The DTU research group on disease diagnosis using non-invasive liquid biopsy samples has left a strong impression in the scientific community and won numerous excellence and second prizes at large-scale specialized conferences around the country.
With their practical research projects with high scientific value on disease diagnosis using non-invasive liquid biopsy samples, the DTU research team including:
- Dr Dinh Phong Son, Director of the Center for Molecular Biology (CEMB), and
- MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh, lecturer at the DTU College of Medicine & Pharmacy (CMP),
has left a strong impression in the scientific community and won numerous excellence and second prizes at large-scale specialized conferences around the country.
Wishing to explore new avenues in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh from DTU have devoted considerable time and effort to the research of disease diagnosis through non-invasive liquid biopsy samples.
Dr Dinh Phong Son, in name of the DTU research group, received an excellence
prize at the Annual Congress of the Vietnam Respiratory Society of 2024
With the rapid development of online medical databases and next-generation sequencing technology, modern molecular-biology techniques have become powerful tools for scientists to study disease progression. Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh have applied these techniques to identify potential biomarkers for early screening and diagnosis of diseases like: diabetes ,cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and various types of cancer.
From these studies, the DTU scientists demonstrated that it is possible to detect disease-related protein targets and support pharmacokinetic research through protein-drug targets in disease treatment. The team has furthermore explored gene editing and replacement of endogenous mutated genes using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and they have studied gene functions through gene overexpression and silencing. The research conducted by Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh has received high praise from leading experts in the field of disease diagnosis through non-invasive liquid biopsy samples and has been published in prestigious scientific journals.
Most recently at the Annual Congress of the Vietnam Respiratory Society of 2024 co-organized by the Vietnam Respiratory Society, Bach Mai Hospital Hanoi, and Tam Anh Hospital from July 12 to 14, 2024, Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh won an excellence prize for their scientific report “The role of microRNA in regulating cell signaling pathways in lung cancer”.
According to a GLOBOCAN report from 2020, there were 19.3 million new cancer cases, with Asia accounting for 48.3% and lung cancer having the highest mortality rate. This poses a significant challenge for doctors doing research on diagnosing and treating lung cancer. In their study, Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh analyzed scientific data, predicted miRNA and gene-related molecular markers for lung cancer, and compared their findings with existing publications. The report highlighted that key miRNA-regulated proteins are involved in molecular signaling pathways associated with lung cancer progression.
Second prize at the conference “Digital transformation and AI applications in disease diagnosis & treatment”
Additionally, at the first expanded science & technology conference of the Danang Oncology Hospital in June 2024, the research “miRNA: Potential molecular biomarkers and targets for cancer therapy” by the two DTU scientists surpassed 56 other research projects from various medical institutions across the country to win an excellence prize. The research focuses on developing molecular diagnostic procedures using modern molecular-biology techniques to address the urgent need for advanced diagnostic methods. The research results demonstrate the potential for diagnosis and emphasize a practical application in early clinical diagnosis and treatment. It reaffirms the importance of miRNA research in cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Another notable achievement by Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh was the second prize for the research “Potential diagnostic value of serum microRNAs for 19 cancer types” at the conference “Digital transformation and AI applications in disease diagnosis & treatment” held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 31, 2024. This study was one of the nine best presentations at the conference and was published in the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, indexed in ISI/Scopus with rank Q2 and an impact factor of 4.4, on March 15, 2024.
Previously, Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh personally guided students towards:
- second prize in the DTU student scientific research competition of 2023,
- third prize in the Ministry of Education & Training student scientific research competition of 2023, and
- first prize in the DTU student scientific research competition of 2024.
These outstanding achievements further affirm the capabilities of the DTU scientists and highlight the university’s strong development in scientific research for healthcare.
Dr Dinh Phong Son and MSc MD Tran Chau My Thanh guided student research in 2023 and 2024
“Liquid biopsy is a method of sampling, screening, and detecting potential molecular markers in liquid samples for use in clinical diagnosis and monitoring,” Dr Dinh Phong Son explains. “With the advantages of being non-invasive, highly sensitive, and cost-effective, liquid biopsy is widely applied in three main clinical areas of tumor diagnosis and monitoring, heart attack diagnosis, and prenatal diagnosis.
“Several biomarkers originating from cancerous diseases, including circulating tumor cells or CTCs, circulating free tumor DNA or cfDNA, circulating microRNA or miRNA, long non-coding RNA or lncRNA, proteins and metabolites, circulating tumor-derived extracellular vesicles or exosomes, and tumor-educated platelets or TEPs can be detected through liquid biopsy. The application of liquid biopsy in cancer research has demonstrated its potential for clinical recognition, long-term monitoring, and prognosis of tumor progression in many cancer types.
“By choosing to delve deeply into this field, we hope to contribute to the early screening and diagnosis of diseases to provide maximum support for patients. Doing research at DTU is much more convenient as the university continually invests in building modern laboratories equipped with advanced machinery. State-of-the-art equipment, such as large centrifuges, PCR machines, AB3500 sequencers, MaxQ8000 shakers, and DNA/protein electrophoresis systems, fully supporting research in infectious diseases, genetics, biodiversity conservation, fermentation technology, oncology, and pharmacology at the university. These efforts and successes highlight the significant development of DTU and open up new opportunities and prospects in medicine and molecular biology.”
(Media Center)