Functional Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics
Research overview
Understanding Protein and RNA regulations of gene expression via chromatin structure in myeloid cell development and diseases
Myeloid cells, including granulocytes and macrophages, play a crucial role in the body's defense against infections. Abnormalities in their functions and maturation cause various diseases. At the Trinh laboratory, we employ experimental and computational approaches to understand how proteins and RNAs act at chromatin level to control activities of key genes involved in normal myeloid cell maturation, leukemia development, myeloid cell - cancer cell communication in the tumor microenvironment, as well as drug response. The aims are to identify actionable molecular targets and diagnostic biomarkers, and to develop innovative therapeutic strategies for diseases such as cancer. Learn more
Trinh lab welcomes enquiries from energetic UVA students, postdoc applicants, and volunteers. Please follow instructions in our Join us page for more details on how to apply.
April 2024. We thank the 4-VA program for supporting Dinh & Trinh collaborative research team (VCU & UVA) with a pilot award to explore computational and experimental approaches in cancer drug discovery. Congrats our Emilia/Anna team on a review manuscript in press in Frontiers in Biosciences.
March 2024. We welcome two first-year UVA Arts & Sciences undergrad students, Nazifa Azam and Katelyn Do. Nazifa and Katelyn are on STEM and pre-medicine tracks, respectively. In our lab, Nazifa and Katelyn will have the opportunities to gain experimental and computational research experiences.
Feb 2024. We thank the Hematologic Malignancies Translational Research Team, UVA Cancer Center for the pilot award (Craig & Trinh collaborative team) to study noncoding RNAs in cancer relapse. We congratulate our collaborator Thang Dinh for a VCU Quest Award of a pilot study applying quantum computing in drug discovery with our molecular target. Dinh & Trinh collaborative team has generated research manuscript and abstract submissions for upcoming ColdSpring Harbour conference.
Jan 2024. We welcome Dr. A.S.M. Waliullah to our team. Wali will develop our research direction on biomarkers in leukemia and help finish up a project on epigenetic regulations of noncoding RNAs. Congrats our medical student Kevin and his team on a manuscript on bioarchive and broadcasted by ScienceCast submitted research manuscript, Emilia/Anna and their team on a review manuscript under revision.
Dec 2023. Dr. Trinh talked about our the research program on UVA School of Medicine Medicine in Motion News, learn more. We appreciate the the Center for Systems Analysis of Stress-Adapted Cancer Organelles (SASCO) and the UVACCC Biostatistics Shared Resource (BSR) for pilot funding award! We say goodbye to our research technician Jamie to continue her gap-year in a neuroscience lab. During her time with us, she has gained considerable experience with inducible knockout mouse models, CRISPR screening, and blood cell isolation as well as lab management skills. She also started a review manuscript and will also be a co-author once the project she participated in is published.
Nov 2023. We welcome Nicholas Nguyen, UVA Biomedical Engineering, joining our bioinformatic team on protein-ligand binding. We say goodbye to our visiting student Emilia. Her four-month training of CRISPR activation and lentiviral gene delivery, noncoding RNA knockdown by ASOs, contribution to research projects, and a co-first author review manuscript. We congratulate our summer intern Ellie on first-author poster presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research conference for minoritized scientists (ABRCMS) and our UVA medical student Kevin on the acceptance of abstract for the Medical Student Research Symposium with first-author poster presentation.
Oct 2023. We deposited our dataset associated with our study on RUNX1 as an RNA-binding transcription factor in blood cell development and diseases. Gene Expression Omnibus. Accession: GSE244530.
Sept 2023 - Dr. Trinh was selected to join the National Institute of Health Early Career Reviewer Program and reviewing grants! Ellie presented her summer research in the Trinh lab at the Summer research Symposium and Leadership Alliance National Symposium in Hartford, CT.
Aug 2023 - Dr. Barbara Dziegielewska has joined our team. We say goodbye to our summer students (Ellie Ober, Haniyya Sanad, and Duc Vu) and rotation student, Yaning Li, went back to their schools and programs. The students was productive with presentations, and manuscripts ready to submit or in preparation.
July 2023 - We welcome Yaning Li, Emilia Korczmar, and Jamie Solis on board! Yaning is UVA BIMS PhD student doing her first rotation with us. Emilia is a visiting graduate student from the University of Wrocław, Poland. Jamie is a recent BS graduate from Mary Baldwin University joined us as a research technician.
June 2023 - We welcome Ellie Ober (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and Haniyya Sanad, (Monticello High School). Ellie and Haniyya joined us through the Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) and School of Medicine’s Summer Opportunities in Academic Research (SOAR) programs, respectively. In our lab, Ellie studies cancer drug and immune responses and Haniyya gets acquainted with data science and experimental research.
May 2023 - Congrats our students, Miguel on finishing undergraduate thesis and graduated from Harvard College, and Anna on receiving the Gerald Bass Scholarship as a top UVA Chemistry undergraduate student!
May 2023 - We welcome our students Leran Wang (UVA College of Arts & Sciences, Biology) and Duc Vu (summer intern, DePauw University, Cellular And Molecular Biology). Leran initially joins our bioinformatic team and related projects with Kevin. Duc will participate in our research with noncoding RNA knockdown and a gene-specific epigenetic project.
May 2023 - We welcome Natalie Segovia (UVA College of Arts & Sciences, Biochemistry). Natalie will start with learning lab skills and participating in our research with gene-inducible mouse models. We also say goodbye to our lab specialist who has embarked on an immunology-related research journey. We thank Danielle for her contribution and wish her well.
April 2023 - Dr. Trinh gave a talk at the UVA Department of Pathology Annual Research Day. Interesting preliminary finding from our student's work on cancer drug response was included. We thank them for their contribution!
Feb 2023 - We welcome our two UVA medical students, Kevin Qiu and Abby Dupre, joining our team! Kevin will participate our bioinformatics and clinical data analyses. Abby will be working with mouse models and assays for gene expression.
Jan 2023 - We welcome our second UVA undergraduate student, Victoria Phan, joining our team! Vicky will participate in our ongoing research projects with inducible mouse models and cancer drug responses.
Dec 2022 - Trinh lab has been awarded The American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant for our pilot study about the role of noncoding RNAs in leukemia. We thank the committee and the society for valuable support!
Dec 2022 - We welcome our UVA undergrad biochemistry student, Anna Bookstaver, and our volunteer, Laura La, on board! Laura assists with lab inventory updating, organizing, and ordering. Anna studies Protein-DNA binding using molecular biology and bioinformatic approaches.
Nov 2022 - Dr. Trinh presented Trinh's lab research findings at the 23rd International RUNX Conference in San Antonio. It was a unique meeting where science and and Texan culture met. Thanks the organizers for the invitation!
Oct 2022 - Trinh lab is now part of the UVA Research Computing community. We look forward to utilizing the computing power for our genome-wide analyses and initiating/participating in collaborative projects.
Oct 2022 - The senior research staff position in the Trinh lab (R0039341) is filled! Welcome Danielle on board in November.
Sep 2022 - Trinh lab is now part of the Molecular Genetics & Epigenetics Program at UVA Cancer Center, one of 53 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute.
Sep 2022 - Dr. Trinh discussed research program of the Trinh lab at the UVA Cancer Center Seminar Series.
Sep 2022 - Congrats Dan and the BIDMC/Harvard team on the paper "PU.1-c-Jun interaction is crucial for PU.1 function in myeloid development" at the final steps of being published in Communications Biology. Happy to be part of the team moving this important study to the finish line. Learn more
Aug 2022 - Dr. Trinh will be giving a talk at the FASEB meeting on The RNA Associated Mechanisms in Immunity and Disease. Interested trainee candidates at the meeting are welcome to chat with him directly
April 2022 - Dr. Trinh received an award notice for a Harvard Medical School Faculty Fellowship to support his pilot study on developing therapy targeting chromatin structure in cancer.
Mar 2022 - Congrats Miguel on getting another PRISE fellowship from Harvard College and continuing summer internship under Dr. Trinh's direct supervision.
Jan 2022 - Dr. Trinh to join a working group to Advance Health Equity through Curricula Innovation at Harvard Medical School.
Nov 2021 - Congrats Annalisa's group on their paper on DNA methylation and cell differentiation has been published in Cells! Happy to be part of the team. Learn more
Oct 2021 - Our papers published in the Blood Journal received editorial commentary. Learn more.
Oct 2021 - Excited to be be an attendee of the UPenn/CHOP-The Cell and Gene Therapy Toolkit for Junior Faculty course sponsored by the NASDC with colleagues from different parts of the US. Looking forward to attaining new tools and collaboration to translate basic research finding toward therapeutic applications.
Apr 2021 - Our research paper on noncoding RNA/transcription factor/transcription factor fusion crosstalk in leukemia has been accepted! Blood J impact factor has increased to 22.11. Thanks our team effort and support from our collaborators. Learn more
Apr 2021 - Congrats Philipp's group on their paper on promoters competition for enhancer in blood development and leukemia being accepted in the Blood Journal. Happy to be part of the team. Learn more
Mar 2021 - Congrats Miguel on getting a PRISE fellowship from Harvard College and will be doing summer internship with our group.