Meet The Investigator of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology: July 2016 - Nguyen Van Tuan

Dr. Nguyen obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology in 2007 and Masters in Biology at Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam in 2009. He then stayed on at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry as a lecturer in Biology.

In October 2011, he moved to France and began work on his PhD at the University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris 6) in Professor Sélim Aractingi’s lab. Dr. Nguyen’s thesis was titled “Delayed wound healing in various models and targeting the mineralocorticoid pathway to improve such alteration”. He completed this in October 2015. He is currently working on his post doctorate at Paris 6 university, in Professor Frédéric Jaisser’s lab, studying the mineralocorticoid receptor and its pathophysiology and therapeutic innovations.

Tuan and his wife at the Commentcement Excercise

Dr. Nguyen’s research has focused on skin biology and wound healing. During his PhD he developed a murine model of sickle cell disease (SCD) ulcers. Using this model, and in collaboration with other research groups, he found that delayed wound healing in SCD was caused by impaired recruitment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) as a consequence of inadequate CXCL12 secretion in the wound (J Invest Dermatol. 136, 497-506). Through his research on mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists, he found that they can improve diabetic and glucocorticoid-induced epidermal atrophy and delayed wound healing. He is also interested in investigating novel approaches to improve wound healing (Nguyen VT, Farman N, Maubec E, Dany Nassar, Desposito D, Waeckel L, Aractingi S, Jaisser F (2016) Re-epithelialization of pathological cutaneous wounds is improved by local mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism. J Invest Dermatol. Accepted May 2016; J Invest Dermatol. 135(7):1781-9). His work explores the novel possibility to develop new therapeutic tools for wound healing.

Tuan and his research group

Dr. Nguyen’s long-term goal is to become an independent investigator. He would like to establish a research team at Thai Nguyen University in Vietnam on skin diseases. He hopes to be involved in international collaborations for future projects.

His advice to aspiring researchers is to always keep an open mind and interact with mentors to get advice and discuss research findings. He states that research can be frustrating at times, but continued curiosity and persistence can help to push one through these difficult times.

Outside of research, Dr. Nguyen is engaged in several philanthropic activities that he participates in with other friends.