
Vu Nguyen Ngo Lab
Vu Nguyen Ngo completed his Ph.D. degree in the laboratory of Jason Cyster at the University of California, San Francisco, where he studied the molecular basis of lymphoid tissue organization through interactions of lymphocytes with stromal cells and the chemokines and cytokines they secret. He then joined the laboratory of Louis Staudt at the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute for postdoctoral training, where he developed an expertise in large-scale functional genomics research, using RNA interference technology to identify functionally important pathways that harbor oncogenic mutations driving lymphomagenesis in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.
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 of 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. Dr. Ngo is a recipient of the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award, the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation For Cancer Research Award and the Department of Defense’s Career Development Award.
Research Highlights
Cyclin D1 and DNA damage response in mantle cell lymphoma
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable B-cell malignancy that is characterized by cyclin D1 overexpression. Elevated cyclin D1 levels were strongly associated with aggressive clinical manifestations. The Ngo laboratory uncovered a role for cyclin D1 in preserving genomic stability during DNA replication (Mohanty et al., Leuk Lymphoma 2017). They also discovered that cyclin D1 inhibition induced activity of molecules that promote tumor survival. To circumvent this tumor protective response, Ngo’s group performed a synthetic lethal RNA interference (RNAi) screen and uncovered multiple targets that play essential roles in the DNA damage response pathway. These results confirmed their hypothesis that targeting DNA damage response factors could provide a rational combination with anti-cyclin D1 as an effective strategy for treating mantle cell lymphoma.
Overcoming therapy resistance in mantle cell lymphoma
The emergence of ibrutinib therapy, which targets the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), has revolutionized the treatment of MCL. However, a third of patients are not responding to this therapy, necessitating a better understanding of ibrutinib resistance and development of more effective treatment approaches. The Ngo laboratory found that somatic mutations in cyclin D1 produced a more stable protein and promoted ibrutinib resistance in MCL cells (Mohanty et al., Oncotarget 2016). These results led to a hypothesis that deregulated turnover of cyclin D1 and potentially other oncoproteins may contribute to therapy resistance of cancer cells. The Ngo’s group are actively testing this hypothesis in many lymphoid tumors.
Novel mechanisms of lymphomagenesis
The neural transcription factor SOX11 is aberrantly expressed in MCL, but its functional significance and mechanisms of deregulated expression are not known. The Ngo’s group has identified that cyclin D1 plays a key role in regulating SOX11 expression through its ability to alter HDAC1 function. Overexpression of cyclin D1 results in HDAC1 eviction from local chromatin and accumulation of active histone marks (H3K9/14Ac) at the SOX11 locus, leading to increased SOX11 transcription. In addition, STAT3 is found to repress SOX11 transcription by directly interacting with the SOX11 gene promoter and enhancer (Mohanty et al., Blood 2018). The laboratory’s current goal is to unravel the complexity of SOX11 transcriptional regulation and to identify potential targets that disrupt oncogenic cooperation between cyclin D1 and SOX11.
An Associate Research Professor in the Department of Systems Biology, Vu Nguygen Ngo's research focuses on molecular pathogenesis of lymphoid malignancies.



Research Focus
- Understanding the mechanistic roles of oncogenic proteins in B cell receptor signaling in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)
- Dissecting the function of MCL-specific oncogenic proteins in new genetic mouse models for MCL
Education
- 2019, Ph.D. – Molecular Medicine, Amrita Centre for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India
- 2011, M.S. – Biotechnology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, India
- 2009, B.S. Botany, Mahatma Gandhi University, India
Professional Experience
- 2021-present, Postdoctoral Fellow, City of Hope Biomedical Research Center, Monrovia, California
- 2019-2020, Postdoctoral Research Associate, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India
Awards
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission National Fellowship for Ph.D. and National Eligibility Test Award for Lectureship, India
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence Award by European Commission
- Young Fellow Travel Grant Award for Molecular Analysis for Personalised Therapy conference organized by ESMO, UNICANCER and CRUK, Switzerland
- Botany Silver Jubilee Award for Best Student With Excellence in Academic and Co-Curricular Activities, India
Memberships
- European Association for Cancer Research
Publications
- Xavier S, Mohan CG, Nair S, Menon K, Vijayachandran LS. Generation of humanized single-chain fragment variable immunotherapeutic against EGFR variant III using baculovirus expression system and in vitro validation. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2019) 124:17–24.
- Xavier S, Sundaram KR, Biswas L, Panikar D, Rajamma BM, Nair S, Menon K, Vijayachandran LS. Molecular analysis of oncogene expressions in different grades of gliomas. Journal of Integrated Omics (2018) 8:66-73. doi:10.5584/jiomics.v8i1.242.
- Xavier S, Sadanandan J, George N, Paulose CS. β2-adrenoceptor and insulin receptor expression in the skeletal muscle of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats: antagonism by vitamin D3 and curcumin. European Journal of Pharmacology (2012) 687:14-20. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.02.050.
- Conference Proceedings Xavier S, Mohan CG, Nair S, Menon K, Vijayachandran LS. Generation of recombinant antibody variable fragments in baculovirus expression system targeted against epidermal growth factor receptor mutant expressing glioblastoma. ESMO Open (2018). doi: 10.1136/esmoopen-2018-EACR25.543.
- Xavier S, Sundaram KR, Panikar D, Nair S, Menon K, Vijayachandran LS. Molecular analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene expression in different grades of gliomas: Critical oncogene for therapy using medicinal plants. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine (2018) 9(2). doi: 10.1016/j.jaim.2018.02.048.
- Xavier S, Sundaram KR, Panikar D, Nair S, Menon K and Vijayachandran LS. Molecular analysis of Epidermal growth factor receptor variant III and glucose transporter expressions in different grades of glioma: potential biomarkers for targeted therapy. Annals of Oncology (2017) 28(7). doi: org/10.1093/annonc/mdx511.028.
- Xavier S, Nair S, Panikar D, Vijayakumar DK, Anupama R, Vijayachandran LS, Menon K. Importance of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) mutant in human carcinomas. International Conference Proceedings on Biotechnology for Innovative applications (2013), pp 50-52, Elsevier, New York.
We collaborate with organizations in progressing the development of new treatments in our specialized areas of research.

Mohanty, A., Sandoval, N., Phan, A., Nguyen, T.V., Chen, R.W., Budde, E., Mei, M., Popplewell, L., Pham, L.V., Kwak, L.W., Weisenburger, D.D., Rosen, S.T., Chan, W.C., Müschen, M. and Ngo, V.N.
Mohanty, S., Mohanty, A., Sandoval, N., Tran, T., Bedell, V., Wu, J., Scuto, A., Weisenburger, D. and Ngo, V.N.
Mohanty, A., Sandoval, N., Das, M., Pillai, R., Chen, L., Chen, R.W., Amin, H.M., Wang, M., Marcucci, G., Weisenburger, D.D., Rosen, S.T., Pham, L.V. and Ngo, V.
Ngo, V.N.
Lamy, L., Ngo, V.N., Emre, T.N.C., Shaffer, A.L., Yang, Y., Tian, E., Shaughnessy, J.D., Nair, V., Kruhlak, M.J., Zingone, A., Landgren, O. and Staudt, L.M.
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