Don X. Nguyen

Dr. Don X. Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Medical Oncology at Yale School of Medicine, where he joined the faculty in 2010 and was granted tenure. He holds a primary appointment in the Department of Pathology and Medical Oncology and serves as Co-Leader of the Cancer Signaling Networks program at Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Nguyen maintains multiple institutional affiliations including the Yale Stem Cell Center, Pathology Research Program in Translational Biomedicine (PTB), SPORE in Lung Cancer initiative, and the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS).

Dr. Nguyen earned his B.Sc. in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University in 1998, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 2004, and completed post-doctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute in 2009. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of cancer metastasis, with particular expertise in brain metastasis from lung cancer. The Nguyen Lab investigates how cell lineage control influences tumor progression, how epigenetic regulation affects cell-cell communication in disseminating tumor cells, and the mechanistic links between drug resistance and brain metastasis. Recent work has revealed important insights into how cancer cells co-opt the brain microenvironment and develop resistance to targeted therapies like osimertinib.

Dr. Nguyen's laboratory maintains an active publication record with significant contributions published in high-impact journals including Nature Communications, Cell Reports, Science Advances, and Cancer Cell. His research spans molecular biology, epigenetics, and translational research with a strong focus on developing novel models to study metastatic progression and therapeutic resistance.

• Class of 1961 Cancer Research Award (2021)
• Yale Cancer Center Basic Research Prize (2013)
• Stewart Trust Scholar (2013)
• IASLC Young Investigator Award (2012)
• Yale Center for Clinical Investigation Scholar (2011)

Dr. Nguyen serves as Principal Investigator on the study 'Determining Mechanisms of Sensitivity and Resistance to Anti-Cancer Therapy for Advanced Lung Cancer' (HIC ID 1603017333), which is recruiting participants until June 2026. The Nguyen Lab, located at the Brady Memorial Laboratory, maintains active collaborations with researchers across Yale including Dr. Veronica Chiang, Dr. Katerina Politi, and Dr. Anna Arnal-Estapé, with whom he has published numerous high-impact papers on cancer metastasis and therapeutic resistance.