Direk is the Head of Microbiology at Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) where he has worked as a research physician since 2004. Direk is also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a key research area for Direk, having led several clinical and epidemiological studies on AMR in LMICs. He formed the Thailand Melioidosis Network (TMN) and International Melioidosis Society (IMS) and is associated with Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC). Direk also initiated the AMR Dictionary to address the jargon surrounding AMR in local languages.
