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Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Dang Nguyen

M.D./Ph.D. Student

Dang is a graduate student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program) studying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias under the mentorship of Sarah Hopp, PhD. For his research, Dang is examining how microglial uptake and processing of tau contributes to the progression of tau pathology. For his clinical specialty, Dang is considering Internal Medicine PSTPs with a fellowship in Rheumatology or Allergy/Immunology.
 

About Me

I grew up in Upstate South Carolina and obtained my baccalaureate at Duke University. My first research experience looked at brain immunometabolism in Alzheimer’s disease, which got me excited about the complex intersection of neuroscience and immunology. But after several run-ins with immune issues of my own, I grew an interest in pathology across the lifespan. As such, I joined the very lovely lab of Dr. Staci Bilbo, where we scrutinized every early-life factor under the sun for their role in neurodevelopment. And my microglia must have enjoyed every minute of it because I am now committing to a whole career as a physician-scientist, through which I hope to characterize and target the neuroimmune underpinnings of chronic diseases.

Hobbies/Interests

Baking, Coffee Roasting, Ice Cream Making, Gym

Research Topic

Neuroimmunology, Health Disparities, Environmental Determinants of Health.

Why I chose MD/PhD

Just about every chronic medical condition converges on the immune system, even in pathologies once thought to be non-immune-related like neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the great diversity of risk factors that interact with the immune system makes it difficult to disentangle the driving mechanisms of disease. To approach this challenge, I find the rigorous training of an MD/PhD — built upon hypothesis-driven science alongside clinical acumen — an essential part of my lifelong mission to provide both exhaustive and innovative patient care.

Why I chose MD/PhD at UT San Antonio

Central to my goal as a physician-scientist is going after the environmental factors underlying health disparities. Disadvantaged communities face more exposures that are associated with worse health outcomes. However, addressing this requires an intimate understanding of the unique and intersectional experiences of patients from these populations, so that future advancements in therapeutics are precise to their dynamic needs. Located in the heart of the Texas Hispanic majority-minority region and Military City, UT San Antonio serves some of the populations heaviest hit by health inequity. It is an honor to serve these communities to my fullest.

Post-bac work or other affiliations

Biophysics, Neurobiology, BS, Duke University

Education

Biophysics, Neurobiology, BS, Duke University

Publications

Monroe, S. K., Devlin, B. A., Vaida, A., Nanduri, N., Staley, H. A., Reyes, E. Y., Nguyen, D. M., Dziabis, J. E., Pragana, A., Oxendine, S. R., Shinohara, M. L., Heaton, N. S., & Bilbo, S. D. (2026). CGRP reception potentiates anxiety in an influenza A derived immune engram. BioRxiv.
 
Dziabis, J. E., Jonathan, I. O., Horvath, B. L., Zhang, G., Patton, M. S., Smith, C. J., Nguyen, D. M., Jammula, M., Devlin, B. A., Monroe, S. K. and Freeman, E. J., Campos-Salazar, A. B., Clark, M. J., & Bilbo, S. D. (2025). Microglial MyD88-dependent signaling influences extracellular matrix development and interneuron maturation in the hippocampus. BioRxiv.
 
Devlin, B. A., Nguyen, D. M., Ribeiro, D., Grullon, G., Clark, Finn, A., M. J., Ceasrine, A. M., Oxendine, S., Deja, M., Shah, A., Ati, S., Schaefer, A., & Bilbo, S. D. (2025). Excitatory-neuron-derived interleukin-34 supports cortical developmental microglia function. Immunity.
 
Rawls, A., Dziabis, J., Nguyen, D., Anbarci, D., Clark, M., Zhang, G., Dzirasa, K., & Bilbo, S. D. (2025). Sex-specific regulation of microglial MyD88 in HMGB1-Induced anxiety phenotype in mice. Neurobiology of Stress, 36, 100721.
 
Nguyen, D. M., Monroe, S. K., Rendina, D. N., Boyd, K. S., Rispoli, E. D., Wirfel, O. M., Campos-Salazar, A. B., Araujo, A. R., Vaidyanathan, T. V., Keziah, V. L., Devlin, B. A., Smith, C. J., Bilbo, S. D. (2025). BioRxiv.
 
Smith, C. J., Rendina, D. N., Kingsbury, M. A., Malacon, K. E., Nguyen, D. M., Tran, J. J., Devlin, B. A., Raju, R. M., Clark, M. J., Burgett, L., Zhang, J. H., Cetinbas, M., Sadreyev, R. I., Chen, K., Iyer, M. S., & Bilbo, S. D. (2023). Microbial modulation via cross-fostering prevents the effects of pervasive environmental stressors on microglia and social behavior, but not the dopamine system. Molecular Psychiatry, 28(6), 2549–2562.