Affiliations
Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.
Education
| Degree and Institution | Year(s) |
| PhD. University of Hamburg, Germany | 2008 |
| Bsc. Hanoi National University, Vietnam | 2000 |
Professional Experience
| Position and Institute | Year(s) |
| Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS. | 2023–present |
| Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS. | 2015–2023 |
| Senior Research Fellow, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore | 2012-2015 |
| Research Fellow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA | 2008-2011 |
| Research Assistant, Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam | 2000-2004 |
Awards
| Award | Year(s) |
| NUS Young Investigator Award (YIA) | 2016 |
| BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany) graduate scholarship | 2005 |
| Young Investigator Award from human proteome organization (HUPO) | 2004 |
Patents and Invention Disclosures
| Patents and Invention | Year(s) |
| Invention disclosure: ILO: 2016-310 (role: inventor) | Dec, 2016 |
| US Provisional Patent Application (role: co-inventor) | Sept, 2013 |
| U.S. Provisional Patent Application (role: co-inventor) | April, 2014 |
| Invention Disclosure (role: co-inventor) | May, 2014 |
Research Interest
Lipids play vital roles in health and diseases. Dr. Nguyen has significant contributions to the field of lipid transport by discovery of the functions of Mfsd2a as the first lipid transporter in brain during his postdoc training. This breakthrough discovery explains the long sought for mechanism by which the essential lipid DHA enters human brains and unravels for the first time that plasma-derived lysolipids, namely LPCs, are essential for normal human brain growth and functions. The major research focuses in our lab are mechanistic characterizations of novel nutritionally regulated genes that involve in lipid, nutrient transport and metabolism. We employ gene-knockout mouse models as well as molecular cell biology, biochemistry, lipidomics techniques to mechanistically unravel the physiological functions of these novel proteins. The ultimate goals are to translate these discoveries into therapeutic applications to treat lipid-related diseases such as obesity and improve health. Staffs working in our lab are expected to gain knowledge and skills in protein and lipid biochemistry, cell culture assays as well as the physiological characterizations of knockout mice.
Research projects are available for graduate and undergraduate students. Candidates interested in joining our laboratory please directly contact Dr. Long Nguyen at bchnnl@nus.edu.sg
Selected Publications
(*shared first authors)
- *Uyen Thanh Nha Le, *Toan Q. Nguyen, Pazhanichamy Kalailingam, Yen Thi Kim Nguyen, Viresh Krishnan Sukumar, Clarissa Kai Hui Tan, Farhana Tukijan, Ludovic Couty, Zafrul Hasan, Ilaria Del Gaudio, Markus Wenk, Amaury Cazenave-Gassiot, Eric Camerer, #Long N. Nguyen. Mfsd2b and Spns2 coordinate to provide S1P for development and protection from pathological conditions. Cell Reports. Aug 2022. #Corresponding author.
- *Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan, *Toan Quoc Nguyen1, *Zafrul Hasan, Sneha Muralidharan, Thiet Minh Vu, Aaron Wei Liang Li, Uyen Thanh Nha Le, Hoa Thi Thuy Ha, Sangha Baik, Sock Hwee Tan, Juat Chin Foo, Markus R. Wenk, Amaury Cazenave-Gassiot, Federico Torta, Wei Yi Ong, Mark Yan Yee Chan, #Long N. Nguyen. Deletion of Mfsd2b impairs thrombotic functions of platelets. Nature Communications. In press. #Corresponding author.
- *Toan Q. Nguyen, *Thiet Minh Vu, *Farhana Tukijan, Sneha Muralidharan, Juat Chin Foo, Jasmine Fei Li Chin, Zafrul Hasan, Federico Torta, #Long N. Nguyen (2020). Erythrocytes efficiently utilize exogenous sphingosine for S1P synthesis and export via Mfsd2b. J Biol Chem.
- *Pazhanichamy Kalailingam, *Kai Qi Wang, *Xiu Ru Toh, *Toan Q. Nguyen, Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan, Zafrul Hasan, Clair Habib, Aharon Schif, Francesca Clementina Radio4, Bruno Dallapiccola, Karin Weiss, #Nguyen, L.N. Deficiency of MFSD7c results in microcephaly-associated vasculopathy in Fowler syndrome. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 5 May 2020. #Corresponding author
- Vu, T. M., A.-N. Ishizu, J. C. Foo, X. R. Toh, F. Zhang, D. M. Whee, F. Torta, A. Cazenave-Gassiot, T. Matsumura, S. Kim, S.-A. E. S. Toh, T. Suda, D. L. Silver, M. R. Wenk and #Nguyen, L. N.(2017). Mfsd2b is essential for the sphingosine-1-phosphate export in erythrocytes and platelets. Nature. #corresponding author.