She is a distinguished professor in the department of environmental and molecular toxicology at Oregon State University.

[2] At OSU, she leads the eponymous Tanguay Lab, where she applies systems toxicology principles using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) to discover the chemicals in the environment that can interact with expressed genomes to produce diseases and other dysfunctions.

[4] Tanguay received a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1988 from California State University, San Bernardino.

[13] Tanguay applies systems toxicology principles using the zebrafish to discover the chemicals in the environment that can interact with expressed genomes to produce diseases and other dysfunctions.

Her lab has also develops instrument, protocol and software to incorporate the use of zebrafish into the high throughput environment.

Their research is focused on discovering molecular pathways that prevent or promote tissue regeneration in vertebrates.

She began living as a woman privately while maintaining a male persona in her professional life.