Vy Do ’26

Biomedical Engineering
Commonwealth Honors College

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

What drew you to this field of study?

Since I was a child, I have always imagined myself working in the medical field, especially developing vaccines and drugs to help treat diseases and improve care for people in need. I became particularly drawn to biomedical engineering in high school because it offers interdisciplinary research that bridges physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine to advance medical devices and therapies. I enjoy exploring new technologies and methods that can support my goal of contributing to the pharmaceutical field and helping fight serious health conditions. Personally experiencing the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened my passion for this goal and has introduced me to the world of nanomedicine, which has since become my research focus.

How do you conduct your research?

Since my sophomore year, I have been conducting research in Assistant Professor Jingjing Gao’s lab in the UMass Amherst biomedical engineering department. My work focuses on developing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which are nanocarriers for therapeutic genetic materials to treat traumatic brain injuries (TBI) through the nose-to-brain delivery route. I synthesized and characterized multiple LNP formulations designed to enhance adherence to the mucous membrane inside the nose and evaluated their accumulation of each formulation in the brain and other organs of mouse models. The top candidate with the highest brain uptake was then used to encapsulate a genetic therapeutic and delivered to TBI models to help repair cognitive function after injury. 

Last summer, inspired by the growing integration of AI in screening new materials for nanoparticle development, I joined Assistant Professor Anna Green’s lab in the Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences to extend my skills in deep learning for chemical property prediction. In the lab, I investigated how well models predict on unseen data and how their performance relates to the similarity between the training and testing sets. This allows me to assess the effectiveness of current splitting methods used for chemical data. 

What do you see as the impact—or potential impact—of your work?

Drug delivery is a core component of the drug development pipeline that ensures therapeutics reach their intended area precisely with high safety for patients. Nose-to-brain delivery is an alternative route that bypasses systemic circulation and physiological barriers and allows drugs to be delivered directly into the brain. Developing effective lipid nanoparticles as a universal platform for gene therapy through nose-to-brain delivery can facilitate many advanced treatments for multiple neurological diseases, such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. In parallel, advancing deep learning to understand chemical properties and their ability to generalize can accelerate the drug discovery process; provide predictive models for properties, behaviors, and performances of drugs; and facilitate screening of new biomaterials for drug delivery. Motivated by the goal of improving the nanomedicine research for nucleic acid therapeutics, I am excited to approach this field from both experimental and computational aspects to contribute to developing more effective treatments.

How does your faculty mentor support your research?

I am very grateful for the direct guidance and support from Assistant Professor Gao, Assistant Professor Green, and the postdoctoral researchers and PhD students in their labs, all of whom are experts in their research fields. Assistant Professor Gao and Assistant Professor Green have created a collaborative and inspiring environment where all questions are welcome, and everyone is encouraged to grow both personally and as part of a team. They always give me time to learn independently and [allow] room to fail and learn from my mistakes—which happens a lot during my research. But they also check on me and provide immediate support whenever I seek help. I really appreciate how open they are to listening to my ideas and thoughts, whether it is about my project, my education, or my career goal.

What do you find most exciting about your research?

Although it might be long and challenging, troubleshooting is the most exciting part of research for me. I find myself learning the most while troubleshooting, as I dive into discovering and understanding all the tiniest details of science while figuring out the problems in my experiments. Moreover, learning about new and advanced technologies every day is very fun, as it feels like I am constantly updating my toolbox with techniques that might potentially be applied in my research in the future. 

What are you most proud of?

I am very glad for the opportunity to collaborate with many excellent undergraduate and graduate researchers who work in different fields but share the same goals of advancing biomedical science. This experience really shapes who I am and how I want to contribute to support the research community in the future. I am also deeply thankful to my parents and family, who have supported, trusted, and invested in me so I can pursue a good education, which allows me to achieve my goal. I am also proud that I have attended several conferences to share my results, and my work is in preparation for publication.

Image

How has your research enhanced your overall educational experience at UMass?

My research experience has greatly contributed to my personal and professional growth. It has given me many opportunities to enhance my critical thinking and analytical skills and to sharpen my technical skills in my research field of interest. Through countless first-time, trial-and-error, and troubleshooting moments, I have become more persistent, patient, and fearless when facing challenges. I also want to recognize all the faculty members in the UMass biomedical engineering department, who have been my instructors for core courses and have helped me build a solid foundation in engineering, chemistry, and biology. These fundamental aspects, together with skills I learned from my research experiences, allow me to approach research questions and identify problems with confidence.

What are your plans for the future?

I have decided to continue my education and seek rigorous training in a Ph.D. program to gain more skills and knowledge in drug delivery, biomaterials, and nanomedicine. 

Why would you recommend UMass to a friend?

I never thought I would come this far in research, especially as the first in my family to pursue science. UMass provides extensive resources and great facilities for conducting cutting-edge research and supporting student growth. The university offers multiple programs, clubs, and events for students to explore, learn, and enjoy their college experience. UMass also facilitates inclusivity and diversity, and students from all backgrounds can find their community and feel supported. It is a great place for students to have fun, discover their passions, and build a strong foundation for their future careers.
 

Meet more Rising Researchers.