Hometown: Viet Nam
Faculty mentor: Erliang Zeng, PhD,  associate professor, Preventive and Community Dentistry, Division of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, College of Dentistry
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: PhD in informatics, May 2026

Phuong Nguyen is developing computer programs to identify genetic markers and understand how they influence human diseases and traits. Her programs use advanced methods, such as deep learning, to predict how changes in DNA can affect gene activity, particularly in diseases like cancer. The programs analyze how genes turn on and off, how the body regulates these processes, and how protein functions might change, to improve the accuracy of predicting disease outcomes. Nguyen’s research plays a significant role in the development of personalized medicine, where health care teams can tailor treatments to an individual’s unique genetic makeup, leading to more effective therapies and better health outcomes for many patients.

After graduation, Nguyen plans to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in health data analytics in an academic setting to further her expertise.

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