From cancer to crops: Dr Cong Vu’s PhD journey

Dr Cong Vu spent years learning how to deliver life-saving drugs to cancer patients more effectively. He’s now using that same technology to strengthen the world’s food supply.

When Cong Vu arrived at UNSW Sydney in 2017 to begin his PhD in nanomedicine, his world was defined by cancer cells and drug molecules. Agriculture was the furthest thing from his mind.

One UNSW PhD, thousands of hours in the lab and a fateful trip to Bunnings later, he is now the founder of NanoSoils Bio – a startup on the cusp of transforming how farmers around the world grow our food. The technology at the centre of it all is the same nanoparticle platform he helped develop for cancer treatment in the labs at UNSW.

“What I’m doing now is very different from what I learned at UNSW,” laughs Cong. “It’s the same technology but for very different applications. In medicine, we would use my nanoparticle innovation to deliver a cancer drug, maximising benefits and minimising adverse effects. In farming, it’s the same – we put the pesticide in the nanoparticle to protect the plants and the environment.”

The science of small things

One small trip to Bunnings, one giant leap for agriculture

It’s one thing to have a brilliant idea. It’s another to prove it works. Knowing this was all still theoretical, Cong wanted to be sure it was possible. So he did what any resourceful scientist would do: he went to Bunnings.

“They have so many seeds – grass, wheat, barley, tomato,” he says. “I bought some, brought them back to the lab and tested my nanoparticle against conventional fertiliser to see what would happen next.

Days later, the results were striking. The seeds treated with fertiliser delivered inside the nanoparticle produced roots that were visibly longer and stronger than those grown with a standard fertiliser application.

It was a simple experiment, but it was the proof of concept Cong needed to gain confidence in the idea and kickstart the next chapter of his career.

UNSW PhD: a launchpad for start-up success

Building a start-up while completing a PhD is no small task. But Cong says UNSW made it possible in ways that went far beyond what he expected from a university.

As a Scientia Scholar, UNSW’s highest PhD scholarship, he received not only a monthly stipend, but an additional $10,000 each year for professional development. He used the funding to enrol in an online business course at the University of Cambridge.

“We are scientists – we have no idea about business,” he says candidly. “That course gave me the foundation to translate my technology and bring it into the real world.”

Then came the conversations with investors, farmers and agriculture experts. Cong says the interest came very early: “The only thing we had was an idea, but the investor expressed interest anyway. That was very motivating.”

From there, NanoSoils Bio was accepted into a six-month incubator run by the NSW Department of Primary Industries which gave Cong professional training in how to build and scale a business. UNSW also provided a direct grant to help get the company off the ground. By the end of the company’s second year, NanoSoils Bio had won the Science and Innovation Award, a national recognition that opened new doors with investors and industry partners.

But perhaps the most valuable support came from Professor Justin Gooding, Cong’s PhD supervisor.

“He gave me the confidence to start the company during my PhD,” says Cong. “He told me what mistakes to avoid, how to commercialise responsibly and what to look out for. He’s still an advisor to NanoSoils Bio, so our connection hasn’t ended.”

It was also within Professor Gooding’s research group that Cong first came to understand what was truly possible at the intersection of academia and industry. “In our group, it was very normal to collaborate with companies,” he says. “I saw that culture early. It gave me the inspiration to explore it.”

A smart switch to increase speed to market

The pivot from cancer treatment to agriculture wasn’t just scientifically logical but also a smart commercial move. Getting a new medicine from a lab to a patient can take 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars. Getting a new fertiliser to farms takes two or three.

“For medicine, I would need a very long clinical trial. For fertiliser, I validate in the field and then we go to market,” explains Cong. “That speed really matters.”

Global fertiliser prices have surged in recent years, driven by geopolitical conflict and supply chain disruption. In some countries, access to fertiliser is becoming increasingly uncertain. Meanwhile, overuse of conventional pesticides is causing significant environmental harm – soil degradation, runoff that contaminates waterways, and harmful chemical exposure for farmers.

“This is the best time to work in agriculture,” says Cong. “How do we use the fertiliser more effectively? That question matters for the environment and for the long-term sustainability of food production.”

By delivering nutrients at the nanoscale, NanoSoils aims to help farmers do more with less. Less chemicals, less waste and less damage. In a few years, Cong’s technology should be in the ground on real farms.

Making an impact where it’s needed most

For Cong, the biggest lesson from his PhD wasn’t just scientific. It was learning that research can lead anywhere, even to places you never expected. Cong admits he never expected to end up where he is now. The teenager who wanted to be a scientist is now a start-up founder. The PhD student studying cancer is now working to help feed the world. And he’s pleasantly surprised by that.

“The goal I had in high school is very different from where I am now,” he reflects. “But I think I adapted based on the needs of society and the needs of business.”

His advice to anyone considering a research degree? Stay curious, be flexible and pay attention to what the world really needs.

What Cong valued most about studying at UNSW