Tran Lab
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News
2023
ASTRO Mentorship Award
GCCC 13th Annual
Cancer Biology Retreat
Oct 2, 2023 - Phuoc was presented with the ASTRO Mentorship Award at the ASTRO Annual Meeting in San Diego where again the UM Radiation Oncology department had a phenomenal presence. The award recognizes extraordinary role models in radiation oncology who have excelled as mentors by demonstrating outstanding commitment to the professional development of their mentees as clinicians, educators and researchers.
Jun 12, 2023 - The GCCC held its Annual Research Retreat supported by the GCCC and the Cancer Biology T32 at the Medical School Teaching Facility (MSTF) 1st floor and Leadership Hall. Tran lab members represented well and Jinhee took home an Outstanding Poster Presentation award.
Dipa's Qualifying Exam
May 18, 2023 - Congratulations to Dipanwita for passing her UM SOM Molecular Medicine PhD oral qualifying exam. She impressed her committee with her preparation and improvisational abilities.
AUA Best Poster
Rad Onc Annual
Research Symposium
Triet Presents at the
U54 ARTNet
Apr 29, 2023 - Matthew was awarded an AUA Best Poster for collaborative work funded by Movember entitled, "Multi-Institutional Analysis of Metastasis Directed Therapy With or Without Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Oligometastatic Castration Sensitive Prostate Cancer" at the AUA Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.
Mar 31, 2023 - The Department of Radiation Oncology held its 1st Annual Research Symposium at the Medical School Teaching Facility (MSTF) 1st floor and Leadership Hall. Tran lab member Audrey took home the 2nd Place Poster Presentation award.
Jan 30, 2023 - Triet represented the lab at the U54 ARTNet Kickoff meeting in Houston, TX. He gave a talk entitled, "Investigating mechanisms of tumorigenesis and chemoradiation response in lung cancer". He was one of the only graduate students who gave an oral presentation (and was the solo Tran Lab member present!). Kudos to his terrific presentation!
2022
NIH NCI R01 Award
ASTRO Annual Meeting
ROBIN OligoMET Center
Dec 31, 2022 - MPIs Christopher McFarland and Phuoc were awarded an NCI 1R01CA271540 entitled, "Tumor-barcoding coupled with high-throughput sequencing for quantitative radiogenomics of the abscopal response in NSCLC".
Oct 23, 2022 - The Tran Lab attended the ASTRO Annual Meeting in San Antionio, TX and were well represented as was the UM Radiation Oncology department. Matthew Deek, Phil and Phuoc among others gave oral presentations (Phil gave two orals!) and post-presentation interviews.
Aug 1, 2022 - We were awarded an NCI U54CA273956 grant for our Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network Oligometastasis (ROBIN OligoMET) Center which is focused on understanding how radiation therapy can affect the metastatic process particularly in low-volume or oligometastatic prostate cancer. Our OligoMET Center brings together in-depth experience, knowledge, and high-level skills from the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and Thomas Jefferson University (TJU).
ASCO Annual Meeting
AACR Oligometastatic Disease Forum
ASTRO Refresher Course
Jun 2, 2022 - Phil and Phuoc were selected for an ASCO poster discussion session for their posters, "Prostate-specific membrane antigen PET response associates with radiographic progression-free survival following stereotactic ablative radiation therapy in oligometastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer" and "The SALV-ENZA Trial", respectively. They also managed to attend a intra-divisional baseball game at Wrigley Field between the Cardinals and Cubs.
Apr 12, 2022 - Phuoc gave a talk in the AACR National Meeting Forum: Oligometastatic Disease. (New Orleans, LA) entitled, “Understanding Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer Through Biomarker-Driven Research - Paired Basic-Clinical Interrogation”. The session was moderated by Dr. Ralph Weichselbaum, living legend and co-inventor of the concept of Oligometastatic Disease.
Mar 26, 2022 - Phuoc was asked to join the faculty of the ASTRO Refresher Course series for the next 3-years. He gave a talk entitled, “NRG Oncology GU Translational Science Portfolio – Initiatives to Improve Precision Medicine Radiation Management".
2021
Donor Funds
Precision Radiation Oncology
Tran Lab Moves to University of Maryland Baltimore
DoD Prostate Cancer Physician Research Training Award
Dec 31, 2021 - Phuoc is being supported by an anonymous donor to begin a Precision Radiation Oncology (PRO) initiative in the UM Dept of Radiation Oncology. This very generous donation will fund efforts in Precision Medicine (PM) allowing for greater access to genomics tests, partnering with industry, novel PM clinica-translational studies and furthering pre-clinical work to improve outcomes of patients with cancer.
Dec 6, 2021 - Phuoc was recruited as Professor and Vice Chair of Research to the Dept of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland. He will oversee the general research strategy of the department including DTRS, Clinical Research and working closely with Physics.
Nov 9, 2021 - Congratulations to Matthew Deek for his DoD CDMRP Physician Research Award entitled, "Understanding the Role of p53 in the Development and Progression of Oligometastatic Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer". This is an amazing start to his independent Assistant Professor faculty position in the Dept of Radiation Oncology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Christine Lam's
Thesis Defense
Jul 29, 2021 - Congratulations to Christine for a successful defense of her thesis entitled, "Integrated Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis Reveals Role of the Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway in Invasion and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma". Chistine will now go west and onto her next challenge as a medical student at the David Geffen SOM at UCLA.
RSNA Roentgen Resident Research Award
Jun 9, 2021 - Conclusion to a successful year for Matthew Deek who was appointed JHU Radiation Oncology Chief Resident and was the recipient of an RSNA Roentgen Resident Research Award at graduation. Matthew is the 3rd member of the lab to receive the award (Ryan Phillips in 2020 and Jing Zeng in 2011).
AACR Radiation Science and Medicine Special Conference
Apr 4, 2021 - Francesca Carrieri gave a talk entitled "Identification and characterization of the molecular mechanisms of SCLC chemo-radiation resistance." at the AACR Virtual Special Conference: Radiation Science and Medicine Plenary Session.
DoD Prostate Cancer Translational Science Award
May 1, 2021 - Phuoc was awarded a DoD CDMRP grant to identify liquid and imaging biomarkers to assist in risk stratification of men with oligometastatic prostate cancer treated with SABR MDT with or without Xofigo in the Baltimore RAVENS trial.
NIH NCI U01 Supplement Award
Movember-Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride-Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award
Apr 1, 2021 - The MPI team of Drs. Christine Hann, Luigi Marchionni and Phuoc Tran were awarded a supplement grant to develop a novel mouse model of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) mimicking the SCLC-Y/I subtype with goals of elucidating mechanisms of resistance to chemoradiation in SCLC.
Jan 1, 2021 - Phuoc and Dr. Ken Pienta with a multidisciplinary team were granted a Challenge Award to examine consolidation of all sites of macroscopic disease with SABR in combination with radiolabeled systemic therapies in men with oligometastatic prostate cancer using first-in-man clinical trials and complimentary correlative approaches.
2020
2020
Sep 23, 2020 - Our Baltimore ORIOLE trial was listed as an advance in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2020. In addition to the ORIOLE, 20 new therapeutics approved by the FDA for treating patients with various types of cancer and the uses of 15 previously approved anticancer therapeutics expanded by the FDA where highlighted by the AACR over the period between Aug. 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020.
Match Day
Mar 20, 2020 - Tran Lab alumnus Drs. Khaled Aziz and Kekoa Taparra matched into the highly competitive radiation oncology residency programs at Johns Hopkins and Stanford, respectively. Congratulations and best of luck on their journeys!
Mar 6, 2020 - Phuoc led by Dr. David McConkey are co-organizing a Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute and American Urological Association (AUA) Translational Research Collaboration entitled Advancing Bladder Preservation: Biomarkers, Decision-Making and Therapy. This is the third annual translational research collaboration co-sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute and AUA. The meeting will be a two-day workshop at the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Medical Campus in Baltimore, Maryland focused on alternatives to surgical removal of the bladder (radical cystectomy) for patients with muscle-invasive disease.
Feb 20, 2020 - Phuoc was promoted to Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Oncology and Urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Jan 30, 2020 - Phuoc and Dr. Channing Paller were granted an award from the National Capitol Cancer Research Fund to support their biomarker study entitled “Validation of a mutational signature in oligometastatic prostate cancer treated with metastasis directed therapy." Our previous Baltimore-Washington DC ORIOLE randomized trial of stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) vs observation demonstrated a progression-free survival benefit of SABR and reported on a high-risk mutational signature that was prognostic for progression free survival following metastasis directed therapy. This fund allows us to leverage resources from our previously treated patients from the National Capital and Baltimore campuses of Johns Hopkins to conduct next generation sequencing (NGS) of previously banked clinical prostate biopsy samples to validate our high-risk mutational signature.
2019
Oct 1, 2019 - Phuoc and Dr. Channing Paller were granted an award from Barbara's Fund to support some of the correlative studies on the newly activated RAdium-223 and SABR Versus SABR for Oligometastatic Prostate Cancers (or RAVENS) trial. Our previous Washington DC-Baltimore ORIOLE randomized trial of stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) alone vs observation demonstrated a progression-free survival benefit of SABR alone. The patterns of failure from our ORIOLE trial in combination with prior data suggest one dominant mode of failure is from microscopic bone disease. Radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) such as Xofigo have not been applied in the oligometastatic space and thus the opportunity to target micrometastatic disease in conjunction with local consolidation of macroscopic disease with SABR has the potential to provide a curative paradigm for men with oligometastatic prostate cancer. In RAVENS we hypothesize macroscopic prostate tumors support the growth of and help nurture future distant metastases and this process can be impacted most by total, macro- and microscopic, tumor consolidation. In addition, we hypothesize that circulating biomarkers can identify men with oligometastasis that benefit the most from SABR and RPT.
Sep 24, 2019 - Phuoc presented his invited keynote talk at the NCI, Shady Grove Campus, Rockville, MD for 2019 NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer Principal Investigators’ Meeting. The NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer is an integrated, milestone driven, and product oriented program aimed at eliminating the burden of cancer. Committed to building a community of researchers dedicated to using nanotechnology to advance the fight against cancer, the Alliance is engaged in efforts to harness the power of nanotechnology to radically change the way we diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer. The Alliance works in concert with other NCI advanced technology initiatives to provide the scientific foundation and team science that is required to transform cancer research and care.
Sep 15, 2019 - Ryan presented the primary results of our Washington DC & Baltimore ORIOLE trial at the annual ASTRO scientific meeting in the Clinical Trials Session as a Late Breaking Abstract. The ORIOLE demonstrated that SABR for oligometastatic prostate cancer affords significant benefits in progression. In fact, the PFS for patients treated with SABR still has not been reached and is well over one year. Total consolidation of disease identified by PSMA-PET imaging with SABR provides a substantial advantage. SABR also induces a systemic adaptive immune response and baseline clonality was associated with predictive response to SABR. These results underline the importance of prospective randomized investigation of the oligometastatic state with concurrent collection of imaging and biological correlates.
Jul 19, 2019 - Phuoc was selected as an international speaker at the annual Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) scientific meeting. The goal of ANZUP is to bring together all of the different professional disciplines and groups involved in researching and treating urogenital cancers. Membership of ANZUP is open to anyone working in the field of cancer care or cancer research in a professional capacity.
Jul 8, 2019 - Hailun gave his invited talk entitled "O-GlcNAcylation is required for mutant KRAS-induced lung tumorigenesis" at the NIH, Natcher Conference Center, Bethesda, MD for 12th annual NIH & FDA-wide Glycosciences Research Day. This meeting was sponsored by the NIH Glycobiology Interest Group (GBIG), with support from the NIH Office of Intramural Research, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), and the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES).
The event explored a broad range of aspects of the glycosciences - promoting communication and interaction among intramural laboratories, as well as with researchers from local universities to facilitate collaboration. The meeting will include morning and afternoon platform sessions, poster sessions, and a mentoring and networking.
Jun 13, 2019 - Phuoc was selected to give the opening keynote address at the ASTRO-RSNA Workshop entitled Treatment of Oligometastatic Disease Workshop - Closer to the Cure. This meeting aims to highlight the progress and current research efforts in the oligometastatic space. This two-day workshop (June 13-14, 2019, Washington DC) will bring together industry and academia pursuing cutting-edge studies in oligometastasis.
Apr 24, 2019 - Christine was awarded a highly prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her grant proposal entitled "Role of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway in developmental epithelial-mesenchymal transition". This will allow our lab to initiate mechanistic studies to better understand novel roles of glycosylations in EMT-dependent mammalian development.
Apr 2, 2019 - Francesca was awarded an inaugural AACR-Novocure Tumor Treating Fields Research Fellowship for her grant proposal entitled "Centrosome clustering inhibition to enhance tumor treating fields". This will allow our lab to initiate mechanistic studies to better understand this novel treatment strategy in pancreatic cancers.
Mar 14, 2019 - Metastasis is the common thread driving cancer deaths across disease sites. New technologies have come together to create an exciting opportunity to accelerate our understanding of metastasis and our ability to improve patient outcomes. The advanced technologies include organoids, metastasis mouse models, imaging, genetics, single-cell genomics, liquid biopsies, and novel clinical trials. These methods enable us to accelerate dramatically our efforts to develop new strategies to prevent and treat metastatic cancer. To capitalize on these advances, the SKCCC is launching a new and exciting discovery program in the Cancer Center called Cancer Invasion and Metastasis (CIM). CIM will be led by co-directors Andrew Ewald, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Oncology, Phuoc Tran, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Urology and Oncology and Ashani T. Weeraratna, PhD, Chair of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, BSPH and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor. This new research program will bring together diverse techniques and perspectives to understand the cell and molecular biology of cancer invasion and metastasis. It will be critical to combine forces across disciplines, including basic sciences, engineering, translational, and clinical areas of the Cancer Center.
2018
Nov 16, 2018 - Phuoc co-edited a text entitled Principles of Clinical Cancer Research with Loren Mell, James Yu and Ed Zhang. The book provides comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals of clinical cancer research. Written for those involved in research or considering research careers, this book offers a mix of practical advice and analytical tools for effective training in theoretical principles as well as specific, usable teaching examples. The clinical oncologist or trainee will find a high-yield, practical guide to the interpretation of the oncology literature and the application of data to real-world settings. Valuable for both researchers and clinicians who wish to sharpen their skills, this book contains all of the cornerstones and explanations needed to produce and recognize quality clinical science in oncology. A number of the chapters are written by Tran Lab alumnus.
NIH NCI U01 Small Cell Lung Cancer Grant
Sep 1, 2018 - Phuoc's award with co-PIs Christine Hann and Luigi Marchionni, 1 U01 CA231776-01, entitled "Bioinformatic-Chemical Approach to Credential Molecular Targets to Combat Rapid Chemo-Radiation Resistance in SCLC" will allow our labs to pursue collaborative work to develop novel in vitro and in vivo models of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) to identify novel targetable pathways of chemoradiation resistance in limited stage SCLC. Our group will contribute to the ongoing NCI Small Cell Lung Cancer Consortium led by Charlie Rudin of MSKCC.
Tran Lab at the Coffey-Holden Prostate Cancer Academy
Jun 23, 2018 - Phuoc gave his invited talk entitled "Radiation Therapy in Oligometastatic Recurrent Prostate Cancer" at the 6th Coffey-Holden Prostate Cancer Academy (CHPCA) 2018 at the Luskin Conference Center, UCLA, CA. Reem was also an attendee and prior invited speaker.
The Coffey – Holden Prostate Cancer Academy (CHPCA) Meeting is an annual, invitation-only meeting sponsored by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and is uniquely designed to be a topic-focused think-tank composed of approximately 75 investigators divided equally by senior investigators and young investigators. The meeting is organized as a series of short presentations followed by lengthy discussion times.
NIH NCI R21 Grant
Jun 17, 2018 - Phuoc was granted with co-PI Ken Wang, 1 R21 CA223403, entitled "A Preclinicl X-ray/Optical Tomography-guided Radiation Research Platform for Pancreatic Cancer" which will allow our labs to pursue collaborative work to develop a novel mouse model of squamous molecular subtype of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and a novel image-guided small animal irradiator system.
May 1, 2018 - Ryan successfully competed for an RSNA Research Resident Award from among the best radiology and radiation oncology residents and fellows in North America for his project "Inhibition of centrosome clustering to enhance the interplay between radiotherapy and immunotherapy".
April 18, 2018 - Phuoc was selected to contribute as a clinician scientist to the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program’s (CTEP) clinical and non-clinical development plans for this agent. Radium-223 dichloride (BAY 88-8223, Alpharadin, Xofigo, NSC# 793433) is a solution for injection as an alpha particle-emitting radiopharmaceutical being developed by CTEP as an anticancer agent in collaboration with Bayer AG. The NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program approves certain high-priority agents for development by NCI Drug Development Project Teams, in which NCI grantees collaborate with the NCI in multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary teams to design NCI’s initial drug development plan for these therapies. An agent Project Team determines which clinical trials will be conducted across the NCI CTEP clinical trials network sites, and how best to approach critical translational studies. The subsequent NCI drug development work will be accomplished through investigator-initiated projects and unsolicited Letters of Intent (LOIs) from investigators both inside and outside of the clinical trials networks.
NIH NCI U01 Liver Cancer Grant
Apr 1, 2018 - Phuoc's award with co-PIs Elana Fertig, Sasha Popel and Andy Ewald, 1 U01 CA2120007, entitled "Integrating bioinformatics into multiscale models for hepatocellular carcinoma" will allow our labs to pursue collaborative work to develop novel multiscale models of liver cancer that use cellular signaling and molecular transport, agent-based models of cellular growth and invasion and compartment-based models for pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PD/PD) to bridge the molecular, cellular, and tumor scales.
Mar 15, 2018 - Phuoc was selected to co-chair the NRG Oncology GU Cancer Translational Science sub-committee with Dr. Alan Pollack. Phuoc assumes the role of former GU Translational Science chair Dr. Felix Feng who was promoted to Chair of the GU Cancer Committee. NRG Oncology is a member of the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) and brings together legacy cooperative cancer groups - National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG). NRG Oncology builds upon more than 150 years of cumulative research experience to conduct practice defining, multi-institutional clinical trials resulting in the improved survival and quality of life of patients with cancer.
Feb 21, 2018 - Audrey was awarded a DoD CDMRP Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Concept Award, LC170541, entitled "Targeting the TWIST1/HOXA9 Axis to Induce PARP Inhibition Treatment Sensitization and Synthetic Lethality in Lung Cancer Cells". This will allow our lab to develop novel synthetic lethal strategies to target TWIST1 overexpressing lung cancers.
Feb 11, 2018 - Hailun was granted a JHU-AHN Cancer Research Award to examine whether the combination of Plk4 inhibition and radiation can increase NSCLC immunogenicity. These awards are given to proposals that focus on basic, translational, clinical and population studies that aim to reveal cancer triggers and treatments, develop clinical trials of new treatments, and quality of life and survival outcomes research. Hailun will examine this treatment combination with Dr. Andrew Holland who is an expert in Plk4 biology.
Jan 15, 2018 - Phuoc led by Dr. Amanda Walker (Tran Lab alumnus) are co-organizing an FDA-AACR-ASTRO Regulatory Science and Policy Workshop entitled Clinical Development of Drug-radiotherapy Combinations. This meeting aims to address the lack of drug development for products intended specifically for use with radiation therapy. This two-day workshop (Feb 22-23, 2018, Bethesda, Maryland) will bring together regulatory agencies, industry, and academia to discuss the challenges in greater depth and come up with a path forward.
Jan 10, 2018 - Phuoc is co-organizing an AACR-ASTRO Workshop entitled Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment in Radiation Oncology. This meeting aims to highlight research that unravels the biology of the tumor stroma as a means to improve cancer therapy specifically through combination with radiotherapy. This two-day workshop (July 26-27, 2018, Washington DC) will bring together industry and academia pursuing cutting-edge studies in this space.
Jan 1, 2018 - Phuoc was selected to be a Senior Editor of Cancer Research the original journal of the AACR. Cancer Research publishes original studies, reviews, and opinion pieces offering significance and broad impact to a diverse audience spanning basic, preclinical, clinical, prevention, and epidemiologic research. The main scope of the journal is captured in its primary subsections, which focus on integrated systems and technology, microenvironment and immunology, molecular and cellular pathobiology, prevention and epidemiology, therapeutics and targets, and tumor and stem cell biology.
Jan 1, 2018 - Phuoc was selected to be on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology the official journal of ASCO and a premiere journal in the field. The JCO serves its readers as the single most credible, authoritative resource for disseminating significant clinical oncology research. Original Reports remain the focus of JCO, but this scientific communication is enhanced by appropriately selected Editorials, Commentaries, Reviews, and other work that relate to the care of patients with cancer. The acceptance rate for Original Reports is 13%.
2017
Dec 7, 2017 - Dr. Reem Malek gave her talk entitled "Uncovering the role of Twist1 in the development and progression of KRAS-G12D-induced squamous subtype pancreatic cancer" in the Early Career Forum of the 8th TEMTIA meeting in Houston, TX. Phuoc also chaired the EMT Regulatory Mechanisms I session.
The EMT International Association was formed in 2002 to provide an international body for those interested in EMT and the reverse process, mesenchymal–epithelial transition, and, most importantly, to bring together those working on EMT in development, cancer, fibrosis, and pathology.
Nov 3, 2017 - Hopkins Washington DC-Baltimore ORIOLE trial led by Phuoc is highlighted by the PCF.
Oct 25, 2017 - Phuoc was asked to comment on an interesting trial combining immunotherapy and radiation presented at ASTRO 2017 in San Diego, CA.
Fall 2017 - Phuoc and the basic-translational work from the Tran Lab are profiled in SKCCC On Target.
Jun 15, 2017 - Dr. Reem Malek gave her invited talk entitled "Co-targeting PARP Inhibition" at the exclusive Coffey-Holden Prostate Cancer Academy (CHPCA) 2017 at the La Costa Resort, Carlsbad, CA.
The Coffey – Holden Prostate Cancer Academy (CHPCA) Meeting is an annual, invitation-only meeting sponsored by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and is uniquely designed to be a topic-focused think-tank composed of approximately 75 investigators divided equally by senior investigators and young investigators. The meeting is organized as a series of short presentations followed by lengthy discussion times.
Hailun Promoted to Instructor
Mar 1, 2017 - Dr. Hailun Wang has been promoted to Instructor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences (tenure track). Congratulations and welcome to the faculty!
Jan 15, 2017 - Phuoc is co-organizing an ASTRO-NCI-SITC Immunotherapy Workshop entitled Incorporating Radiation Oncology into Immunotherapy. This meeting aims to identify how to best combine radiotherapy and cancer immunotherapy to further cancer biology understanding and improve patient treatments.
2016
Dec 2016 - Phuoc was interviewed regarding our Phase II randomized SALV-ENZA and ORIOLE prostate cancer clinical trials.
Aug 5, 2016 - In collaboration with Drs. Elana Fertig, Andrew Ewald, Joel Bader and Aleksander Popel, the Tran Lab was awarded a JH Category 2 Discovery Award to study liver cancer using systems biology approaches. Only 4 of these Category 2 Discovery Awards were given to interdisciplinary faculty teams across ten Johns Hopkins divisions.
Jul 25, 2016 - Phuoc is serving a 6-year term as a permanent member of the NCI Radiation Therapeutics and Biology Study Section. Study section members are charged with reviewing scientific grants 2-3 times per year and helping to shape the NCI radiation therapy and biology research portfolio.
Kekoa's Thesis Defense
Jun 28, 2016 - Kekoa presented his Thesis Defense entitled " Bitter-Sweet Progression: O-GlcNAcylation is required for mutant KRAS-induced lung tumorigenesis" at the Owen's Auditorium to a room full of colleagues, friends and family. In keeping with the title of his defense, we will miss him deeply, but he is off to bigger and better things as he begins medical school at the Mayo Medical School.
May 10, 2016 - The JHU GAP6 team led by Drs. Bruce Trock and P. Tran were selected by the Movember GAP6 Research Advisory Committee (RAC) from among over 70 other international teams to move forward to the next phase of the project. As part of this phase, investigators will explore research integration opportunities with other teams, define the scope of the GAP6 project under the governance of the GAP6 RAC and develop a project integration plan with integrated and shared milestones and deliverables.
May 3, 2016 - Despite her disbelief, Reem Malek was actually awarded the Stewart Rahr–PCF Young Investigator Award for her proposal entitled "Synthetic DNA Repair Deficiency and Sensitization to PARP Inhibition of Prostate Cancer by Co-Targeting of Twist1-Hoxa9". Reem is among a select 23 other young recipients of this prestigious award for 2016. We never doubted you!
Apr 11, 2016 - Phuoc started his term as the Study Section Chair (2016-2018) that is responsible for overseeing the evaluation, scoring, and preparation of written critiques for the Foundation's radiation oncology research grant applications. This study section review process is patterned after the NIH grant review process.
Feb 5, 2016 - Since its inception in 1986, the AACR Annual Meeting Scholar-in-Training Award program has provided more than 4,700 grants to young investigators and has received support from more than 40 cancer research foundations, corporations, individuals, and other organizations dedicated to the fight against cancer. Scholar-in-Training Awards are highly competitive and are presented to fewer than 10 percent of applicants. Scholar-in-Training Awards recognize outstanding young investigators presenting meritorious proffered papers at the AACR Annual Meeting. This year Kekoa Taparra was awarded an AACR-Takeda Oncology Scholar-in-Training Award to help support his participation at the Annual AACR Meeting in New Orleans. Kekoa is also a member of the AACR Associate Council where he is the Chair of the AMC Communications Committee.
Jan 11, 2016 - Our proposal entitled "Activation of mutant Kras-induced senescence as treatment for pancreatic cancer” was selected for a pilot award. We are using these funds to develop a novel EMT transgenic mouse model of pancreatic cancer.
Jan 8, 2016 - Kekoa was honored with a Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award for his humanism and advocacy work that included time at the Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion, a housing facility for Johns Hopkins oncology patients and their families. As an elected council member of the American Association for Cancer Research, Taparra represented the organization recently in Washington, D.C., defending to policymakers the importance of National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, he has received grant funding to host a summer program for graduate students through the Biomedical Scholars Association, for which he is an active volunteer mentor and community service chair.
2015
Jessica's Thesis Defense
Dec 2, 2015- Jessica presented her Thesis Defense entitled "Modelling Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition-Induced Erlotinib Resistance In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer" at the Abel Library in the Wood Basic Science Building to a room full of colleagues, friends and family. Congratulations Dr. Cades!
Aug 13, 2015 - Ravens Roost members have a common passion for football and have chapters all over Maryland that are dedicated to raising money and awareness for local and national charities in addition to cheering on their favorite team. Ravens Roost 27 of Severna Park has been around since 1964, when it was known as Colts Corral 27. It has 103 members, about 70 of whom have been around since 1964. “It’s like family,” said Marc Lombardi, the president of Ravens Roost 27. The Tran Lab is honored to receive support from the Ravens Roost 27 to support our cancer research endeavors - Lombardi aims to help other men with prostate cancer as others helped him through funding our research efforts.
Aug 4, 2015 - $1 million was awarded to a team led by Phuoc (Johns Hopkins University) for their work on oligometastatic prostate cancer. This disease state, in which only a few detectable metastatic lesions have developed in a treatment-naïve patient, may still represent a curable form of advanced prostate cancer if effective treatments can be developed. Phuoc and team are studying the effects of using stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) with or without immunotherapy and developing non-invasive methods of disease monitoring. If successful, this project will lead to a new treatment regimen that extends the lives of oligometastatic prostate cancer patients. Read additional press releases:
Jun 25, 2015 - JHU President Ronald J. Daniels announced the Catalyst Awards program earlier this year along with Provost Robert C. Lieberman and the deans and directors of the academic divisions. It is part of a $15 million commitment to faculty-led research over three years. Phuoc was selected by faculty members from across the university from more than 175 submissions. As part of the inaugural Catalyst Awards cohort, Phuoc and 36 other winners will also receive mentoring and connect with peers at a similar stage of their careers.
Jun 19, 2015- For over 100 years, the American Lung Association (ALA) has been the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. One focus of the ALA is to defeat lung cancer. Our lab was awarded an ALA Lung Cancer Discovery Award which supports investigators, at any level of research experience, that are focusing on novel treatments or a cure for lung cancer. Our previous work suggests that the epithelial plasticity transcription factor Twist1 is overly active in many lung tumors and plays a role in the development of lung cancer. We will study the role of Twist1 in erlotinib resistance in EGFR mutant lung cancers. The findings could lead to therapy that reverses Twist1-induced erlotinib resistance.
Apr 13, 2015 - Phuoc was selected to be an Associate Editor - Breaking Advances of Cancer Research the original journal of the AACR. Breaking Advances are written by Cancer Research Editors and are summaries of topical scientific studies throughout the cancer literature.
Jan 2, 2015 - Hailun Wang was selected as a Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) grant recipient. These awards are given to proposals that demonstrate promise and ingenuity towards lung cancer research. Hailun will examine mechanisms of EGFR targeted therapy resistance that are promoted by epithelial plasticity.
2014
Fall 2014 - Phuoc and the basic-translational work from the Tran Lab are profiled in the Annual SKCCC Promise & Progress.
Aug 13, 2014 - Amanda was recognized for an outstanding abstract submitted by an early career scientist. Up to 15 awards of $1,000 each are given (five in each category) to help offset travel expenses to attend ASTRO’s Annual Meeting. Awardees are the lead authors of high-scoring abstracts selected for presentation at the 2014 ASTRO Annual Meeting.
Jul 16, 2014 - The NCI Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) Award supports promising doctoral candidates who will perform dissertation research and training for a PhD degree in a scientific health-related field relevant to the mission of the NCI during the tenure of the award. Applicants for the F31 must be candidates for the PhD degree and must be at the dissertation research stage of training at the time of award. Kekoa's award, 1 F31 CA189588, entitled "Mechanisms of TWIST1-induced sorafenib resistance in liver cancer" will allow him to pursue his PhD thesis work on epithelial plasticity and treatment resistance.
2013
Cover of Molecular Cancer Research
Nov 15, 2013 - The lab's most recent paper entitled "The Twist Box Domain Is Required for Twist1-induced Prostate Cancer Metastasis" graced the cover of and is highlighted in Molecular Cancer Research. MCR is a part of the AACR family of journals publishing articles describing novel basic cancer research discoveries of broad interest to the field. On the cover, a representative deformation field image is superimposed with the corresponding intracellular traction maps of a Myc-CaP prostate cancer cell overexpressing Twist1 using constrained Fourier transform traction cytometry. The colors within the cells represent the absolute magnitude of tractions in Pascals, and the arrows represent the relative magnitude and directions. Prostate cancer cells overexpressing Twist1 exhibited higher cell traction force than isogenic vector control cells.
Oct 1, 2013 - Phuoc was promoted to Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Oncology and Urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
NIH NCI R01 Grant
Aug 1, 2013 - Phuoc's award, 1 R01 CA166348, entitled "Structure-Function Studies of TWIST1-Induced Radioresistance in Lung Cancer" will allow our lab to pursue work on epithelial plasticity and treatment resistance.
Jun 20, 2013 - Amanda was selected for an RSNA Research Resident Award from among the best radiology and radiation oncology residents and fellows in North America for her project "Investigation of PD-1 blockade and stereotactic radiation in lung cancer".
May 15, 2013 - The Kimmel Scholars Program was a bridge in the funding gap for gifted young cancer researchers at the very outset of their careers. Between 1997 and 2017, a total of 292 researchers and physician-scientists received Kimmel Scholar Awards. Alumni of the Program are among the most successful, distinguished members of the next generation of cancer researchers and leaders. Annually 15 of the nation’s most promising young researchers were selected to receive this $200,000 Award by a world class Medical Advisory Board. With the pressure to secure resources eased, Scholars are emboldened to pursue innovative, imaginative investigations and to establish their models in independent research, a necessity for obtaining government grants and other backing. Phuoc is a member of the Kimmel Scholars class of 2013.
May 10, 2013 - Phuoc was awarded the inaugural OHSU SOM Alumni Association Early Career Achievement Award.
Jan 31, 2013 - Phuoc was awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Concept Award, LC120797, entitled "Designing Polyamide Inhibitors of TWIST 1 for Prosenescence Therapy". This will allow our lab to develop agents to target TWIST1.
2012
Nov 1, 2012 - Phuoc was selected as a Top Doctor in the field of Radiation Oncology by Baltimore Magazine.
Summer 2012 - Phuoc was recognized as an Educator of the Year by the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology.
Apr 2, 2012 - Phuoc's proposal to examine structure-function relationships of TWIST1 for suppression of oncogene-induced senescence was the top scoring grant in the Tumor Biology and Genomics (TBG) study section. With a primary focus on beginning investigators, the American Cancer Society’s Extramural Grants Program seeks to support innovative cancer research across a wide range of disciplines to meet critically important needs in the control of cancer. Each year, the Society receives approximately 2,000 requests for support of cancer research and for training of health care professionals. All proposals are subjected to multiple levels of rigorous and independent peer review to identify the most meritorious projects for funding.
Mar 16, 2012 - Aaron was selected for an RSNA Research Medical Student Award for his project entitled "Radiosensitization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Rationally Combined Molecular-targeted Agents". His application was among the top-ranked proposals.
Jan 4, 2012 - Phuoc was granted a Junior Investigator Award for his proposal to screen for inhibitors of TWIST1 for lung cancer treatment.
2011
Spring 2011 - Jing was selected for an RSNA Roentgen Resident Research Award to recognize and encourage outstanding residents and fellows in radiologic research as evidenced by the presentation of scientific papers at regional or national meetings; publication of scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals; or receipt of a research grant or contributions to the success of a research program within the department.
Oct 13, 2011 - Phuoc was awarded the Best Poster at the 5th Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) International Association Meeting for his poster "Reactivation of oncogene-induced senescence in autochthonous Kras lung tumors by inhibition of Twist1". The meeting, which was hosted by The EMT International Association (TEMTIA), was the 5th biennial international TEMTIA meeting, held in Singapore, Biopolis.
The EMT International Association was formed in 2002 to provide an international body for those interested in EMT and the reverse process, mesenchymal–epithelial transition, and, most importantly, to bring together those working on EMT in development, cancer, fibrosis, and pathology.
2010
DoD Prostate Cancer Physician Research Training Award
Nov 9, 2010 - Phuoc was awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Prostate Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Physician Research Award PC101555, entitled "Evaluating the Efficacy of ERG-Targeted Therapy in Vivo for Prostate Tumors".
