Selection Committee

Dr. Suan Lian Tuang (Tuangpi) earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where his doctoral research advanced the development of site-selective bioconjugation techniques for therapeutic innovation. He began his academic journey at MIT, completing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. Before his studies in the U.S., he excelled in the Myanmar Matriculation Examination, receiving distinction in all subjects and scoring 538 out of 600, ranking among top 15 nationwide.

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Tuangpi has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship, Amgen’s “Ten to Watch,” and the David H. Koch Graduate Fellowship in Cancer Research. As an undergraduate at MIT, he earned several additional honors, such as the MIT Albert G. Hill Prize, the Amgen Scholar Award, the F.D. Greene Teaching Award, the Distinguished Peer Award, the Sophomore Achievement Award, and the Golden Beaver Student Leader Award.

Having immigrated to the United States from Myanmar at the age of 16, Dr. Tuangpi’s personal story of resilience and dedication serves as an inspiration to many. Through his work with Zomi Youth Development, he mentors high school students on navigating the challenges of high school and the college application process, as well as current and recent college graduates aspiring to pursue advanced graduate degrees. Dr. Tuangpi envisions a thriving Zomi community in the U.S., built on the foundation of education and empowerment.

Dr. TS “Tuang” Buansing is an experienced risk management professional with over eight years of expertise in quantitative modeling, internal audit, and risk management in the financial services industry. As an Internal Audit Quantitative Modeling Advisor at Fannie Mae, he leads audit engagements to provide assurance on the firm’s model risk governance and risk management programs. His role also includes assessing the governance and risk management frameworks for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), including Generative AI.

Dr. Tuang has held several key roles at Fannie Mae, including Internal Audit Quantitative Modeling Lead Associate, Senior Economic Model Analyst, and Economic Model Analyst, where he was instrumental in evaluating and mitigating model risks. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2016, he interned at the Credit Risk Analysis and Enterprise Risk Analysis divisions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), gaining valuable insights into risk management in the regulatory sector.

Dr. Tuang holds a Ph.D. in Economics from American University, an MA in Economic Development from Vanderbilt University, and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Lipscomb University. He is also a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) professional through GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals), and holds a Machine Learning Certificate from Cornell University.

In addition to his professional achievements, Dr. Tuang is a passionate advocate for higher education within the Zomi community in the U.S., inspiring younger generations to pursue academic excellence and career growth.