Dieu My Nguyen
Student Alumni
Computer Science

My first scientific wonders were the tiny brains of ants and grasshoppers. Since joining IQ Biology, my perspective has widened. Here, I've come to understand that the diversity of biological systems necessitates a wide gamut of questions and techniques. In my first rotation in Dr. Amy Palmer's lab (Biochemistry) under the mentorship of Dr. Esther Braselmann, I explored a fluorescent microscopy technique called split fluorescence proteins, applied to the model of the foodborne Listeria monocytogenes infections of mammalian cells. After learning experimental techniques, I began a computational project with Dr. Dan Larremore (CS). Currently, I am peeking into a group of hyper-variable "var" genes of the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which can infect mosquitoes and humans. After these two projects involving troublesome microbes, I will join Dr. Orit Peleg's lab (CS) to study another fascinating creature, the honeybees, and their communications via pheromones.

Dieu My received a BS degree from the University of Arizona and majored in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science. She is rostered in the Department of Computer Science

Batan D, Braselmann E, Nguyen DMT, Minson M, Cossart P, Palmer AE (2017). A multi-color split-fluorescent protein approach to visualize Listeria protein secretion

dynamics in infection. Manuscript submitted and being revised for publication.

Nguyen DMT, Roper M, Mircic S, Olberg RM, Gage GJ (2017). Grasshopper DCMD: An undergraduate electrophysiology lab for investigating single-unit responses to behaviorally-relevant stimuli. J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2017;15(2):A162-A173.

Nguyen DMT, Mircic S, Gage GJ (2016). Why are grasshoppers so hard to catch? The motion detector neurons behind the grasshopper’s visual & motor sensitivity to approaching objects. Poster at Society for Neuroscience, November 2016, San Diego, CA, USA.

Keating Godfrey R, Gronenberg W, Nguyen DMT (2016). Linking variation in learning ability with regional brain metabolism in foragers of the ant Novomessor cockerelli. Poster at International Society for Neuroethology, April 2016, Montevideo, Uruguay. 

Hackaday Citizen Scientist prize 2016