Vision

An center of excellence for data management and statistical analysis for health science research

Mission

• Serve as an organization for research and development of information technology for data management as well as human resource development that meets international standards
•  Provide services on data management and data analysis, and facilitate researchers to produce high quality research
• Collaborate with international communities to develop the software for data management and statistical analysis

Status

• A not-for-profit, self-financing organization under regulation of the Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University
• Founded by the Board of the Faculty of Public Health on 8 November 2012

Activities 

Current and regular activities include:

• Conducting workshops on statistics:

- Essential concept of statistics using “Stat Village” as a tool to expose learners to real practice in the household survey

- Workshop series for basic, intermediate, and advanced course in data management and statistics

- Workshop series for clinical research associate (CRA) to supply for research organizations requiring intensive regulatory environments

• Conducting workshops on manuscript writing for research:

- Participants are required to bring their own data to the workshop

- Large data set from real research projects are also provided for participants who do not have data

• Host database servers for more than 10 large research projects at national level
• Develop data management software
• Train graduate students in data analysis and scientific writing. Participating programs include the Ph.D. (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Ph.D. (Oral hygiene), Ph.D. (Biomedicine), Dr.P.H., M.Sc. (Biostatistcs), and M.Sc. (Clinical Epidemiology)

Ensuring access to safe, clean water is a fundamental responsibility of public health, as embodied in the UN’s Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 6 and targets 6.1 and 6.3. Eutrophication, in which excessive nutrients in surface water bodies feed the growth of algae and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), is an emerging and growing threat to water supply security. Eutrophication hinders the physical and chemical processes involved in water treatment, and a growing body of evidence shows that toxins produced within and expressed out of cyanobacteria have significant acute and chronic health effects (1,2).

In response to this threat, the Faculty of Public Health at Khon Kaen University established in 2019 a research group for eutrophication in freshwater lakes. Currently, our research is focused on understanding the role of lake sediment in eutrophic lakes and in developing geochemical treatments to mitigate eutrophication and restore lake water quality.

In partnership with researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, the laboratory at the Faculty of Public Health has become the first laboratory in Thailand with the ability to perform sequential extraction of phosphorus fractions in lake sediment. This laboratory protocol is critical to understanding the role of lake sediment in eutrophication. Additionally, we have piloted the use of chemical coagulants, such as aluminum sulfate, in a local eutrophic lake as a geochemical strategy to restore water quality.

Ongoing research is exploring emerging geochemical treatments for eutrophic lakes that are promising for use in Thailand, including the re-use of drinking water treatment residual and combined use chemical coagulant, ballast, and sorbent in a strategy known as “floc and lock.”

Our research is firmly rooted in the pursuit of practical, socially acceptable, and financially feasible solutions to his important problem. We embrace establishing partnerships with local governments and working at the mesoscale and field scale levels in order to provide solutions that are scalable for immediate implementation.

More information contact Asst. Prof. Dr. Anootnara Kuster or Anthony Kuster via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.