Department of Neurology

Duong P. Huynh, PhD

Research Associate Professor, NeurologyDr Huynh

Education

  • B.S in Physiology/Zoology

  • PhD,  Biochemist/Minor Neurobiology, Department of  University of California, Riverside

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Cedars-Sina Medical Center, Neurogenetics Laboratory,  Los Angeles, CA

Professional Experience:

  • 1995 -2003    Research Associate III, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

  • 1998 -2000    Assistant Researcher IV, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2000 -2003    Associate Researcher I, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2003 -2008    Research Scientist I-III, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2003 -2008    Assistant Professor In-Residence, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2008-Current    Research Associate Professor, University of Utah

Research Interests:

Neurodegenerative diseases encompass a whole range of disorders but Alzheimer’s and Parkinson Diseases are found predominantly in the older population. Although genetic abnormalities are found in selected populations of Parkinson’s Diseases (PD), they consisted of only a small population of (around 5%) of PD. Epidemiological studies suggested that the influence of environmental factors at the genetic level may be the other causative factors. However, the role of environmental factors on specific gene associated with PD in causing Parkinsonism is still unknown.


The primary focus of our research group is to investigate the direct influence of environmental toxins such as paraquat and rotenone on the development of Parkinson’s diseases in genetically vulnerable people. Since mitochondria is one of the major organelles that are found defective in PD, and is the primary site for paraquat and rotenone action, we focus our study on proteins that are localized in or have a functional link with the mitochondria. These proteins include parkin, PINk1, HrtA2, and DJ1.

Participation in Neurology or Neuroscience Societies:


Member: Society for Neuroscience and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Faculty Representative: Intermountain Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  • Huynh DP, Lin CT, Pulst SM. (1992). Expression of neurofibromin, the neurofibromatosis 1 gene product: studies in human neuroblastoma cells and rat brain. Neurosci Lett, 143(1-2), 233-6.

  • Huynh DP, Nechiporuk T, Pulst SM. (1994). Differential expression and tissue distribution of type I and type II neurofibromins during mouse fetal development. Dev Biol, 161(2), 538-51.

  • Sainz J, Huynh DP, Figueroa K, Ragge NK, Baser ME, Pulst SM. (1994). Mutations of the neurofibromatosis type 2 gene and lack of the gene product in vestibular schwannomas. Hum Mol Genet, 3(6), 885-91.

  • Huynh DP, Nechiporuk T, Pulst SM. (1994). Alternative transcripts in the mouse neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) gene are conserved and code for schwannomins with distinct C-terminal domains. Hum Mol Genet, 3(7), 1075-9.

  • Huynh DP, Pulst SM. (1996). Neurofibromatosis 2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides induce reversible inhibition of schwannomin synthesis and cell adhesion in STS26T and T98G cells. Oncogene, 13(1), 73-84.

  • Huynh DP, Tran TM, Nechiporuk T, Pulst SM. (1996). Expression of neurofibromatosis 2 transcript and gene product during mouse fetal development. Cell Growth Differ, 7(11), 1551-61.

  • Huynh DP, Ho VV, Pulst SM. (1996). Characterization and expression of presenilin 1 in mouse brain. Neuroreport, 7(15-17), 2423-8.

  • Huynh DP, Mautner V, Baser ME, Stavrou D, Pulst SM. (1997). Immunohistochemical detection of schwannomin and neurofibromin in vestibular schwannomas, ependymomas and meningiomas. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol, 56(4), 382-90.

  • Huynh DP, Vinters HV, Ho DH, Ho VV, Pulst SM. (1997). Neuronal expression and intracellular localization of presenilins in normal and Alzheimer disease brains. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol, 56(9), 1009-17.

  • Scoles DR, Huynh DP, Morcos PA, Coulsell ER, Robinson NG, Tamanoi F, Pulst SM. (1998). Neurofibromatosis 2 tumour suppressor schwannomin interacts with betaII-spectrin. Nat Genet, 18(4), 354-9.

  • Nechiporuk T, Huynh DP, Figueroa K, Sahba S, Nechiporuk A, Pulst SM. (1998). The mouse SCA2 gene: cDNA sequence, alternative splicing and protein expression. Hum Mol Genet, 7(8), 1301-9.

  • Huynh DP, Del Bigio MR, Ho DH, Pulst SM. (1999). Expression of ataxin-2 in brains from normal individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia 2. Ann Neurol, 45(2), 232-41.

  • Shibata H, Huynh DP, Pulst SM. (2000). A novel protein with RNA-binding motifs interacts with ataxin-2. Hum Mol Genet, 9(9), 1303-13.

  • Scoles DR, Huynh DP, Chen MS, Burke SP, Gutmann DH, Pulst SM. (2000). The neurofibromatosis 2 tumor suppressor protein interacts with hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate. Hum Mol Genet, 9(11), 1567-74.

  • Huynh DP, Figueroa K, Hoang N, Pulst SM. (2000). Nuclear localization or inclusion body formation of ataxin-2 are not necessary for SCA2 pathogenesis in mouse or human. Nat Genet, 26(1), 44-50.

  • Huynh DP, Scoles DR, Ho TH, Del Bigio MR, Pulst SM. (2000). Parkin is associated with actin filaments in neuronal and nonneural cells. Ann Neurol, 48(5), 737-44.

  • Costa RM, Yang T, Huynh DP, Pulst SM, Viskochil DH, Silva AJ, Brannan CI. (2001). Learning deficits, but normal development and tumor predisposition, in mice lacking exon 23a of Nf1. Nat Genet, 27(4), 399-405.

  • Konakova M, Huynh DP, Yong W, Pulst SM. (2001). Cellular distribution of torsin A and torsin B in normal human brain. Arch Neurol, 58(6), 921-7.

  • Kiehl TR, Shibata H, Vo T, Huynh DP, Pulst SM. (2001). Identification and expression of a mouse ortholog of A2BP1. Mamm Genome, 12(8), 595-601.

  • Huynh DP, Dy M, Nguyen D, Kiehl TR, Pulst SM. (2001). Differential expression and tissue distribution of parkin isoforms during mouse development. Brain Res Dev Brain Res, 130(2), 173-81.

  • Huynh DP, Yang HT, Vakharia H, Nguyen D, Pulst SM. (2003). Expansion of the polyQ repeat in ataxin-2 alters its Golgi localization, disrupts the Golgi complex and causes cell death. Hum Mol Genet, 12(13), 1485-96.

  • Huynh DP, Scoles DR, Nguyen D, Pulst SM. (2003). The autosomal recessive juvenile Parkinson disease gene product, parkin, interacts with and ubiquitinates synaptotagmin XI. Hum Mol Genet, 12(20), 2587-97.

  • Glass AS, Huynh DP, Franck T, Woitalla D, Muller T, Pulst SM, Berg D, Kruger R, Riess O. (2004). Screening for mutations in synaptotagmin XI in Parkinson's disease. J Neural Transm Suppl, (68), 21-8.

  • Pulst SM, Santos N, Wang D, Yang H, Huynh D, Velazquez L, Figueroa PK. (2005). Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 2: PolyQ Repeat Variation in the CACNA1A Channel Modifies Age of Onset. Brain, 128(Pt 10), 2297-2303.

  • Kiehl TR, Nechiporuk A, Figueroa KP, Keating MT, Huynh DP, Pulst SM. (2006). Generation and characterization of Sca2 (ataxin-2) knockout mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 339(1), 17-24.

  • Huynh DP, Nguyen DT, Pulst-Korenberg JB, Brice A, Pulst SM. (2007). Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin-ligase for normal and mutant ataxin-2 and prevents ataxin-2-induced cell death. Exp Neurol, 203(2), 531-41.

  • Ng H, Pulst SM, Huynh DP. (2007). Ataxin-2 mediated cell death is dependent on domains downstream of the polyQ repeat. Exp Neurol, 208(2), 207-15.

  • Liu J., Tang, TS, Tu, H, Nelson, O, Herndon, E., Huynh, DP, Pulst, SM, Bezprozvanny, I. (2009). Deranged calcium signaling and neurodegeneration in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. J. Neurosc (in press).

  • Huynh DP, Maalouf M., Silva AJ, Schweizer FE, Pulst SM (2009). Dissociated fear and spatial learning in mice with deficiency of ataxin 2.  PlosOne (in press).

To read the article from Gray Matters about Dr. Huynh's amazing life journey, download this article now (pdf).