Nguyen, Thanh

thanh nguyen

Associate Professor, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering

Email nguyentd@uconn.edu
Phone 860-486-2415
Mailing Address School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Connecticut, 191 Auditorium Rd. U-3139, Storrs, CT 06269
Campus Storrs
Link Affiliation Website
Google Scholar Link

Brief Bio

Thanh Nguyen joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering as Assistant Professor at the beginning of 2016. His research is highly interdisciplinary and at the interface of biomedicine, materials and nano/micro technology. He did his postdoc with Professor Robert Langer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His postdoc research was to develop a platform technology which can create three-dimensional microstructures of biomaterials such as biodegradable and FDA-approved polymers for applications in vaccine/drug delivery and medical implants.

He obtained his PhD from Princeton University in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2013). At Princeton, he worked with Professor Michael McAlpine to develop the field of Biointerfaced Nanopiezoelectrics, which aims to create advanced electromechanical materials/devices at nanoscales and their interfaces with biological cells/tissues for applications in harvesting, sensing and engineering cellular mechanics. His works have been published in prestigious journals and highlighted in major media such as the New York Times, Nature etc.

  • interface of biomedicine,
  • materials and nano/micro technology
  • Pahal, S. & Nguyen, T. D. “BRIGHTening growth hormone delivery” Nature Materials 2025
  • Li, Z.; Bhaskar, N.; Erel-Akbaba, G.; Zhu, Y.; Ge, G.; Park, J.; Angadi, K.; Duhoon, A.; Nguyen, T. D. Current advances of biodegradable and biocompatible nanofiber-based materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. MRS Communications 2025 (Invited - Early Career Distinguished Presenter Prospective).
  • Pahal, S.; Huang, F.; Singh, P.; Sharma, N.; Pham, H.-P.; Tran, T. B. T.; Sakhrie, A.; Akbaba, H.; Nguyen, T. D. Enhancing vaccine stability in transdermal microneedle platforms. Drug Delivery and Translational Research 2025.
  • Liu, Y.; Bai, Y.; Heng, B. C.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, X.; Nguyen, T. D.; Deng, X. Biomimetic electroactive materials and devices for regenerative engineering. Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering 2025.
  • Zou, H.; Nguyen, T. D.; Pace, G. Materials and figures of merit for nanogenerators. MRS Bulletin 2025.
  • Park, J.; Akbaba, G. E.; Sharma, N.; Das, R.; Vinikoor, T.; Liu, Y.; Le, D. Q.; Angadi, K.; Nguyen, T. D. Electrically Active Biomaterials for Stimulation and Regeneration in Tissue Engineering. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A 2025, 113 (1), e37871.
  • James, J. J.; Pahal, S.; Jayaraman, A.; Nayak A, D.; Koteshwar Narasimhachar, S.; Sundarrajan, S.; Basappa Veerabhadraiah, B.; Srinivasan, B.; Vemula, P. K.; Nguyen, T. D.; Kadamboor Veethil, S. Polymeric Microneedles for Transdermal Delivery of Human Placental Tissue for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis. Macromolecular Bioscience 2024.
  • Singh, P.; Vinikoor, T.; Sharma, N.; Nelson, N.; Prasadh, S.; Oiknine, R.; Nguyen, T. D., Single-Administration Self-Boosting Microneedle Patch for the Treatment of Obesity. Advanced Therapeutics 2024, 2400028.
  • Chorsi, M.-S.; Linthicum, W.; Pozhidaeva, A.; Mundrane, C.; Mulligan, V. K.; Chen, Y.; Tavousi, P.; Gorbatyuk, V.; Vinogradova, O.; Hoch, J. C.; Huey, B. D.; Nguyen, T. D.; Soh, H. T.; Kazerounian, K.; Ilies, H., Ultra-confined controllable cyclic peptides as supramolecular biomaterials. Nano Today 2024, 56, 102247.
  • Das, R.; Le, D.; Kan, H.-M.; Le, T. T.; Park, J.; Nguyen, T. D.; Lo, K. W. H., Osteo-inductive effect of piezoelectric stimulation from the poly(l-lactic acid) scaffolds. PLOS ONE 2024, 19, (2), e0299579.
  • Vinikoor, T.; Dzidotor, G. K.; Le, T. T.; Liu, Y.; Kan, H.-M.; Barui, S.; Chorsi, M. T.; Curry, E. J.; Reinhardt, E.; Wang, H.; Singh, P.; Merriman, M. A.; D’Orio, E.; Park, J.; Xiao, S.; Chapman, J. H.; Lin, F.; Truong, C.-S.; Prasadh, S.; Chuba, L.; Killoh, S.; Lee, S.-W.; Wu, Q.; Chidambaram, R. M.; Lo, K. W. H.; Laurencin, C. T.; Nguyen, T. D., Injectable and biodegradable piezoelectric hydrogel for osteoarthritis treatment. Nature Communications 2023, 14, (1), 6257.
  • Das, R.; Le, T. T.; Schiff, B.; Chorsi, M. T.; Park, J.; Lam, P.; Kemerley, A.; Supran, A. M.; Eshed, A.; Luu, N.; Menon, N. G.; Schmidt, T. A.; Wang, H.; Wu, Q.; Thirunavukkarasu, M.; Maulik, N.; Nguyen, T. D., Biodegradable piezoelectric skin-wound scaffold. Biomaterials 2023, 122270.
  • Chorsi, M. T.; Le, T. T.; Lin, F.; Vinikoor, T.; Das, R.; Stevens, J. F.; Mundrane, C.; Park, J.; Tran, K. T. M.; Liu, Y.; Pfund, J.; Thompson, R.; He, W.; Jain, M.; Morales-Acosta, M. D.; Bilal, O. R.; Kazerounian, K.; Ilies, H.; Nguyen, T. D., Highly piezoelectric, biodegradable, and flexible amino acid nanofibers for medical applications. Science Advances 2023, 9, (24), eadg6075.
  • Tran, K. T. M.; Nguyen, T. D., Lithography in Drug Delivery. In Nano- and Microfabrication Techniques in Drug Delivery : Recent Developments and Future Prospects, Lamprou, D., Ed. Springer International Publishing: Cham, 2023; pp 249-274
  • Khanh T.M. Tran, Thinh T. Le, Vivek Agrahari, M. Melissa Peet, Louise A. Ouattara, Sharon M. Anderson, Trang Huyen Le-Kim, Onkar N. Singh, Gustavo F. Doncel and Thanh D. Nguyen. Single-Administration Long-Acting Microarray Patch with Ultrahigh Loading Capacity and Multiple Releases of Thermally Stable Antibodies. Molecular Pharmaceutics 2023, 20, (5), 2352-2361.
  • Singh, P.; Youden, B.; Carrier, A.; Oakes, K.; Servos, M.; Jiang, R.; Lin, S.; Nguyen, T. D.; Zhang, X., Photoresponsive polymeric microneedles: An innovative way to monitor and treat diseases. Journal of Controlled Release 2023, 353, 1050-1067.
  • Tran, K. T. M.; Gavitt, T. D.; Le, T. T.; Graichen, A.; Lin, F.; Liu, Y.; Tulman, E. R.; Szczepanek, S. M.; Nguyen, T. D., A Single-Administration Microneedle Skin Patch for Multi-Burst Release of Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2., Adv. Mater. Technol. 2022, 2200905
  • Singh, P.; Muhammad, I. j.; Nelson, N. E.; Tran, K. T. M.; Vinikoor, T.; Chorsi, M. T.; D’Orio, E.; Nguyen, T. D., Transdermal delivery for gene therapy. Drug Delivery and Translational Research 2022.
  • Le, T. T.; Curry, E. J.; Vinikoor, T.; Das, R.; Liu, Y.; Sheets, D.; Tran, K. T. M.; Hawxhurst, C.; Stevens, J. F.; Hancock, J. N.; Bilal, O. R.; Shor, L. M.; Nguyen, T. D., Piezoelectric Nanofiber Membrane for Reusable, Stable and Highly Functional Face Mask Filter with Long-Term Biodegradability. Advanced Functional Materials. 2022.
  • Das, R.; Langou, S.; Le, T. T.; Prasad, P.; Lin, F.; Nguyen, T. D., Electrical Stimulation for Immune Modulation in Cancer Treatments. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2022, 9, 1437.
  • Liu, Y.; Dzidotor, G.; Le Thinh, T.; Vinikoor, T.; Morgan, K.; Curry Eli, J.; Das, R.; McClinton, A.; Eisenberg, E.; Apuzzo Lorraine, N.; Tran Khanh, T. M.; Prasad, P.; Flanagan Tyler, J.; Lee, S.-W.; Kan, H.-M.; Chorsi Meysam, T.; Lo Kevin, W. H.; Laurencin Cato, T.; Nguyen, T. D., Exercise-induced piezoelectric stimulation for cartilage regeneration in rabbits. Science Transl. Med. 14, (627), eabi7282, 2022.
  • Tran, K. T. M.; Gavitt, T. D.; Farrell, N. J.; Curry, E. J.; Mara, A. B.; Patel, A.; Brown, L.; Kilpatrick, S.; Piotrowska, R.; Mishra, N.; Szczepanek, S. M.; Nguyen, T. D., Transdermal microneedles for the programmable burst release of multiple vaccine payloads. Nature Biomedical Engineering 2020.
  • Liu, Y.; Li, H.; Xu, J.; TerBush, J.; Li, W.; Setty, M.; Guan, S.; Nguyen, T. D.; Qin, L.; Zheng, Y., Biodegradable metal-derived Magnesium and Sodium enhances bone regeneration by angiogenesis aided osteogenesis and regulated biological apatite formation. Chemical Engineering Journal 2020, 127616
  • Das, R.; Curry, E. J.; Le, T. T.; Awale, G.; Liu, Y.; Li, S.; Contreras, J.; Bednarz, C.; Millender, J.; Xin, X.; Rowe, D.; Emadi, S.; Lo, K. W.-H.; Nguyen, T. D., Biodegradable Nanofiber Bone-Tissue Scaffold as Remotely-Controlled and Self-Powering Electrical Stimulator. Nano Energy 2020, 105028
  • Curry, E. J.; Le, T. T.; Das, R.; Ke, K.; Santorella, E. M.; Paul, D.; Chorsi, M. T.; Tran, K. T. M.; Baroody, J.; Borges, E. R.; Ko, B.; Golabchi, A.; Xin, X.; Rowe, D.; Yue, L.; Feng, J.; Morales-Acosta, M. D.; Wu, Q.; Chen, I.-P.; Cui, X. T.; Pachter, J.; Nguyen, T. D., Biodegradable nanofiber-based piezoelectric transducer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2020, 201910343
  • A. C. Anselmo, X. Xu, S. Buerkli, Y. Zeng, W. Tang, K. J. McHugh, A. M. Behrens, E. Rosenberg, A. R. Duan, J. L. Sugarman, J. Zhuang, J. Collins, X. Lu, T. Graf, S. Y. Tzeng, S. Rose, S. Acolatse, T. D. Nguyen, X. Le, A. S. Guerra, L. E. Freed, S. B. Weinstock, C. B. Sears, B. Nikolic, L. Wood, P. A. Welkhoff, J. D. Oxley, D. Moretti, M. B. Zimmermann, R. Langer, A. Jaklenec, A heat-stable microparticle platform for oral micronutrient delivery. Science Translational Medicine, 2019
  • Chorsi, M. T.; Curry, E. J.; Chorsi, H. T.; Das, R.; Baroody, J.; Purohit, P. K.; Ilies, H.; Nguyen, T. D., Piezoelectric Biomaterials for Sensors and Actuators. Adv. Mater., 2018
  • Huang, X.; Das, R.; Patel, A.; Nguyen, T. D., Physical Stimulations for Bone and Cartilage Regeneration. Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine 2018, 1-22.
  • Curry, E. J.; Ke, K.; Chorsi, M. T.; Wrobel, K. S.; Miller, A. N.; Patel, A.; Kim, I.; Feng, J.; Yue, L.; Wu, Q.; Kuo, C-L; Lo, K. W.-H.; Laurencin, C.; Ilies, H.; Purohit, P.; Nguyen, T. D., Biodegradable Piezoelectric Force Sensor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2018, 115 (5), 909-914.
  • McHugh, K. J.*; Nguyen, T. D.*; Linehan, A. R.; Yang, D.; Behrens, A. M.; Rose, S.; Tochka, Z. L.; Tzeng, S. Y.; Norman, J. J.; Anselmo, A. C.; Xu, X.; Tomasic, S.; Taylor, M. A.; Lu, J.; Guarecuco, R.; Langer, R.; Jaklenec, A. Fabrication of fillable microparticles and other complex 3D microstructures. Science 2017, 357, (6356), 1138-1142. (*co-first authors)
  • Nguyen, T. D.; Timko, B. P., Bionics in Tissue Engineering. Tissue Engineering for Artificial Organs, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA: 2017; pp 677-699.
  • Tran, K. T. M.; Nguyen, T. D., Lithography-based methods to manufacture biomaterials at small scales. Journal of Science: Advanced Materials and Devices, 2, 1-14, 2017.
  • Curry, E. J.; Henoun, A. D.; Miller, A. N.; Nguyen, T. D., 3D nano- and micro-patterning of biomaterials for controlled drug delivery. Ther. Deliv. 8, 15-28, 2016.
  • Cung, K., Han, B. J., Nguyen, T. D., Mao, S., Yeh, Y. W., Xu, S., Naik, R. R., Poirier, G., Yao, N., Purohit, P. K. & McAlpine, M. C. Biotemplated synthesis of PZT nanowires. Nano Lett. 13, 6197-6202, (2013).
  • Nguyen, T. D., Mao, S., Yeh, Y. W., Purohit, P. K. & McAlpine, M. C. Nanoscale Flexoelectricity. Adv. Mater. 25, 946-974, (2013).
  • Nguyen, T. D., Hogue, I. B., Cung, K., Purohit, P. K. & McAlpine, M. C. Tension-induced neurite growth in microfluidic channels. Lab Chip 13, 3735-3740, (2013).
  • Nguyen, T. D., Deshmukh, N., Nagarah, J. M., Kramer, T., Purohit, P. K., Berry, M. J. & McAlpine, M. C. Piezoelectric nanoribbons for monitoring cellular deformations. Nature Nanotech. 7, 587-593, (2012).
  • Qi, Y., Nguyen, T. D., Purohit, P. K., McAlpine, M. C. & Someya, T. Stretchable Piezoelectric Nanoribbons for Biocompatible Energy Harvesting. Stretchable Electronics, 111-139, (2012).
  • Qi, Y., Kim, J., Nguyen, T. D., Lisko, B., Purohit, P. K. & McAlpine, M. C. Enhanced piezoelectricity and stretchability in energy harvesting devices fabricated from buckled PZT ribbons. Nano Lett. 11, 1331-1336, (2011).
  • Nguyen, T. D., Nagarah, J. M., Qi, Y., Nonnenmann, S. S., Morozov, A. V., Li, S., Arnold, C. B. & McAlpine, M. C. Wafer-scale nanopatterning and translation into high-performance piezoelectric nanowires. Nano Lett. 10, 4595-4599, (2010).