Phu T. Duong, Ph.D.
Phu T. Duong, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral associate studying the role of epigenetics in zebrafish fin regeneration under the mentorship of Patrick Murphy, Ph.D., in the Department of Biomedical Genetics. Before joining the Rochester Postdoc Partnership program, Duong earned a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His doctoral research focused on the roles of JMJD3/UTX, histone demethylases and BAP1 histone deubiquitinase in Schwann cells’ ability to form a myelin sheath around the axons in peripheral nerves. Duong also served as a volunteer member on the student executive board of UW-Madison’s Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars (SciMed GRS) program, helping lead decision-making and brainstorming for the direction of SciMed’s future.
Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
PhD Biological Science
2021
Northeastern Illinois University
MS Biological Science
2015
University of Illinois at Chicago
BS Biological Science
2011
Research
Duong is currently studying the role that epigenetics plays in fin regeneration using zebrafish as a model. He is also interested in deciphering the developmental roles of various cell types in fins using mutant zebrafish that do not express genes affecting histone H2A.Z, which is involved in transcriptional control and DNA repair. Duong uses bioinformatics and high throughput sequencing approaches to identify the changes in chromatin accessibility during different time points.
Selected Publications
Duong, P. et al. "H3K27 Demethylases Are Dispensable for Activation of Polycomb-Regulated Injury Response Genes In Peripheral Nerve". Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol 297, no. 1, 2021, p. 100852.
Juan C Sanchez, Melissa Carrillo, Suraj Pandey, Moraima Noda, Luis Aldama, Denisse Feliz, Elin Claesson, Weixiao Yuan Wahlgren, Gregory Tracy, Phu Duong., et al. (2019) High-resolution crystal structures of a myxobacterial phytochrome at cryo and room temperature. Structural Dynamics vol 6, no. 5, 2019, p. 054701
Duong, P. and Svaren, J. invited Book Chapter title “Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease”, in Chromatin Signaling and Neurological Disorders, Elsevier, 2019
Ma, K., Duong, P., Moran, J., Junaidi, N., & Svaren, J. (2018). Polycomb repression regulates Schwann cell proliferation and axon regeneration after nerve injury. Glia, PMCID 30306639.
Woitowich NC, Halavaty AS, Waltz P, Kupitz C, Valera J, Tracy G, Gallagher KD, Claesson E, Nakane T, Pandey S, Nelson G, Tanaka R, Nango E, Mizohata E, Owada S, Tono K, Joti Y, Nugent AC, Patel H, Mapara A, Hopkins J, Duong P, et al. (2018) Structural basis for light control of cell development revealed by crystal structures of a myxobacterial phytochrome. IUCrJ. 5(Pt 5):619-634
Ian D. Duncan, Marianna Bugianie, Abigail B. Radcliff, John J. Moran, Camila Lopez-Anido, Phu Duong, Benjamin K. August, Nicole I. Wolff, Marjo S. van der Knaap, and John Svaren. A mutation in the Tubb4a gene leads to microtubule accumulation. Annals of Neurology, vol. 81, no. 5, 2017, pp. 690–702.