OUR PEOPLE

Nhung Nguyen, PhD, PharmD

Assistant Professor
School of Medicine
490 Illinois Street, #8304
San Francisco, CA 94158
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Nhung Nguyen
Education and Training

Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Vietnam, BS - 2008 Pharmacy

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, PhD - 2014 Epidemiology

University of California, Los Angeles, 2021 mHealth Training Institute

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2023 Innovations for Substance Use Disorders

Awards and Honors

Predoctoral Fellowship, Vietnam Education Foundation, 2010-2012

International Fellowship, American Association of University Women, 2012

T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Cancer Institute, 2018-2020

Meritorious Abstract Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2021

NIDA Diversity Scholars Network Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021

Emerging Health Equity Scholar Award, UCSF Multiethnic Health Equity Research Center, 2023

Outstanding Abstract Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2023

Diversity Institute for Emerging Leaders, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2024

Research in Implementation Science for Equity (RISE) Fellowship, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2024

Hellman Fellowship, Hellman Fellows Program, 2024

DigiStars Scholar, University of Utah Digital Health Initiative, 2025
Overview
Dr. Nguyen is a substance use researcher whose research program focuses on the co-use of tobacco/nicotine and cannabis. Her team develops innovative digital and mobile health interventions to reduce nicotine and cannabis vaping. Her research integrates ecological momentary assessment (EMA), just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), AI-powered chatbots, wearable technologies, and machine learning to deliver personalized, context-sensitive interventions. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development, and the Hellman Fellows Program.

Dr. Nguyen is the founder and director of the HEARTY Lab, where she leads a multidisciplinary team dedicated to advancing technology-enabled solutions that reduce substance use and improve public health.

As a committed mentor, Dr. Nguyen has mentored trainees at every stage of the research pipeline, including undergraduate students, master's and PhD students, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows, fostering the next generation of scientists and health researchers.