Don Nguyen PhD
Assistant Professor of Pathology
Research Interests
Metastasis; Lung cancer; Cancer genomics; Tumor microenvironment
Research Summary
Cancer metastasis remains an unresolved clinical and biological problem. This is particularly true in the case of thoracic malignancies, which can spread aggressively to multiple distant organs with limited opportunity for effective therapeutic intervention. Metastatic lung cancer cells are believed to acquire complex biological properties by deregulating pleiotoropic genetic programs and interacting with their microenvironment. My laboratory is interested in uncovering the molecular and cell biological determinants of metastasis by different lung cancers. In this endeavor, we utilize a variety of approaches such as animal modeling, cell biology, bioinformatics, and clinical validation.
Selected Publications
- Nguyen, D.X., Chiang, A.C., Zhang, H.F.X., Kim, J.Y., Kris, M.G., Ladanyi, M., Gerald, W.L., and Massague, J. WNT/TCF signaling through LEF1 and HOXB9 mediates lung adenocarcinoma metastasis. Cell, 138(1): 51-62 (2009).
- Kim, M-Y., Oskarsson, T., Acharyya, S., Nguyen, D.X., Zhang, X-F., Norton, L., and Massague, J. Tumor self-seeding by circulating cancer cells. Cell, 139 (7): 1315-1326 (2009).
- Bos, P.D., Zhang, H.F.X., Nadal, C., Shu. W., Gomis. R.R., Nguyen, D.X., Minn, A.J., Van de Vijver, M., Gerald, W.L., Foekens, J.A., and Massague, J. Genes that mediate metastasis through the blood-brain barrier. Nature, 459: 1005-9 (2009).
- Nguyen D.X., Bos P.D., and Massague, J. Metastasis: from dissemination to organ specific colonization. Nature Reviews Cancer, 9(4): 274-284 (2009).
