Tran N. H. Nguyen, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Biomedical Engineering | Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Biography Tran N. H. Nguyen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, with a secondary appointment in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research program integrates biosensor engineering, microfluidics, and translational cancer biology to develop next-generation diagnostic and disease-modeling platforms. Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Nguyen completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington in the laboratory of Dr. Albert Folch, where she led the development of real-time, aptamer-based electrochemical sensors for drug monitoring in microdissected tumor biopsies and engineered microfluidic systems to study flow-dependent vascular remodeling in ex vivo tumor tissues. Dr. Nguyen earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University under the mentorship of Dr. Hyowon Lee. Her doctoral research focused on developing flexible, implantable electrochemical biosensors for real-time monitoring of neurochemical and metabolic biomarkers, providing the foundation for her later work in translational biosensing. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Biology from the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. At UT Southwestern, Dr. Nguyen’s laboratory focuses on engineering multiplexed aptamer-based electrochemical sensors, microfluidic tumor-on-chip systems, and microneedle-integrated biosensors for cancer diagnostics and women’s health applications. Her group aims to advance technologies for early detection, personalized monitoring, and precision disease modeling, and is committed to fostering a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that brings together biomedical engineers, scientists, and clinicians. Education and Training Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2020-2025 Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2015-2020 B.S in Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2013 Current Lab Website https://www.trannguyenlab.com/ Research Interest Aptamer-Based Electrochemical Sensing Bioelectronic Interfaces for Tumor Models Integrated Organ-on-a-Chip Platforms Microfluidic Tissue Platforms Translational Cancer Diagnostics Publications Featured Publications Low-cost robotic manipulation of live microtissues for cancer drug testing. Stepanov I, Gottshall NR, Ahmadianyazdi A, Sinha D, Lockhart EJ, Nguyen TNH, Hassan S, Horowitz LF, Yeung RS, Gujral TS, Folch A, Sci Adv 2025 May 11 20 eads1631 Microdissected tumor cuboids: a microscale cancer model for large-scale testing that retains a complex tumor microenvironment. Horowitz LF, Rodríguez-Mias RA, Chang M, Zhu S, Gottshall NR, Stepanov I, Stiles C, Yeung M, Nguyen TN, Lockhart EJ, Yeung RS, Villen J, Gujral TS, Folch A, bioRxiv 2024 Nov Microfluidic Modulation of Microvasculature in Microdissected Tumors. Nguyen TNH, Horowitz LF, Nguyen B, Lockhart E, Zhu S, Gujral TS, Folch A, bioRxiv 2024 Oct Label-free, real-time monitoring of cytochrome C drug responses in microdissected tumor biopsies with a multi-well aptasensor platform. Nguyen TNH, Horowitz LF, Krilov T, Lockhart E, Kenerson HL, Gujral TS, Yeung RS, Arroyo-Currás N, Folch A, Sci Adv 2024 Sep 10 36 eadn5875 Drug testing of monodisperse arrays of live microdissected tumors using a valved multiwell microfluidic platform. Lockhart EJ, Horowitz LF, Rodríguez A, Zhu S, Nguyen T, Mehrabi M, Gujral TS, Folch A, Lab Chip 2024 Apr Printable Nonenzymatic Glucose Biosensors Using Carbon Nanotube-PtNP Nanocomposites Modified with AuRu for Improved Selectivity. Nguyen TNH, Jin X, Nolan JK, Xu J, Le KVH, Lam S, Wang Y, Alam MA, Lee H, ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020 Sep 6 9 5315-5325 Fabrication and ex vivo evaluation of activated carbon-Pt microparticle based glutamate biosensor. Nguyen TNH, Nolan JK, Cheng X, Park H, Wang Y, Lam S, Lee H, Kim SJ, Shi R, Chubykin AA, Lee H, J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2020 Jun 866 In Vivo Glutamate Sensing inside the Mouse Brain with Perovskite Nickelate-Nafion Heterostructures. Sun Y, Nguyen TNH, Anderson A, Cheng X, Gage TE, Lim J, Zhang Z, Zhou H, Rodolakis F, Zhang Z, Arslan I, Ramanathan S, Lee H, Chubykin AA, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020 May Simple Fabrication of Flexible Biosensor Arrays Using Direct Writing for Multianalyte Measurement from Human Astrocytes. Nolan JK, Nguyen TNH, Le KVH, DeLong LE, Lee H, SLAS Technol 2019 Nov 2472630319888442 Facile fabrication of flexible glutamate biosensor using direct writing of platinum nanoparticle-based nanocomposite ink. Nguyen TNH, Nolan JK, Park H, Lam S, Fattah M, Page JC, Joe HE, Jun MBG, Lee H, Kim SJ, Shi R, Lee H, Biosens Bioelectron 2019 Apr 131 257-266 Results 1-10 of 12 1 2 Next Last Honors & Awards The Rising Stars in Engineering in Health (2024) Excellence in Research & Translation Postdoctoral Award, University of Washington (2023) Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Research, University of Washington & Fred Hutch Cancer Center (2023-2024) Rising Stars Women in Engineering, University of Tokyo (2023) The Mistletoe Research Fellowship, Momental Foundation (2023-2024) Catalytic Collaboration Trainee Award, Brotman Baty Institute, Seattle (2021-2022) Ronald W. Dollens Scholarship, Purdue University (2018) Lynn Fellowship, Purdue University (2015)
