Thanh Duc Nguyen, Ph.D.'s picture
Thanh Duc
Nguyen, Ph.D.
ACell YOUNG INVESTIGATOR FACULTY AWARD WINNER
Assistant Professor
Departments of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

University of Connecticut

Biography

Thanh Nguyen, Ph.D., joined the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at UConn as an assistant professor since the beginning of 2016 after finishing his postdoctoral fellowship with Robert Langer, Ph.D., at MIT. His research is highly interdisciplinary and at the interface of biomedicine, materials and nano/micro technology. He has invented and developed a platform technology which can create 3-dimensional microstructures of biodegradable polymers for applications in vaccine/drug delivery and medical implants. Recently, his research group at UConn has studied a special biodegradable piezoelectric polymer to develop implanted force-sensor and ultrasound transducer for monitoring vital intra-organ pressures and delivering medicines through the blood-brain barrier, respectively. All of these implanted sensors and transducers can self-vanish to avoid the need of invasive removal surgery. The biodegradable piezoelectric polymer can also be used as a tissue scaffold which can be remotely controlled to produce electrical stimulation for tissue regeneration. Nguyen has published in prestigious journals including Science, Nature Nanotech, PNAS etc. and received several awards including the MIT top innovator under 35 for Asia Pacific (2019), NIH Trailblazer Award for Young and Early Investigators (2018), SPIE Rising Researcher Award (2019), Young Investigator Award in Biosciences and Bioengineering of Applied Sciences (2019), and the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award (2018).

Title of Abstract

Biodegradable Piezoelectric Scaffold for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Research Interests

Nguyen group's research focuses on the science and technology to transform biodegradable and biocompatible materials (e.g surgical-suture polymers) into special forms/shapes/structures with “smart” functions at nano/micro-scales for diverse applications in vaccine/drug delivery, tissue regenerative engineering and electronic/electrical implants. The research is highly interdisciplinary and at the interface of biomaterials, nano/micro-technology, and medicine. Our work covers a wide range of scientific and engineering areas, including nano/micro-manufacturing, "smart" piezoelectric materials, bioelectronics, microfluidics, nanobiointerfaces, cell/tissue engineering, biomaterials and vaccine/drug delivery. We currently look for a postdoctoral researcher in the field of Drug delivery, Tissue Engineering (Bone/Cartilage Regeneration) and Biomaterials. We have opened positions for highly motivated PhD and undergraduate students from different backgrounds (immunology, cell biology, pharmacy, materials science, and biomedical/electrical/electronic/chemical/mechanical engineering) to join the research group.