Nguyen Duc Thanh, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut, was among 36 new members elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), the academy announced last week. Established by the state legislature in 1976, CASE advises government and industry on science and technology policy.
The academy cited Thanh’s pioneering work on self-boosting microneedle vaccines and biodegradable piezoelectric materials, saying his innovations carry substantial potential for real-world impact and have attracted more than $10 million in federal government and grant funding.
Thanh holds more than 20 patents spanning two research areas that could reshape how medicine is delivered and how the body heals.
His microneedle research centers on a fabrication method he co-invented called SEAL (StampEd Assembly of polymer Layers), which produces time-programmed microparticles embedded in skin patches. A single, painless patch can release multiple doses of a vaccine over time, eliminating the need for follow-up injections. The technology has been applied to Covid-19 vaccine patches, high-dose antibody patches, and other therapeutics. It also addresses one of global immunization’s biggest logistical challenges by stabilizing vaccines directly on the patch, removing the need for cold chain storage.
His second major research track involves turning FDA-approved polymers and natural amino acids into biodegradable “smart materials” that generate therapeutic electrical signals from mechanical pressure. These materials can function as sensors and ultrasound transducers inside the body, then dissolve completely when their job is done, eliminating the need for surgical removal. The work has practical applications in orthopedic trauma care and wound treatment, opening the door to a new generation of temporary implants that monitor and help regenerate damaged tissue using the body’s own energy.
Thanh grew up in Da Nang, where he attended Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted. He graduated from the Talented Engineers Program in physics at Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 2007, then received a fellowship from the Vietnam Education Foundation to pursue a doctorate at Princeton University.
After completing his dissertation in 2013, he did postdoctoral research at MIT under Robert Langer, one of the most cited engineers in history, before joining the University of Connecticut faculty in 2016.
His work has drawn recognition well beyond Connecticut. In 2017, he received the NIH Trailblazer Award for Young and Early Stage Investigators. The following year, he was named one of 18 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers worldwide by SME, a leading manufacturing industry body. In 2019, MIT Technology Review named him one of its 10 Innovators Under 35 in the Asia Pacific region, and he was selected as one of Vietnam’s 10 Outstanding Young Faces.
He is now a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors and has mentored more than 30 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, including more than 10 from Vietnam.
Beyond academia, Thanh co-founded two startups to bring his lab research to patients. PiezoBioMembrane, Inc. is commercializing biodegradable piezoelectric therapies, while SingleTimeMicroneedles, Inc. is developing a single-administration microneedle platform for clinical use.
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