Hoang Bui-Nguyen, MD, PhD, Awarded CORE Grant
Dr. Bui-Nguyen, who completed his dual degree training as the inaugural scholar of the Jeffrey Myers Family Fund for Surgical Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania prior to entering his residency program, formally received the 2024 American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) Presidential Award: Understanding Treatment Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer, which is one of several grants awarded through the AAO-HNSF CORE Grants Program.
Despite the remarkable successes observed with immunotherapy, only 15–20% of head and neck cancer patients responded to this treatment modality. Dr. Bui-Nguyen’s research focuses on discovering the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to immunotherapy. This research grant will help fund his effort to address this critical need by investigating the dysregulated proliferation of T-cells, a key component of the immune response, and its role in mediating resistance to immunotherapy in head and neck cancer.
Specifically, Dr. Bui-Nguyen aims to uncover the role of MXD3, a transcriptional regulator with known oncogenic functions, on proliferation of a population of T-cells in response to immunotherapy that confers resistance. Ultimately, findings from this study could provide more insights into our general understanding of dysregulated immune cell proliferation and immunotherapy resistance in head and neck cancers, as well as inform more specific diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients.
Dr. Bui-Nguyen will work alongside with his mentor, Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, Director and Chief of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Uppaluri has been the PI of clinical trials integrating small molecule and immunotherapeutics in the surgical management of head and neck cancers. He also leads an NIH funded laboratory focused on basic and translational approaches to head and neck cancers.