The expedition was part of Victor’s ongoing postdoctoral project looking at the role of Bifidobacteria in lactose tolerance, its transmission from mother to infant, and its diversity across ethnicities. Victor and Liam studied participants across the country, both in large cities and rural villages, working closely with collaborators at VG-CARE, the Hanoi 108 Military Hospital, and the University of Tübingen - Institute for Tropical Medicine.