Kenneth Vuong comes to the St. Jude Graduate School from Queens, N.Y., where he is driven by an interest in understanding how the developing immune system responds to pathogens and what drives the generation of protective antibody responses in early life. Vuong’s curiosity about these questions stems from the COVID-19 pandemic, where working in clinical settings and witnessing the rapid global effort to develop vaccines led her to entering immunology research.
Before joining St. Jude, Vuong spent three years in the laboratory of Drs. Genevieve G. Fouda and Ashley N. Nelson at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he investigated broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) as immune-based interventions for pediatric HIV. Vuong’s research examined whether a triple-bnAb combination administered alongside antiretroviral therapy (ART) could sustain viral control in infant rhesus macaques following ART interruption. He found that the bnAbs, in combination, delayed viral rebound beyond what ART alone achieved. He also presented his work at several internal symposia and at the 2024 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists.
Vuong joined the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences PhD program because of its dedication to pediatric disease research and the breadth of scientific inquiry it offers. The research across disciplines, combined with a culture that pushes science toward real clinical impacts, is the environment he wants to develop as a scientist focused on early-life immunity. He is excited to work alongside renowned scientists in a collaborative environment where the goal is to improve outcomes for children around the world.
Hometown: Queens, NY
Education:
2022 BS, Biology (Minor in Psychology) – The City College of New York-CUNY
Awards/Honors/Scholarships:
2025 Colorado Advantage Program Scholar, University of Colorado
2025 Laney Visiting Scholar, Emory University’s Laney Graduate School
2024-25 GSMI Scholar, Cientifico Latino, Inc. Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI)
2020-22 Dean’s List, The City College of New York-CUNY
Publications:
Issah YA, Hu X, Isaac J, Shen X, Davis D, Ozorowski G, Sewall LM, Zhang S, Kang E, Vuong K, Dennis M, Chen JL, Ramos JM, Yasmeen A, Eudailey J, Cupo A, Weinbaum C, Gao H, Stanfield-Oakley S, Ferrari G, Klasse PJ, Fouda G, Hudgens M, Ward AB, Montefiori DC, Sanders RW, Moore JP, Van Rompay KKA, De Paris K, Permar SR, Nelson AN. Germline‐targeting HIV Envelope SOSIP immunization more frequently elicits broadly‐neutralizing antibody precursor responses in infant compared to juvenile rhesus macaques. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 May 30:2025.05.27.656273. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.27.656273. PMID: 40501834; PMCID: PMC12154809.
Karthigeyan KP, Binuya C, Vuong K, Permar SR, Nelson AN. Research on Maternal Vaccination for HIV Prevention. Clin Perinatol. 2024 Dec;51(4):769-782. doi: 10.1016/j.clp.2024.08.007. Epub 2024 Sep 11. PMID: 39487019; PMCID: PMC11531644.
Dankwa S, Kosman C, Dennis M, Giorgi EE, Vuong K, Pahountis I, Garza A, Binuya C, McCarthy J, Mayer BT, Ngo JT, Enemuo CA, Carnathan DG, Stanfield-Oakley S, Berendam SJ, Weinbaum C, Engelman K, Magnani DM, Chan C, Ferrari G, Silvestri G, Amara RR, Chahroudi A, Permar SR, Fouda GG, Goswami R. A novel HIV triple broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) combination‐based passive immunization of infant rhesus macaques achieves durable protective plasma neutralization levels and mediates anti‐viral effector functions. PLoS One. 2024 Nov 11;19(11):e0312411. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312411. PMID: 39527587; PMCID: PMC11554116.