Perry Hall's Thuy Hien Nguyen Presented with University of the Sciences' Student Merit Award

Announcement made at USciences' Founders' Day Celebration

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University of the Sciences Student Merit Award winner Thuy Hien Nguyen with Dr. William G. Cunningham, USciences' Dean of Students.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (03/08/2011)(readMedia)-- University of the Sciences has awarded Thuy Hien T. Nguyen the Student Merit Award during the University's Founders' Day celebration on Feb. 17, 2011. The annual award is given to a student who represents the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the University's founders, and who has engaged in research or some form of scholarly pursuit that results in new developments or discoveries.

Nguyen, who is a PhD candidate in chemistry, was singled out for her studies of the formation of ion channels embedded winhin lipid bilayers by using coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations. Her research produced her first author publication in the "Journal of Chemistry and Physics of Lipids."

Nguyen holds a prestigous NASA-funded covenant fellowship designed to promote a stronger future for minorities in the sciences. The fellowship supports her computational chemistry research of biochemical processes essential for the origin of life. Nguyen recently won an award at the Philadelphia Section of the American Chemical Society 11th Annual Student Poster Session. Nguyen's poster "Molecular Dynamics Studies of Amphiphatic Peptides Embedded within a Lipid Bilayer," won top Poster Presentation in the Graduate Students Category. The award was sponsored by DOW Chemical Company.

Nguyen hails from Perry Hall, Md., in Baltimore County and is on track to graduate from USciences with her PhD in 2013. She holds a BS degree in chemistry (magna cum laude) with a minor in mathematics from USciences.

At University of the Sciences, students embark on a challenging learning experience in a proving ground for successful professionals in the science and healthcare-related fields. A private institution dedicated to education, research, and service, and distinguished as the nation's first college of pharmacy, the University has produced leaders in the science and healthcare marketplaces since its founding in 1821. Students in USciences' five colleges learn to excel in scientific analysis and to apply their skills to improving healthcare in the lives of people worldwide through such disciplines as pharmacy, biology, physical therapy, healthcare business, and health policy. For more information, visit usciences.edu.

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