Truong "Huy" Do, MD
PGY4 Resident, Department of Neurosurgery

Contact Info
PGY4 Resident, Department of Neurosurgery
MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
BS, University of Minnesota
Summary
Dr. Do graduated from the U of M’s Medical School, where he earned several scholarships and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a BS in Biology from the U. Dr. Do has done extensive research and is currently working with the Neurosurgery Department to help create a national database for external ventricular drain placement. He had previously worked with Neurosurgery Department Professor and Associate Head for Research Walter Low, PhD, on using nanoparticles to help treat glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. In addition, he has presented several posters at national meetings. A former student government leader and active volunteer, Dr. Do works with St. Paul-based Respectacle to help distribute free eye-wear worldwide. In his spare time, he enjoys single-track mountain biking, cooking Vietnamese food, traveling, reading about behavioral economics, listening to podcasts on road trips, and hiking. .
Awards & Recognition
Languages
Research
Research Summary/Interests
2011-2013, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Under the mentorship of Deepali Sachdev, PhD, Department of Medicine, Donguyen investigated the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system's role in regulating choline-phospholipid metabolism. At the 2012 Annual Meeting and Expo of the Endocrine Society, they presented the results showing that IGF signaling upregulated choline kinase levels, through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. This finding demonstrated the underlying mechanism for measuring choline metabolites as breast cancer biomarkers noninvasively through magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Donguyen then began a new project studying the use of iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated to humanized IGF1 receptor antibodies for in vivo MRI studies. These nanoparticles were applied in a study by Sachdev as imaging markers for the blockade of breast cancer metastasis. The results were presented at the 2016 American Association for Cancer Research meeting.
Publications
Posters
- Donguyen, H.T., Gardeck, A., Olin, M., Sadhuka, T., Kirtane, A., Harris, M., Panyam, J., Wiedmann, T., Wang, J., McIvor, S., Kokkoli, E., Ashe, K., Wolf, S., & Low, W. (2014). Iron oxide nanoparticles for the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for brain cancer. Poster presented at: Institute for Engineering in Medicine Conference; Minneapolis, MN.
- Donguyen, H.T., Lunzer, C., & Sachdev, D. (2011). IGF-I signaling enhances levels of choline kinase, an enzyme that generates phosphocholine, in breast cancer cells. Poster presented at: 13th annual Robert Hebbel Medicine Research Day; Minneapolis, MN.
- Donguyen, H.T., Sievers, T., & Drekonja, D. (2015). Sudden-onset whole body action tremor; a case ofopsoclonus-myoclonus. Poster presented at: ACP MN 2015 Chapter Meeting; Minneapolis, MN.
- Donguyen, H.T., Weber, J.C., & Sachdev, D. (2013). IGF-I and insulin signaling enhances levels of choline kinase in breast cancer cells: Implications for developing noninvasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy of choline containing compounds as a biomarker of response to IGF1R targeted therapy. Poster presented at: American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting; District of Columbia, DC.
- Donguyen, H.T., Weber, J.C., & Sachdev, D. (2012). IGF-I signaling enhances levels of choline kinase in breast cancer cells: Implications for developing noninvasive biomarker of response to IGF1R targeted therapy. Poster presented at: The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting; Houston, TX.
- Sachdev, D., Donguyen, H.T., Kobayashi, N., Kumarapperuma, S., & Weber, J.C. (2016). Functional imaging markers for blockade of breast cancer metastasis by IGF1R and insulin receptor targeted drugs using novel MRI and targeted iron oxide nanoparticles. Poster presented at: American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting; New Orleans, LA.
Community Engagement
In addition to numerous hours spent in student government, Donguyen has been a volunteer since 2014, helping Respectacle, a St. Paul-based organization that redistributes free, used eyewear to anyone, anywhere in the world. Donguyen helped categorize eyewear into Respectacle's database, helping others find the right pair of glasses. This site is one of 21 that recycle eyewear across the United States with about 15,000 glasses entered into the database. Glasses have been distributed to 16 countries since the organization's founding.
He has also worked as a Medical School mentor to underrepresented high school students, as highlighted in this story: https://www.med.umn.edu/news-