Our Team

Meet Our Team

The Vital Core of Our Team

Kanokwan (Pook) Suwannarong, Ph.D.

ดร. กนกวรรณ สุวรรณรงค์

Director

Dr. Suwannarong’s current position as managing director for SUPA71 involves overseeing the design, planning, and implementation of all research. She is also responsible for overseeing the organization’s fundraising efforts. Her research leadership at SUPA71 is the result of her twenty years of experience as a country director, project manager, and regional researcher for USAID-supported projects, NGOs, and other organizations in Thailand and Southeast Asia. She is an expert in epidemiology studies and has conducted both quantitative and qualitative research extensively. Her areas of interest in research include capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, technology, and innovations. Additionally, she participates in numerous education, health research initiatives, and communication, including social and behavior change communication (SBCC) and social science.

Dr. Suwannarong holds a Master of Science in Epidemiology and Public Health from the University of the Philippines (supported by SEAMEO TropMED Network) and a Ph.D. in Public Health from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, as well as a Ph.D. in Tropical Medicine from Mahidol University. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science’s Center of Excellence for Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases in Animals.

Glid Udomsappong

กฤตย์ อุดมทรัพย์พงศ์

Manager

Mr. Udomsappong is the manager of SUPA71 and has more than three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and supply chain industries in Thailand. Glid supervises SUPA71’s financial and administrative operations, as well as daily activities and projects. He works closely with the director to ensure the efficient use of the company’s resources and reports to the chairman to ensure that the company’s activities are consistent with its mission, vision, and core values. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Thailand Chamber of Commerce and a master’s degree in information and technology engineering from Australia’s Swinburne University.

Our Experts

Dr. Sok Touch

Dr. Sok Touch is a medical doctor and holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He has 30 years of experience working with local and international NGOs, international development agencies such as ADB, WB, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), and in various ministries. He was the director of the Communicable Disease Control Department of the Ministry of Health in Cambodia and has been the chairman of some national and regional networks. He is currently an independent consultant at the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED), a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) based in New York. Dr. Touch has a solid background in epidemiology, prevention, control and treatment of diseases among adults and children, and handling ethical considerations in research.

As SUPA71 Senior Research Advisor, Dr. Sok assists in identifying research fundraising, planning and strategies in SUPA71’s engagements in Cambodia and other Mekong Sub-region countries.

Cecile Lantican, Ph.D.

Cecile Lantican holds a PhD in Communication. She is a social and behavior change communication specialist with over 38 years of experience in managing government-led and foreign-assisted development communication programs on agricultural technology transfer, environment and natural resource conservation education, and public health to include: family planning; maternal, child, and adolescent health; tuberculosis; and emerging infectious diseases from wildlife. Her communication research background has been nurtured by her solid experience in project design and implementation of health and science communication, social and behavior change communication, and advocacy.

She served the Philippine Department of Science and Technology for more than 25 years working with agriculture and environment scientists in the conduct of field trials and promotion/utilization of research results in technology development. During the last 18 years, she assumed high-level positions working for international organizations like University Research Co. (URC), Campaigns and Grey, United Nations Population Fund (Manila), Futures Group, Academy for Educational Development in Cambodia, FHI360 in Lao PDR, and FAO in Timor Leste. Under such engagements, she implemented several projects, making use of evidenced-based and audience/client-centered approaches.

Parichatt Krongkant, Ph.D.

She worked as deputy program manager for the program for Enhancement of Emergency Response in India, Nepal, Philippines and Indonesia at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center where she organized core regional training courses on disaster management and developed land mine risk education program.

She has spearheaded Community-based and Disability and Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) projects in Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines and led the development of a manual for community preparedness, evacuation, and community planning being used by Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

Dr. Krongkant worked as researcher in Thailand’s National Disaster Management Capacity Development Program with team of experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for eight years. She has also been a disaster risk reduction consultant for the University of Sydney, Community Based Management (CBM) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2015.

As a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) expert, Dr. Krongkant has been a resource person at the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy, Local Administrative Development Institute, and a number of universities.

Dr. Krongkant has a Ph.D. from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand where she studied community response, evacuation decision, and early warning.

Kathleen (Kate) O’Rourke

Kate has 10 years of progressively responsible experience in public health program management, community development, operations, and research. Most recently, she has designed and executed mixed methods research projects in South and Southeast Asia.

Kate has extensive experience bringing together diverse stakeholders, especially government representatives, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and donors. She uses a data-driven process to assess problems and to deliver measurable results. Her expertise is on working at the interface of human health and the (built) environment on issues such as zoonosis, climate change adaptation, and health impact assessments. She has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.

Thanomsin (Toh) Ponlap

Mr. Ponlap has more than 20 years of experience working with local and international NGOs and cooperated agencies such as FHI360, European Union (EU), Thailand Research Fund (TRF), and Heifer. He has various experience in projects on humanitarian, health promotion, agricultural and energy field and expertise on qualitative research approach, participatory action research, knowledge management, capacity building, resource management, gender equity in development, disaster preparedness, and monitoring and evaluation.

As SUPA71 research manager he plans, coordinates, and executes research projects and identify areas of research improvement to develop new methodologies to meet client’s needs and demands.

Sai Wai Yan Myint, Ph.D.

Dr. Sai Wai Yan Myint Thu is a dentist with extensive experience in medical research. He received his Ph.D. in Social Medicine from the Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University in Thailand, where he conducted research on the effectiveness of an innovative school health intervention program to promote positive health behaviors among communities living along the Thai-Myanmar border. His expertise includes medical, public health, social science, and biostatistics.

Nuttapong (Ton) Mekvipad

Mr. Mekvipad graduated a Bachelor degree in Science with GPA 4.00 (gold medal award) from Chulalongkorn University. As the student, he had extensive experience working in plant molecular biology in laboratory. At SUPA71, he works as a research assistant and has main responsibility on data collection, data management, and analysis, as well as drafting related research documents for related projects. He is a focal point person to communicate with team at study fields and other countries.

Worakamon (Tuck) Thongkan

Ms. Thongkan is a trustworthy and effective researcher who is able to work in qualitative and quantitative researches in both urban and rural settings in Thailand. She graduated from Faculty of Humanity and Social Sciences from Khon Kaen University with the first ranking level. With SUPA71, Ms. Thongkan is working as a leader of field activities and as coordinator for SUPA71’s assigned projects.

Kannika (Aun) Thammasutti

Ms. Aun is a researcher with solid knowledge and skills in qualitative research methods. She graduated with a master’s degree in Political Economy and a bachelor’s degree in Social Science (International Program) from Chiang Mai University, where she specializes in ethnicity, gender, well-being, and sustainable development. Before her current position, she was a research associate at Social Research Institute (SRI), Chiang Mai University, for several years. She also had experience working in the government and in collaborating with various government stakeholders. Her combined research portfolio and professional experience provides a unique combination of management and community engagement.

Muhammad Alee Song

Mr. Muhammad Alee Song is a researcher with over three years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research, especially in the social sciences. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social science from the National University of Malaysia (UKM). Before he joined SUPA71, he was a teaching assistant and researcher at Yala Rajabhat University. With SUPA71, he works as a researcher with main responsibilities for data collection, data management, and data analysis.

Bagus Pradana

Mr. Bagus Pradana is a researcher with experience in local politics and sustainable development issues. He graduated with a master’s degree in Rural Development and Management (MRDM) from Khon Kaen University, Thailand, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. He has been working on research fields related to sustainable development issues, particularly in rural areas. He also researched development acceleration for Indonesia’s underdeveloped regions, facilitated the development of spatial and regional planning documents in Papua, Indonesia, and trained local government officers to produce strategic documents. Aside from that, he gained some media experience as an editor and a field journalist in national media, where his responsibilities included reporting on sustainable development, environmental issues, culture, and ethnicity.

Aliyah Evangelista

Ms. Evangelista is a development communication specialist with more than ten years of experience in digital health, health policy, and health systems research. She was instrumental in the launch of the Asia eHealth Information Network in 2012, a collaborative community of eHealth/digital health professionals in South and Southeast Asia at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2020, she worked with multiple government and donor agencies in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for Information and Communications Technology (IATF-ICT), where she provided guidance, documentation, and support to the Philippines Department of Health – Epidemiology Bureau COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit and the Health Promotions Bureau on the adoption and transition of COVID-19 technologies. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines – Los Banos and received a Rockefeller scholarship to complete her Master of Science degree in Biomedical and Health Informatics from the Mahidol University, Thailand.