She applies both her Sociology and Urban Planning degrees to address vexing urban and regional dilemmas. She employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine problems related to social and spatial inequality, urban growth phenomena, the relationship between the built and social environments, and socially vulnerable populations. She is an expert in housing policy, community development, economic development, immigration, disasters, and urban growth phenomena (e.g. demographic change, sprawl, and urbanization). Dr. Nguyen is also an award winning teacher. She was awarded the J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award in January 2013 for excellence in undergraduate teaching.