Highlights
- Nhan L. Tran, Ph.D., joins TGen as Distinguished Professor and Vice President of Cancer Discovery and Translation, effective May 12, 2026.
- Tran spent nearly a decade at Mayo Clinic as a Professor of Cancer Biology before returning to TGen, where he began his career as an Associate Investigator.
- His lab targets glioblastoma, focusing on how tumor cells evade the immune system and resist treatment.
- Tran has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and led National Cancer Institute-funded research programs.
Nhan L. Tran, Ph.D., a glioblastoma researcher with more than two decades in tumor biology, is returning to the Translational Genomics Research Institute as Distinguished Professor, Vice President of Cancer Discovery and Translation, Co-director of TGen's Immunology and Microbiome Division, and Scientific Director of the Microbiome and Immuno-Oncology program, TGen announced May 12.
Tran comes back to the Phoenix-based nonprofit after nearly a decade at Mayo Clinic, where he held a professorship in Cancer Biology and joint appointments in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology. He began his career at TGen as an Associate Investigator following his postdoctoral work.
His lab's central focus is glioblastoma: specifically, how tumor cells invade surrounding brain tissue and reshape their environment to evade the immune system, enabling the tumor to grow, adapt, and resist treatment. The research aim is to develop therapies that re-engage the body's immune response.
TGen President and Research Director Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D., called Tran "a transformative scientist whose leadership and vision align perfectly with TGen's mission to rapidly move discoveries from the lab to the clinic."
Tran has served as principal investigator or co-PI on federally funded grants including National Cancer Institute-supported initiatives in mathematical oncology, tumor microenvironment modeling, and STAT5/OLIG2-mediated therapeutic resistance. His publication record spans more than 130 peer-reviewed articles covering cancer biology, imaging, molecular signaling, and precision medicine.
The Microbiome and Immuno-Oncology program Tran will direct is a joint effort between TGen, City of Hope, and Northern Arizona University. His Mayo Clinic faculty profile and Google Scholar record document his prior research output.
No financial terms were disclosed in the announcement. TGen did not specify a timeline for Tran's first published research from the new role.
Sources
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- tgen.org retrieved 14/05/2026 04:58
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 14/05/2026 04:58. Every claim traces to a source.
