Overview
Background
I completed a PhD in Neuroscience with Jack Pettigrew (FRS) at Vision, Touch & Hearing Research Centre followed by an NHMRC Clinical Research Fellowship at Alfred Health & Monash University.
Back in QLD I'm continuing a transdisciplinary research & innovation program to Bring Discoveries of the Brain to Life!
I'm currently focused on developing novel MedTech Biotech diagnostics & therapeutics for enhancing human performance, recovery & resilience with the following projects:
[1] Precision Pain Medicine — the largest genetic study of persistent (chronic) pain in Australia, in collaboration with QIMR Berghofer & Monash University, aims to identify pharmacogenomics causal pathways for the design of personalised therapeutics & effective early intervention approaches (e.g., screening, education, prevention).
[2] Brain Switcha — A digital transdiagnostic biomarker and cloud-based large-scale population phenotyping & analytics platform to improve early intervention strategies in sleep & mental health conditions (esp. at-risk youth cohorts) and recruitment screening for Defence forces.
[3] VCS — vestibulocortical stimulation: A simple, inexpensive, non-invasive & non-pharmacologic neurotherapeutic treatment technique for fibromyalgia (with US colleagues) and other centralised pain syndromes, sleep apnoea, dementia & mental health conditions (e.g., depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder).
I also have >5 years professional services experience providing specialist research performance evaluation, consultation, reporting & training workshops that successfully delivered several major strategic priorities to a large internal & external client base — such as organisational unit leaders/managers at multiple levels (e.g., Centre/Department) and senior executive business missions for national/international strategic partnerships. This work includes mapping, monitoring & benchmarking of research capacity, capabilities/strengths, gaps & collaboration networks (e.g., clinical, corporate & government) across diverse disciplines for Annual & Septennial Departmental Reviews (e.g., patent, policy & clinical guideline citations; external stakeholder engagement including media); ARC Engagement & Impact assessments; and workforce capability development (e.g., recruitment for senior leadership positions and ranking of NHMRC/ARC funding applicants).
In particular, I enjoy meeting & connecting people with a shared vision & commitment towards building innovative & sustainable public-private partnerships to deliver meaningful solutions for the wider community.
Availability
- Dr Trung Ngo is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
-
VCS — Vestibulocortical Stimulation: Applications & mechanisms
— effectiveness of non-invasive vestibular neuromodulation protocols as a treatment for psychiatric & neurological illnesses (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, epilepsy, persistent pain) and enhancing affective-cognitive Resilience in Contested Environments #RiCE | #PrecisionPainMedicine — clinical and performance-enhancing applications of repeated VCS (#rVCS) — and the genetics & neuroimaging of its (therapeutic) response — with the aim of elucidating novel electroceutical pathways, response biomarkers and personalised treatment protocols across a spectrum psychiatric & neurological disorders | 'Electroceutomics'
-
Minimal phenotyping: Perceptual & cognitive biomarkers
— validating the clinical utility of novel visual task measures for identifying individuals at increased risk of developing mental illness (e.g., young people, at-risk/early psychosis cohorts). — multi-platform development of candidate diagnostic/endophenotype perceptual & cognitive task measures for large-scale user-friendly testing in genotyped and at-risk/youth cohorts (e.g., web, mobile, tablet, gaming, virtual reality).
-
Phylogenetics & evolution of bistable switching and VCS network
— from bacterial chemotaxis & fruit fly optomotor responses to binary decision-making in mammals (e.g., approach/avoidance choice behaviour) and disordered mood/cognitive states in humans (e.g., mania/depression, denial/insight) — investigating the comparative genetics, neural network dynamics (e.g., vestibulocortical circuitry) and molecular mechanisms of bistable (anti-phase) interhemispheric oscillations — which have been observed across a range of phenotypes (e.g., biological rhythms, autonomic functions, oculomotor activity, perception/attention, cognitive/behaviour changes) and in different species (e.g., Drosophila, sandlance, birds, cetaceans, rodents, humans) | #PrecisionSwitchMedicine
-
MedTech & Biotech platform development
— autonomic activity recording devices with real-time analysis output of endogenous rhythms and their clinical (diagnostic) utility in psychiatry, neurology & sleep medicine | #PrecisionSleepMedicine — portable/wearable devices with integrated software applications for (i) perceptual rivalry viewing (e.g., stereoscopic 3D displays), data collection & analyses; (ii) probing interhemispheric rhythms (e.g., autonomic respiratory/nasal cycle periodicity); and (iii) inducing, recording & real-time analysis output of VCS.
-
Scientometrics of research benefits
— developing quantitative indicators of interdisciplinary conceptual & empirical synthesis, scientific impact, translational & innovation outcomes using machine learning (A.I.) analytical methods.
Works
Search Professor Trung Ngo’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2013
Journal Article
Dichoptic viewing methods for binocular rivalry research: prospects for large-scale clinical and genetic studies
Law, Phillip C. F., Paton, Bryan K., Thomson, Richard H., Liu, Guang B., Miller, Steven M. and Ngo, Trung T. (2013). Dichoptic viewing methods for binocular rivalry research: prospects for large-scale clinical and genetic studies. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16 (6), 1033-1078. doi: 10.1017/thg.2013.76
Featured
2013
Book Chapter
Binocular rivalry, brain stimulation and bipolar disorder
Ngo, Trung T., Barsdell, Wendy N., Law, Phillip C. F. and Miller, Steven M. (2013). Binocular rivalry, brain stimulation and bipolar disorder. The constitution of visual consciousness: Lessons from binocular rivalry. (pp. 211-252) edited by S. M. Miller. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company. doi: 10.1075/aicr.90.09ngo
Featured
2013
Book Chapter
Early views on binocular rivalry
Wade, Nicholas J. and Ngo, Trung T. (2013). Early views on binocular rivalry. The constitution of visual consciousness: Lessons from binocular rivalry. (pp. 77-108) edited by S. M. Miller. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company. doi: 10.1075/aicr.90.04wad
Featured
2011
Journal Article
Psychiatric and genetic studies of binocular rivalry: an endophenotype for bipolar disorder?
Ngo, Trung T., Mitchell, Philip B., Martin, Nicholas G. and Miller, Steven M. (2011). Psychiatric and genetic studies of binocular rivalry: an endophenotype for bipolar disorder?. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 23 (1), 37-42. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5215.2010.00510.x
Featured
2007
Journal Article
Caloric vestibular stimulation reveals discrete neural mechanisms for coherence rivalry and eye rivalry: A meta-rivalry model
Ngo, Trung T., Liu, Guang B., Tilley, Andrew J., Pettigrew, John D. and Miller, Steven M. (2007). Caloric vestibular stimulation reveals discrete neural mechanisms for coherence rivalry and eye rivalry: A meta-rivalry model. Vision Research, 47 (21), 2685-2699. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2007.03.024
2024
Journal Article
Bedside Neuromodulation of Persistent Pain and Allodynia with Caloric Vestibular Stimulation
Ngo, Trung T., Barsdell, Wendy N., Law, Phillip C. F., Arnold, Carolyn A., Chou, Michael J., Nunn, Andrew K., Brown, Douglas J., Fitzgerald, Paul B., Gibson, Stephen J. and Miller, Steven M. (2024). Bedside Neuromodulation of Persistent Pain and Allodynia with Caloric Vestibular Stimulation. Biomedicines, 12 (10) 2365, 2365. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12102365
2024
Journal Article
Pain relief in refractory fibromyalgia following vestibulocortical stimulation: an open-label pilot trial
Kaplan, Michael H., Zhou, Celine H., Carroll, Emily, Weinberg, Alan D., Clauw, Daniel J., Ngô, Trung Thành and Tassiulas, Ioannis (2024). Pain relief in refractory fibromyalgia following vestibulocortical stimulation: an open-label pilot trial. Pain Medicine, 25 (3), 252-254. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnad145
2023
Journal Article
Genetic impact of blood C-reactive protein levels on chronic spinal and widespread pain
Farrell, Scott F., Sterling, Michele, Klyne, David M., Mustafa, Sanam, Campos, Adrián I., Kho, Pik-Fang, Lundberg, Mischa, Rentería, Miguel E., Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2023). Genetic impact of blood C-reactive protein levels on chronic spinal and widespread pain. European Spine Journal, 32 (6), 2078-2085. doi: 10.1007/s00586-023-07711-7
2023
Journal Article
A shared genetic signature for common chronic pain conditions and its impact on biopsychosocial traits
Farrell, Scott F., Kho, Pik-Fang, Lundberg, Mischa, Campos, Adrián I., Rentería, Miguel E., de Zoete, Rutger M.J., Sterling, Michele, Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2023). A shared genetic signature for common chronic pain conditions and its impact on biopsychosocial traits. The Journal of Pain, 24 (3), 369-386. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.10.005
2021
Journal Article
Genetic basis to structural grey matter associations with chronic pain
Farrell, Scott F, Campos, Adrián I, Kho, Pik-Fang, de Zoete, Rutger M J, Sterling, Michele, Rentería, Miguel E, Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2021). Genetic basis to structural grey matter associations with chronic pain. Brain, 144 (12), 3611-3622. doi: 10.1093/brain/awab334
2021
Journal Article
Genetic risk for chronic pain is associated with lower antidepressant effectiveness: converging evidence for a depression subtype
Campos, Adrián I., Ngo, Trung Thanh, Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi R., Hickie, Ian B., Byrne, Enda M., Martin, Nicholas G. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2021). Genetic risk for chronic pain is associated with lower antidepressant effectiveness: converging evidence for a depression subtype. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56 (9) 00048674211031491, 1-10. doi: 10.1177/00048674211031491
2021
Journal Article
Comorbid chronic pain and depression: shared risk factors and differential antidepressant effectiveness
Roughan, William H., Campos, Adrián I., García-Marín, Luis M., Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Lupton, Michelle K., Hickie, Ian B., Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi R., Byrne, Enda M., Ngo, Trung Thanh, Martin, Nicholas G. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2021). Comorbid chronic pain and depression: shared risk factors and differential antidepressant effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12 643609, 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.643609
2020
Conference Publication
The relationship between comorbid chronic pain and poorer self-reported antidepressant efficacy is partly mediated by genetics
Campos, Adrián I., Roughan, William H., García-Marin, Luis M., Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Lupton, Michelle K., Hickie, Ian B., Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi R., Byrne, Enda M., Ngo, Trung T., Martin, Nicholas G. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2020). The relationship between comorbid chronic pain and poorer self-reported antidepressant efficacy is partly mediated by genetics. Virtual 2020 World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Online, 16–22 October 2020.
2020
Journal Article
Tolerability of caloric vestibular stimulation in a persistent pain cohort
Ngo, Trung T., Barsdell, Wendy N., Law, Phillip C.F., Arnold, Carolyn A., Chou, Michael J., Nunn, Andrew K., Brown, Douglas J., Fitzgerald, Paul B., Gibson, Stephen J. and Miller, Steven M. (2020). Tolerability of caloric vestibular stimulation in a persistent pain cohort. Brain Stimulation, 13 (5), 1446-1448. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2020.07.003
2020
Conference Publication
Genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors for chronic pain revealed through GWAS
Lundberg, Mischa, Campos, Adrian I., Farrell, Scott F., Wang, Geng, Sterling, Michele M., Rentería, Miguel E., Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2020). Genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors for chronic pain revealed through GWAS. 50th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, Online, 26 June 2020. NEW YORK: SPRINGER.
2020
Conference Publication
Elucidating a phylogenetic switching model of sleep, vision & mental health with computational biology and complex network analyses
Ngo, Trung Thanh, Zhu, Guohun, Rentería, Miguel E. and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2020). Elucidating a phylogenetic switching model of sleep, vision & mental health with computational biology and complex network analyses. Systems & Computational Neuroscience Down Under (SCiNDU) 2020 meeting, St Lucia, QLD Australia, 29–31 January 2020.
2019
Conference Publication
Unlocking your genes for analysis: An open science web platform for research discovery, replication and translation
Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Kho, Pik Fang and Ngo, Trung Thanh (2019). Unlocking your genes for analysis: An open science web platform for research discovery, replication and translation. AIMOS 2019 conference (Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-research & Open Science), Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 7–8 November 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab: A community-driven web platform for post-GWAS analyses
Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Lundberg, Mischa, Campos-González, Adrian I., Kho, Pik Fang, D’Urso, Shannon, Hwang, Liang-Dar, Ngo, Trung Thanh and Rentería, Miguel E. (2019). Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab: A community-driven web platform for post-GWAS analyses. American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 69th Annual Meeting, Houston, TX United States, 15–19 October 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of chronic pain
Lundberg, Mischa, Campos-González, Adrian I., Rentería, Miguel E., Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2019). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of chronic pain. Brisbane Pain Research Symposium 2019: Multidisciplinary Perspectives & Therapeutics, St Lucia. QLD, Australia, 29 November 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Non-invasive therapeutic intervention for impaired insight in psychiatric disorders: a repeated vestibulocortical stimulation (rVCS) study protocol
Ngo, Trung T. and Johnson, Jeremy C. S. (2019). Non-invasive therapeutic intervention for impaired insight in psychiatric disorders: a repeated vestibulocortical stimulation (rVCS) study protocol. Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations 7th World Congress of Asian Psychiatry, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 21–24 February 2019.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Trung Ngo is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Honours / Masters / PhD / DPsych / DBiotech / MBBS / MD research projects
The following research projects are open to enthusiastic & driven individuals from a wide range of background disciplines/industry experience, e.g., biomedical/electrical engineering, physics, computer science, mathematics & statistics, biological/life sciences, medicine & allied health, information technology, psychology:
Minimal phenotyping: Perceptual & cognitive biomarkers
- validating the clinical utility of novel visual task measures for identifying individuals at increased risk of developing mental illness (e.g., young people, at-risk/early psychosis cohorts).
- multi-platform development of candidate diagnostic/endophenotype perceptual & cognitive task measures for large-scale user-friendly testing in genotyped and at-risk/youth cohorts (e.g., web, mobile, tablet, gaming, virtual reality).
VCS — VestibuloCortical Stimulation: Applications & mechanisms
- effectiveness of non-invasive vestibular neuromodulation protocols as a treatment for psychiatric & neurological illnesses (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, epilepsy, persistent pain) and enhancing affective-cognitive Resilience in Contested Environments #RiCE | #PrecisionPainMedicine
- clinical and performance-enhancing applications of repeated VCS (#rVCS) — and the genetics & neuroimaging of its (therapeutic) response — with the aim of elucidating novel electroceutical pathways, response biomarkers and personalised treatment protocols across a spectrum psychiatric & neurological disorders | 'Electroceutomics'
MedTech & Biotech platform development
- autonomic activity recording devices with real-time analysis output of endogenous rhythms and their clinical (diagnostic) utility in psychiatry, neurology & sleep medicine | #PrecisionSleepMedicine
- portable/wearable devices with integrated software applications for (i) perceptual rivalry viewing (e.g., stereoscopic 3D displays), data collection & analyses; (ii) probing interhemispheric rhythms (e.g., autonomic respiratory/nasal cycle periodicity); and (iii) inducing, recording & real-time analysis output of VCS.
Phylogenetics & evolution of bistable switching and VCS network
- from bacterial chemotaxis & fruit fly optomotor responses to binary decision-making in mammals (e.g., approach/avoidance choice behaviour) and disordered mood/cognitive states in humans (e.g., mania/depression, denial/insight)
- investigating the comparative genetics, neural network dynamics (e.g., vestibulocortical circuitry) and molecular mechanisms of bistable (anti-phase) interhemispheric oscillations — which have been observed across a range of phenotypes (e.g., biological rhythms, autonomic functions, oculomotor activity, perception/attention, cognitive/behaviour changes) and in different species (e.g., Drosophila, sandlance, birds, cetaceans, rodents, humans) | #PrecisionSwitchMedicine
Scientometrics of research benefits
- developing quantitative indicators of interdisciplinary conceptual & empirical synthesis, scientific impact, translational & innovation outcomes using machine learning (A.I.) analytical methods.
Media
Enquiries
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