The Univeristy of Melbourne The Royal Melbourne Hopspital

A joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Dr Hoanh Tran

Dr Hoanh Tran

+61 (0) 3 8344 5773 | hoanh.tran@unimelb.edu.au

Position:
Joint Laboratory Head, Senior Research Fellow
Theme(s):
Immunology, Viral Infectious Diseases, Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
Discipline(s):
Discovery Research, Clinical and health systems research
Unit(s):
The University of Melbourne, Department of Infectious Diseases, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL)
Lab Group(s):
Vincan Group

Dr Hoanh Tran earned his BSc (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in Cell Biology from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland studying mRNA stability. He conducted postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the UK and Genentech in the USA, where he studied how the ubiquitin system controls the functions of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein in Wnt signalling and cytoskeleton organization. He is now using knowledge from the discovery of new ubiquitin-APC biology to further research into the mechanisms of polarized cell growth and tissue morphogenesis in human health and disease.

  • Key Achievements
    • Dr Tran has studied molecular cell biology at leading scientific institutions in Europe, the United States, and Australia. At WEHI in Melbourne, he led a multidisciplinary team to uncover an evolutionarily conserved mechanism governing membrane polarity and axon guidance. This work has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. In 2022, Dr Tran was appointed joint Laboratory Head in Prof Elizabeth Vincan’s group at the Doherty Institute, where he continues to focus on new mechanisms of cell morphogenesis in human diseases including viral infection and cancer. 

    Publications
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    Research Groups
    • Vincan Group

      Elizabeth’s group investigates novel ways to block cancer growth with a focus on the gastrointestinal tract – stomach, bowel and liver. A cell-cell communication pathway called Wnt is hyperactive in these cancers. Their research shows inhibiting Wnt has potent anti-cancer effects.


      Lab Team

      Vincan Group