2022 Wylie Scholar
Tammy T. Nguyen, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Medical Director of Lower Extremity Wound Clinic
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
University of Massachusetts
“My research aim is to help in the development of better treatment options for the 10 million Americans with diabetic foot ulcers who are at risk for a major lower extremity amputation.”
Dr. Tammy Nguyen received the 2022 Wylie Scholar Award for her project “Exploring How the Diabetic Immune System Contributes to Non-Healing Ulcers”.
Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients have a thirty-fold increased lifetime risk of developing a foot ulcer, of which 50% will lead to a lower extremity amputation and subsequently a 40% increased mortality risk. Diabetic foot ulcers are associated with impaired bone marrow-derived immune function. To study the effect of T2D on the development of the human immune system and design targeted therapies to combat poor wound healing in T2D, Dr. Nguyen has developed a novel method to collect and expand human stem cells directly from the bone marrow of T2D and non-T2D donors that underwent lower extremity amputation for non-healing wounds.
Dr. Nguyen received her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Utah. She attended medical school at the University of Utah and completed an Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency at the University of Massachusetts. Throughout her career, she has received training support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, and most recently the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society Early Career Award. Her clinical practice as the Medical Director of the Lower Extremity Wound Clinic uniquely positions her to be at the forefront of patient-oriented wound care. Her surgical and bench lab skills have allowed her to develop clinically relevant translational research models that will facilitate testing for new therapeutics to better care for the 10 million Americans with diabetic foot ulcers who are at risk for a major lower extremity amputation.
“The Wylie Scholar Award has provided me with a unique opportunity to connect with other vascular surgeon-scientists who share my goal of combating vascular disease through translational science. I am honored to part of an environment that nurtures scientific creativity, promotes patient-oriented research and has an impact on disease outcome and quality of life. I look forward to continuing my scientific growth and contributing to the Wylie Scholar community.”