Nhu H. Nguyen

Nhu H. Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Soil Microbial Ecology and Principal Investigator at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences within the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. His research focuses on organismal interactions in soil ecosystems using integrated molecular and biogeochemical approaches.

His research interests span soil microbial ecology, fungal-bacterial interactions, ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, and soil biogeochemistry. He employs advanced techniques including stable isotope probing (SIP), network analysis, metabolomics, and high-throughput 'omics to investigate carbon cycling, microbial community dynamics, and soil health in tropical ecosystems. His work bridges fundamental organismal biology with practical agricultural applications in Hawaiian contexts.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong trends in soil microbiome analysis, particularly focusing on fungal-bacterial interactions in the hyphosphere, ectomycorrhizal ecology using Suillus as a model system, and development of tools like FUNGuild for fungal community characterization. His research increasingly incorporates machine learning approaches for soil health prediction while maintaining strong field-based components in Hawaiian ecosystems.

Dr. Nguyen actively mentors a diverse group of researchers including multiple postdoctoral scholars, graduate students across Ph.D. and M.S. programs, undergraduate researchers, and visiting international scholars. His lab has secured research funding supporting projects on soil biodiversity, microbial interactions, and agricultural sustainability in Hawaii.

• Principal Investigator leading a dynamic research group with 3 current postdocs, 3 graduate students, and numerous undergraduate researchers
• Teaches courses including BOT430/BIOL430/TPSS432 (Biology of Fungi), TPSS480/BIOL480 (Life in the Soil Environment), and TPSS604 (Advanced Soil Microbiology)
• Member of Evolutionary Ecology & Conservation Biology (EECB) faculty

His laboratory maintains active research programs in fungal-bacterial interactions, soil microbiome analysis, and tropical soil health assessment, with particular emphasis on Hawaiian agricultural systems and native ecosystems. The lab utilizes advanced molecular techniques, stable isotope methods, and computational approaches to understand soil microbial dynamics across spatial and temporal scales.