology Images and Multi-Instance Learning (Accepted for and presented at BMES 2024 Annual Meeting Oct 23-26, Baltimore, MD USA. In preparation for full publication).
- Hoan T Ngo, Patarajarin Akarapipad, Pei-Wei Lee, Joon Soo Park, FanEn Chen, Alexander Y Trick, Tza-Huei Wang, Kuangwen Hsieh. Rapid and portable quantification of HIV RNA via a smartphone-enabled digital CRISPR device and deep learning. Sensors and Actuators Reports, 8, 100212, 2024.
- Dong Nguyen, Hoang Nguyen, Hong Ong, Hoang Le, Huong Ha, Nguyen Thanh Duc, Hoan T Ngo. Ensemble learning using traditional machine learning and deep neural network for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. IBRO Neuroscience Reports, 13, 255-263, 2022.
- Quan Thanh Huynh, Phuc Hoang Nguyen, Hieu Xuan Le, Lua Thi Ngo, NhuThuy Trinh, Mai Thi-Thanh Tran, Hoan Tam Nguyen, Nga Thi Vu, Anh Tam Nguyen, Kazuma Suda, Kazuhiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Ishii, Trung Xuan Ngo, and Hoan T Ngo. Automatic acne object detection and acne severity grading using smartphone images and artificial intelligence. Diagnostics, 12(8), 1879, 2022.
- Hoan T Ngo, Elizabeth Freeman, Ren Abelard Odion, Pietro Strobbia, A. Swarnapali De Silva Indrasekara, Priya Vohra, Steve M. Taylor, Tuan Vo-Dinh. Direct Detection of Unamplified Pathogen RNA in Blood Lysate using an Integrated Lab-in-a-Stick Device and Ultrabright SERS Nanorattles. Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), 8 (1), 4075, 2018.
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