Tung T Hoang's Lab, Department of Microbiology, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Appointment	Assistant Professor
Qualifications	B.Sc. Biochemistry, University of Calgary, 1994 M.Sc. Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, 1996 Ph.D. Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 2000 Postdoctoral Fellowships (2000-2002) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR), Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary.
Current Location	University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Microbiology 2538 McCarthy Mall-Snyder Hall Rm. 310 Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
E-mail	tongh@hawaii.edu
Fax	(808) 956-5339
Phone	(808) 956-8038

Specializations

· Biochemistry, physiology, and genetics of bacterial systems

Research Interests

· GeneChips Analyses of lung surfactant lipid degradation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model to lung diseases of cystic fibrosis patients and nosocomial pneumonia

· Genetic tools development for bacteria (E. coli, Sphingobium, and P. aeruginosa)

· DNA-shuffling (directed-evolution) of genes involved in degradation of the pollutant pentachlorophenol (PCP) and genetic engineering of 'Super Bugs'

· Functional and structural characterization of the essential Asd protein of P. aeruginosa (a cystic fibrosis pathogen) and Burkholderia pseudomallei (causative agent of melioidosis)

In silico homology modeling (DeepView, http://swissmodel.expasy.org/) of the Burholderia pseudomallei (strain 1026b; DeShazer et al., J. Bacteriol. 179(7):2116-2125) essential Asd protein, using the known Vibrio cholerae Asd structure (Blanco et al., Protein Science 12:27-33) as a template, indicates high homology at the active site. Asd of these two species are much more conserved than compared to the Escherichia coli Asd protein (Hadfield et al. J. Mol. Biol. 289:991-1002).

Abbreviations and Symbols: blue, residues of B. pseudomallei; red, residues of V. cholerae, inhibitor (black, S-methyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide); DAP, diaminopimelic acid; NADP (yellow); and hydrogen bonds (green dashed lines). Amino acid positions are from the B. pseudomallei protein sequence.

Research Oportunities

· Motivated graduate and undergraduate students, stipend (Research Assistantship or Teaching Assistantship) and free tuition available for accepted graduate students in our department [www.hawaii.edu/microbiology/grad.htm].

· Postdoctoral positions available with pre-applied fellowship(s)

Active Grants

Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Program (P20RR018727), National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (PI, Dr. Ric Yanagihara)
Pilot Project Title: Characterization of Lung Surfactant Lipid Degradation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ($49,924 for period of 07/04-06/05)

Hawaii Community Foundation
Project Title: Genomic Approach to Study Lung Surfactant Component Induction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence in Hawaiian Cystic Fibrosis Patients
($49,875 for period of 10/04-10/05)

Teaching

Undergraduate:

- Microbiology 351 (Lecture), Biology of Microorganisms
- Microbiology 351 (Labs)
- Microbiology 470, Molecular Genetics of Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology 499, Undergraduate Direct Research

Graduate:

- Microbiology 685, Molecular and Cellular Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Microbiology 795, Special Topics in Microbiology
- Microbiology 699, Graduate Directed Research

Last updated April 20, 2005

Appointment

Assistant Professor

Qualifications

Current Location

E-mail

Fax

Phone