Vu Nguyen Ngo, Ph.D.
Cancer cells are often addicted to a transformed state that involves multiple signal transduction pathways. A major goal of Dr. Ngo’s research is to discover abnormal signaling that make cancer more aggressive and resistant to therapy. By combining high throughput genetic screen and next-generation sequencing approaches, he has identified key pathways and important molecular targets that are critical for cancer cell proliferation and survival (Ngo VN et al. 2011, Nature). His research has also led to discovery of cancer gene mutations that cause treatment resistance (Mohanty A et al. 2016, Oncotarget).
Dr. Ngo’s laboratory in the Department of Systems Biology focuses on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of cancer mutations and their interactions in driving tumor development. His laboratory employs large-scale functional genetic screens using RNA interference technology in combination with genomics and proteomics approaches to dissect disease mechanisms in lymphoid malignancies. He also has a special focus on developing animal tumor models for aggressive lymphomas including mantle cell lymphoma.
Dr. Ngo completed his B.A. degree from the University of California Berkeley and earned a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California San Francisco. His postdoctoral training was with Dr. Louis M. Staudt at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Ngo is an award recipient of the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award, the Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, the Department of Defense's Career Development, and the Concern Foundation for Cancer Research.
1996 - 2001, Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences, Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jason G. Cyster, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
1992 - 1994, B.A. Molecular Cell Biology, Research Mentor: Dr. Astar Winoto, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California
2001 - 2006, Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Louis M. Staudt, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
2017 - present, Associate Professor, Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2010 - present, Member, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, City of Hope, Duarte, California
2010 - present, Member, City of Hope's Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California
2010 - 2017, Assistant Professor, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, California
2007 - 2010, Staff Scientist, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
2006 - 2007, Research Fellow, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
1998, Teaching Assistant, Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
1994 - 1996, Research Technician, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
The research program in the Ngo laboratory is focused on pathogenetic mechanisms and the identification of molecular targets in aggressive lymphoid malignancies. In 2010, Dr. Ngo was recruited to start his independent laboratory in the division of Stem Cell and Leukemia Research at the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope. His laboratory has discovered an important role for recurrent mutations of cyclin D1, which results in deregulated protein turnover and therapy resistance in mantle cell lymphoma. In 2017, Dr. Ngo joined the Department of Systems Biology where he will use innovative functional genomics tools and powerful animal modeling using relevant patient-derived lymphoma samples to gain new insights into critical signaling pathways that are important in lymphomagenesis and resistance to therapy.
2020-2022, Concern Foundation for Cancer Research Award
2010-present, Member, American Society of Hematology
2017-present, Member, The Mantle Cell Lymphoma Consortium, Lymphoma Research Foundation
2022, Associate Editor, Cytokines and Soluble Mediators in Immunity, Frontiers in Immunology
- Mohanty A, Sandoval N, Phan A, Nguyen TV, Chen RW, Budde E, Mei M, Popplewell L, Pham LV, Kwak LW, Weisenburger DD, Rosen ST, Chan WC, Müschen M, Ngo VN. Regulation of SOX11 expression through CCND1 and STAT3 in mantle cell lymphoma. Blood. 2018 Dec 10. doi: 10.1182/blood-2018-05-851667. [Epub ahead of print].
- Mohanty S, Mohanty A, Sandoval N, Tran T, Bedell V, Wu J, Scuto A, Murata-Collins J, Weisenburger DD, Ngo VN. Cyclin D1 depletion induces DNA damage in mantle cell lymphoma lines. Leukemia & Lymphoma. 2017; 58(3): 676-688.
- Mohanty A, Sandoval N, Das M, Pillai R, Chen L, Chen RW, Amin HM, Wang M, Marcucci G, Weisenburger DD, Rosen ST, Pham LV, Ngo VN. CCND1 mutations increase protein stability and promote ibrutinib resistance in mantle cell lymphoma. Oncotarget. 2016; 7(45):73558-73572.
- Ngo VN. Identification of pathogenetically relevant genes in lymphomagenesis by shRNA library screens. Methods Mol Biol. 2013; 971:245-63.
- Ngo VN, Young R, Schmitz R, Jhavar S, Xiao W, Lim KH, et al. Oncogenically Active MYD88 Mutations in Human Lymphoma. Nature. 2011; 470 (7332): 115-9.
- Ngo VN, Davis RE, Lamy L, Yu X, Zhao H, et al. A Loss-of-function RNA Interference Screen for Molecular Targets in Cancer. Nature. 2006; 441 (7089): 106-10.