Rate My Professor Vengadesh Letchumanan

Dr. Vengadesh Letchumanan is a Lecturer at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences (JCSMHS), Monash University Malaysia. He earned a Bachelor of Biomedicine (Honours) from Management and Science University (2004–2007), a Master of Science in Molecular Biology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (2007–2013), focusing on detection of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology from Universiti Malaya (2014–2019), investigating antibiotic resistance profiles of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from seafood in Selangor. Following his PhD, he served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at JCSMHS before transitioning to a full-time Lecturer position in October 2019. As Leader and Principal Investigator of the Pathogen Resistome Virulome and Diagnostic Research Group (PathRiD), his research specializes in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), characterization of pathogens, microbial taxonomy, the human microbiome and its relation to health and disease, dysbiosis, and therapeutic implications of probiotic interventions. He teaches courses including MED 1100/1200 Problem Based Learning and Microbiology for Year 1, MED 2100/2200 Student Project Cases, MED 5101 Scholarly Intensive Placement, and NUT 1021 Fundamentals of Human Nutrition. In 2021, he completed the Technology for Education in Clinical Healthcare (EdTech) course from the Monash Center for Professional Development.

Dr. Letchumanan has produced 116 research outputs, including 60 review articles and 26 articles, with a Google Scholar h-index of 38, i10-index of 80, and over 5,749 citations. Key publications include 'Gut microbiota-targeted interventions for heat stress from preclinical models and human trial' (2025, Gut), 'Pilot Trial of Probiotics in Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Approach' (2025, Progress in Microbes and Molecular Biology), 'Unveiling the Connection between Gut Microbiome and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)' (2025), and 'A Current Overview of Next-Generation Probiotics and Their Prospects in Health and Disease Management' (2024). His contributions extend to UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Good Health and Well-being, Zero Hunger, Climate Action, and Life Below Water. Recognized as one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University in 2023, 2024, and 2025, he is a Member of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), Professional Technologist with the Malaysia Board of Technologists, and recipient of FarmMate-S1 awards in 2022 and 2023. He accepts PhD students and collaborates on projects like probiotic applications in aquafarming.