Welcome to the Tran Laboratory

Who are we!


​Hi I’m Nham and I am a cancer researcher with 15 years of research experience. My team is focused on 1) developing microRNA tools for oral cancer diagnostics and 2) understanding how genes interact with each other to drive cancer processes. 

Join the team!

Available Research Projects
Read about our amazing PhD students

Our Research!

​MicroRNAs are tiny molecules that circulate in our bodies. We discovered that when one these microRNAs is disrupted this change in expression can be measured in the blood. This can provide us with valuable clinical information about a patient’s susceptibility to oral cancer.

​Our research is dedicated to improving patient outcomes and to understand the biology of human cancers. The lab has PhD, honours and capstone students working on various projects. If you are interested in joining please contact me...

Team  Photos

We currently have lab members working on various aspects of oral cancer research. We are serious about the work, but also find the time to have fun and enjoy our science!

Every year we also fund raise for the Cancer Council of NSW

Lab News and Updates

Latest Research Articles in 2020
Just released

Prizes and Awards

Fiona Deutsch from the lab took the 1st prize in the UTS Faculty of Engineering Research showcase. Well done Fiona! 
Meet our students for 2021
Virtual Lab Tour

Quantitative PCR Workshop ​- 4 Day Course
Our workshop will not be running in 2020 due to COVID19 and will be back in Jan 2021

Our 2019 workshop caters for beginners and also post-doctoral scientists wishing to further their understanding of qPCR. The course will cover experimental design, controls, and how to interpret your data. Hands-on experience will include cDNA preps, Sybr green, Taqman qPCRs, singleplex vs multiplex reactions.
​For 2019, we will also have practicals on designing mRNA and miRNA primer sets. Cost for the course is $400 (Inc GST+Booking Fee*) per person. Class size will be limited to 30 participants and includes all materials.

In 2020, we hope to deliver two course for PhD students and a more advance course for industry. Please register your interest with Fiona Deutsch (Fiona.Deutsch@student.uts.edu.au)

Explainer: microRNA, the puppet master of the genome


​What are miRNA?
MicroRNAs, are very small ncRNAs found in cells and only represent less than 0.1% of the entire mammalian transcriptome. However these tiny RNAs   can control up to two thirds of gene expression in mammalian cells.  Many miRNAs are dysregulated in common cancers such as those originating in the breast, lung, colon, liver, head and neck and the prostate. They are now regarded as key regulators in the process of tumourigenesis and given their impact on tumour biology, a plethora of studies have also suggested the use of miRNAs as potential biomarkers. Our lab is using  miRNAs to act as diagnostic or prognostic markers in head and neck cancers.
What is HPV?
​The human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer in women, is also responsible for many cancers in men. It causes most cancers of the tonsils (known as oropharyngeal cancers), which are more common in men than women. HPV is also to blame for cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina and penis. The best way to prevent these cancers is to get the HPV vaccine, which is available for free under Australia’s National HPV Vaccination Program to boys and girls aged 12 and 13. 
What are hybrid cigarettes?
Heat not burn products are electronic devices that contain tobacco leaves. When you heat them, they produce a vapour containing nicotine, which you inhale. They are different from conventional cigarettes in their mechanism, which heats the tobacco to considerably lower temperatures. In heat not burn devices, the tobacco is heated to 350℃, compared to traditional cigarettes that combust and burn at up to 900℃.
​
Despite this, the temperature in heat not burn products is still high enough for harmful chemicals to be vaporised and inhaled.
Our lab is part of The Translational Cancer Research Network (TCRN).

​This group is a collaborative and interactive cancer research community based in the South East of Sydney, with links to cancer services and researchers in inner and southern Sydney, and Albury.

It was formed to create an innovative and supportive environment for the translation of cancer research into improvements in patient care.
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​Selected Lab Publications...

  • Deutsch, F. T., S. J. Khoury, J. B. Sunwoo, M. S. Elliott and N. T. Tran (2020). "Application of salivary noncoding microRNAs for the diagnosis of oral cancers." Head & Neck 42(10): 3072-3083.

  • Hill, M., D. Mason, T. M. Marques, M. G. Carvalho and N. Tran (2020). "Developing a virus-microRNA interactome using cytoscape." MethodsX 7: 100700.

  • Hill, M. and N. Tran (2020). "Global miRNA to miRNA Interactions: Impacts for miR-21." Trends in Cell Biology.

  • Hill, M. and N. Tran (2021). "miRNA interplay: mechanisms and consequences in cancer." Disease Models & Mechanisms 14(4): dmm047662.

  • Ketprasit, N., I. S. Cheng, F. Deutsch, N. Tran, M. Imwong, V. Combes and D. Palasuwan (2020). "The characterization of extracellular vesicles-derived microRNAs in Thai malaria patients." Malaria journal 19(1): 1-14.

  • Khoury, S. and N. Tran (2020). "qPCR multiplex detection of microRNA and messenger RNA in a single reaction." PeerJ 8: e9004.

  • Ricafrente, A., H. Nguyen, N. Tran and S. Donnelly (2021). "An evaluation of the Fasciola hepatica miRnome predicts a targeted regulation of mammalian innate immune responses." Frontiers in Immunology 11: 3623.​

  • Tran, N., A. Ricafrente, J. To, M. Lund, T. M. Marques, M. Gama-Carvalho, K. Cwiklinski, J. P. Dalton and S. Donnelly (2021). "Fasciola hepatica hijacks host macrophage miRNA machinery to modulate early innate immune responses." Scientific reports 11(1): 1-11.