Who we are and what drives our research?
We are a group of scientists who are highly enthusiastic about learning new things about human genetics, the central nervous system, and related diseases.
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As so, we love new ideas, asking questions, and creating new molecular biology tools.
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We very much care about patients and we wish to contribute to helping patients.
Meet The Team
Lien Nguyen
Assistant Professor, Principle Investigator
lien.nguyen at ufl.edu
Lien has always been interested in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders and in developing therapeutic strategies for these devastating diseases.
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Started her independent lab at the CNG, MGM, UF COM in December 2022, Lien is enthusiastic about gaining new knowledge and doing research to increase our understanding of disease and how the central nervous system works. Learn more about Lien's research interest and experience here.
Svetlana Yegorova
Biological Scientist III/Lab manager
syegorova at ufl.edu
Svetlana joined the L.Nguyen lab in June 2023. Svetlana is a molecular and cell biologist with broad expertise in molecular, nucleic acids (tRNA, miRNA, mRNA), cell biology, redox biology, AAV, cell sorting, and sequencing. She is interested in understanding the SVA genome and how its role in disease and cellular function.
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Research topics: Repeatome profiling, gene discovery, disease markers, disease mechanisms.
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Huong Phuong
Postdoc Associate
huong.phuong at ufl.edu
Huong joined the Nguyen lab as a postdoctoral associate in June 2023 after earning her PhD in Biological Science at Nara Institute of Science and Technology. Huong's research interest includes discovery of novel repeat expansions that cause or are associated with Alzheimer's disease and development of mouse models of novel AD-associated mutations using AAV approach. Learn more about Huong's research interest, research experience, and hobbies here.
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Research topics: Gene discovery, mouse model, disease mechanisms
Logan Bell
BMS Graduate Student
logan.bell at ufl.edu
Logan joined the lab in April 2023. He is excited about studying the role of tandem repeats in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Logan's research involves studying repeat interactome and addressing questions whether repeats including transposon elements play roles in chromatin remodeling and regulating telomere function and integrity. Learn more about Logan's interest and research experience here.
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Research topics: repeats in disease, disease mechanisms, repeat interactome, gene discovery
Rodrigo Tomas
Graduate Student
rtomas at ufl.edu
Rodrigo Tomas is a Graduate Student in Neurocience. He joined the Nguyen lab in Dec 2023. Rodrigo is interested in understanding how repeat expansion mutations contribute to Alzheimer's disease using mouse and cellular models and patient derived models. Learn more about Rodrigo's interest and hobbies here.
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Research topics: Disease mechanisms, disease models, animal studies, patient derived models.
Isabella Gerstin
Undergraduate Student
igerstin at ufl.edu
Isabella joined the Nguyen lab as a volunteer in Summer 2023. She is learning about repeat expansions and tandem repeats and their impact on degenerative neurological disorders and CNS function. Learn more about Isabella's interest and research experience here.
Emma Maffetone
Undergraduate Student
emmamaffetone at ufl.edu
Emma joined the lab in Jun 2023 an undergraduate volunteer. She is learning to characterize novel repeat expansions and studying how these mutations link with disease. Learn more about Emma's interest, research experience, and hobbies here.
Alyssa Collier
Undergraduate Student
alyssa.collier at ufl.edu
Alyssa joined the lab in Jan 2024 an undergraduate volunteer. She is learning molecular biological tools and use these tools to characterize repeat expansion mutations. Learn more about Alyssa's interest, research experience, and hobbies here.
Elizabeth Michels
Undergraduate Student
elizabethmichels at ufl.edu
Feb 2024, Elizabeth joined the lab an undergraduate research assistant. She is learning biological tools to identify novel repeat expansions that link with disease. Learn more about Elizabeth's interest and hobbies here.
Incoming Student
The incoming student will be studying repeat expansion pathology in brain tissue samples from patients affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ana is asking a question of whether repeat expansion pathology is a novel biomarker that predicts disease outcome and progression in AD patients.
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Research topics: Disease pathology, biomarkers, gene discovery
JOIN OUR LAB
We are looking for outstanding and motivated students, postdocs, and biological scientists to join our team. Please contact Dr. Nguyen for details on open positions.
(352) 273-5847