Quyen T. Nguyen
Quyen T. Nguyen is a surgeon-scientist and Professor in the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Associate Director of Education and Training at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center[1]. She is known for her work pioneering fluorescence guided surgery and co-holds several patents with Nobel Laureate Roger Y. Tsien, PhD[2] pertaining to their invention of peptides[3], imaging systems and methods to support fluorescence-guided cancer tumor resection and fluorescent labeling of nerves on the surgical bed[4].
Quyen T. Nguyen, MD/PhD | |
---|---|
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | University of Southern California (USC) Washington University School of Medicine (MD/PhD) |
Known for | fluorescence guided surgery |
Spouse(s) | Brett Berman, MD/FACC |
Awards | Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) 2014; Career Award for Medical Scientist (Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 2009); Fowler Award, Triological Society (2012) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | UC San Diego |
Thesis | Pre-existing pathways promote precise projection patterns (2002) |
Doctoral advisor | Jeff W. Lichtman |
Education
Nguyen received a Bachelor's degree in Psychobiology from the University of Southern California, and an MD/PhD in Medicine and Neuroscience from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri in the lab of Jeff W. Lichtman. While in Lichtman's lab, Nguyen developed an in-vivo fluorescence time-lapse imaging system to visualize motor nerve regeneration.[5]She completed her General Surgery internship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and a residency in Otolaryngology and Head and neck surgery at UC San Diego.
Career and awards
Nguyen is board-certified in Head and Neck Surgery and Neurotology/Skull Base Surgery. She serves as Director of the Facial Nerve Clinic at UC San Diego, which provides evaluation and surgical treatment for patients with varying facial nerve dysfunctions. In her clinical practice she also treats and operates on patients with diseases of the ear and skull base. She is Professor of Surgery in the UC San Diego School of Medicine, and serves as Associate Director of Education and Training at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center where her focus is on providing equitable access to quality cancer education and training programs across all academic and faculty levels [6].
Nguyen and her research team have received a number of grants and awards including support from the NIH[7] and a Burroughs Wellcome Award in 2009 which have helped to support her research into fluorescence guided surgery, hailed as a breakthrough in numerous news and scientific publications.[8][9][10][11][12]
In 2011, Nguyen presented a talk at a TEDMED conference titled, "Color-Coded Surgery" that has been viewed over 1.2 million times on Ted.com[13]In 2014, Nguyen received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President Barack Obama for her pioneering work in fluorescence guided surgery.[14]In 2017, Nguyen founded Alume Biosciences[15], a biotechnology startup with the goal of translating nerve agents developed in the lab to aid physicians in visualizing nerves in the operating room.[16].
References
- "Quyen T. Nguyen - Department of Surgery, School of Medicine; Moores Cancer Center - UC San Diego". UC San Diego Profiles. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Roger Y. Tsien, Nobel Winner for Use of Glowing Proteins, Dies at 64". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- US granted 8685372, Roger Y. Tsien; Quyen T. Nguyen & Michael Whitney, "Peptides and aptamers for targeting of neuron or nerves", published April 1, 2014
- US granted 20140276008A1, Paul Steinbach; Quyen T. Nguyen & Roger Y. Tsien, "Imaging system and method for fluorescence guided surgery", published March 19, 2019
- Nguyen, Q; Sanes, J; Lichtman, J (August 12, 2002). "Pre-existing pathways promote precise projection patterns". Nature Neuroscience. 5 (5518): 861–867. PMID 12172551.
- "CRCERA - Cancer Research, Career Enhancement and Related Activities". UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Testing Fluorescently Labeled Probes for Nerve Imaging during Surgery". Grantome. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "How Illuminating". The Economist. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "UCSD Lights Up Nerves for Surgeons". KPBS.org. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Neon Nerves for Safer Surgery". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "A Multipurpose Molecule for Cancer Surgery". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Illuminating Surgery". The Economist. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "TEDMED 2011, Quyen Nguyen: Color-Coded Surgery". TED.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "President Obama Honors Outstanding Early-Career Scientists". The White House, President Barack Obama. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Alume Biosciences, Inc". Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Illuminating the invisible for precision surgery". NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Retrieved 21 March 2020.