Digestive Diseases Research

Nguyen Laboratory

Alexander H. Nguyen, MD, PhD

Key investigator

  • Alexander H. Nguyen, MD, PhD

Liver lipid metabolism

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common liver disease in America, affecting one in three adults. While most patients with this condition have an excellent prognosis, a subset of patients develop steatohepatitis, which is characterized by hepatocyte stress and immune cell activation. This chronic damage and inflammation lead to fibrosis, end-stage liver disease, and cancer.

The goal of our research is to understand how lipid metabolism contributes to the development of steatohepatitis. We study genes and cellular processes that function to protect hepatocytes from environmental and genetic stressors. We utilize a broad range of techniques to understand these processes including molecular assays, biochemistry, cellular models, animal models, and patient data. By understanding these pathways, we hope to develop molecular diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools to improve the clinical management of steatotic liver disease.

Honors and awards

  • NIH-NIDDK K08 grant, 2024
    • Dr. Nguyen, assistant clinical professor of medicine, was awarded a K08 Clinical Investigator Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This five-year award of $853,000 supports Dr. Nguyen’s research on the “Role of a Novel Methyltransferase in Liver Lipid Metabolism.” His work aims to characterize how a methyltransferase regulates cellular cholesterol metabolism and contributes to the development of steatotic liver disease.
  • DDW Basic Science Travel Award, 2024
  • Research Scholar Award, American Gastroenterological Association, 2023
  • Emerging Generation Award, American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2023
  • Resident/Fellow Ambassador, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, 2019
  • Emerging Liver Scholar Award, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, 2018

About Dr. Nguyen

Dr. Nguyen earned his bachelor’s degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College and doctoral degree from The Rockefeller University through the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program. His doctoral research investigated the metabolic mechanisms driving colorectal cancer metastasis using large-scale functional genomic screening and xenograft models. He completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA, where he conducted postdoctoral research on liver lipid metabolism. His fellowship research was supported by the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) program and an NIH T32 GI training grant. 

In 2023, Dr. Nguyen joined the faculty at the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases. His research focuses on characterizing the regulation of liver lipid metabolism to advance the diagnosis and treatment of steatotic liver disease. His contributions as a physician-scientist have been recognized with an ASCI Emerging Generation Award, an AGA Research Scholar Award, and an NIH K08 Clinical Investigator Award. Dr. Nguyen is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Profile on Google Scholar

Lab members

Kristin Barlett

Kristin Bartlett

Research Associate

Kristin graduated from UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a BS in molecular and cellular biology. She worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Rothman Lab at UCSB, studying mitochondrial purification selection in C. elegans. She will be studying the relationship between dietary cholesterol and steatohepatitis.

Alison Blencowe

Alison Blencowe

Research Associate

Alison received a BS in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of Washington in Seattle. As an undergraduate researcher, she studied the role of kinase signaling in early neurodevelopment and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder under Dr. Smita Yadav. She plans to attend graduate school to obtain her PhD in molecular biology. 

Gabriel Pe Manuel Ordonez

Gabriel Pe Manuel Ordonez

Research Associate

Gabe received a BS in physiological science from UCLA and studied in-utero neurodevelopment at Cambridge University. He conducted undergraduate research in EEGs and reaction time with Katsushi Arisaka, PhD, and stroke with Sidney Starkman, MD. Currently, he investigates lipid trafficking and metabolism. An MD-PhD aspirant, he aims to research the cardio-metabolic-brain axis (CMBA).

Adam Mahdi, MSc

Adam Mahdi, MSc

Graduate Student

Adam received an Honours BSc in translational and molecular medicine and an MSc in biochemistry from uOttawa, where he studied lipid metabolism and inflammation with Drs. Steffany Bennett and Subash Sad. At the National Research Council of Canada, he worked with Dr. Miroslava Cuperlovic-Culf on metabolomics, bioinformatics, and pathway analysis. He is now an MBIDP-IMMP PhD student, studying metabolism in liver disease and interested in computational biology.

Khoi Pham

Khoi Pham

Graduate Student

Khoi received a BS in biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a graduate student in the Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology (MCIP) PhD Program and is interested in studying lipid metabolism. He loves being in nature.

Undergraduate students

  • Marguerette Bui
  • Zaid Vellani
  • Yueshui Helen Zhang

Selected publications

Dr. Nguyen’s full listing on NCBI

Contact us

If you would like to contact us, please email Dr. Zander Nguyen.

If you are interested in joining our research group, please include a cover letter detailing your relevant accomplishments and your CV.