Wynnie Nguyen is an international student from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and a Ph.D. candidate in the Development, Stem Cell, and Regenerative Medicine program at the University of Southern California. Her dissertation work in Dr. Michael Bonaguidi’s lab investigates how neural stem cells age in the context of neurodegenerative diseases and explores whether their function can be restored to improve cognition in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Wynnie Nguyen earned her B.Sc. degree with a double major in Neurobiology and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As an undergraduate, she conducted research in Dr. Edwin Chapman’s lab, studying the regulatory role of synaptotagmin in neurotransmitter release and its impact on neuronal communication.

Following graduation, she was awarded a post-baccalaureate fellowship from the SENS Research Foundation (now the Lifespan Research Institute) and joined Dr. Julie Andersen’s lab at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. There, she investigated how the gut-derived metabolite Urolithin A protect neurons against neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. She later participated in a pharmaceutical-sponsored collaboration with Dr. Simon Melov and Dr. Judith Campisi, examining the role of cellular senescence in tissue degeneration and developing therapeutic strategies for age-related conditions such as sarcopenia.

Wynnie Nguyen’s long-term goal is to work at the forefront of translational regenerative medicine to address age-related neurological problems with interdisciplinary approaches from her background and experience in neuroscience, aging research, and stem cell biology.