People

Basic Science Research Team

Jeffery Berrier

Jeffery Berrier is the colony technician for Dr. Tran. He started working in the research field for the ACS department as a husbandry technician.

Special Interests

• Cancer
• Neurological disorders

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Dongjiang Chen

Dongjiang Chen received his MD from Nanjing Medical University in China. Dr. Chen is currently a post-doctoral fellow.

Special Interests

• Cancer development
• Tumor Treating Fields mechanism on GBM

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Nga Dai

Nga Dai is a Visiting Scholar. Dr. Dai received her Medical degree from Hanoi Medical School in Vietnam. She then interned in Lille, France, followed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

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Changwang Deng

Changwang Deng received his PhD degree in genetics from China Agricultural University in Beijing. He came to University of Florida for his postdoctoral training and worked as research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry. In 2016, he move to Dr. Tran’s lab as staff scientist.

Special Interests

• In vivo cell-events recording system
• The origin of Glioma and GBM development
• Clinical tools and/or Targets aimed at Glioma/G

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Dan Jin

Dan Jin, received her PhD from China Agricultural University in Beijing, China. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Tran Lab.

Special Interests

• Immune evasion mechanisms in cancer
• Master regulators in cancer stem cells

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Son Le

Son Le received his Ph.D. in Bio-organic Chemistry from Lomonosov Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology, Russia. He has invented several proprietary algorithms (patent applications submitted) for network generation and identification of master regulators in the network.

Special Interests

• Network biology and artificial intelligence (deep learning) in cancer biology
• Precision medicine algorithms for cancer patients and drug development

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Tianyi Liu

Tianyi Liu is a Visiting Research Scholar. Dr.Liu received her M.D. from Harbin Medical University in China. First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University where she is a member of the Neurology team specializing in Stroke.

Special Interests

• Cancer biology
• Cancer immunology

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Mathew Sebastian

Matthew received his bachelors degree from the University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences, did is post-baccalaureate work for the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Immunology, and is an MD-PhD candidate at the University of Florida.

Special Interests

• Tumor immunology
• Cancer biology

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Alexandra Sherman

Alexandra Sherman received her degree in Veterinary Medicine in Belarus. Prior to joining Dr. Tran’s lab she was working in Hemophilia research at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at UF, followed by Wells Center for Pediatric Research at Indianapolis.

Special Interests

• Immunology and immunotherapies
• Cancer biology
• Rare Cancers

Clinical Science Research Team

Ashley Ghiaseddin

Dr. Ghiaseddin completed his Undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame. He attended Medical School at the University of Toledo, College of Medicine. After medical school, Dr. Ghiaseddin completed his Neurological training at Indiana University, followed by a Fellowship in Neuro-Oncology at Duke University. He oversees the inpatient/outpatient clinical services for the Neuro-Oncology division and is the physician liaison to the clinical counterparts in the hospital. In addition, he serves as the Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Director and Clerkship Director of the Neuro-Oncology elective. He routinely lectures to Medical Students, Neurology/Neurosurgery Residents as well as the Hematology-Oncology Fellows.

Special Interests

• Patient Quality Improvement
• Supportive Care
• Immunotherapy in Brain Tumor Therapy
• Use of Radiologic parameters in Brain Tumor Therapy/Monitoring
• Precision Oncology

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Ciara Anderson

Ciara Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Education and Behavior from the University of Florida. Ms. Anderson joined the UF’s Adult Neuro-Oncology group in 2017 as the Neuro-Oncology Clinical Programs Coordinator.

Special Interests

• Chemotherapy
• Immunotherapy

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Danielle Carpenter

Prior to joining the Neuro-Oncology team in 2018 as a Customer Service Representative III, Danielle Carpenter previously worked as a Receptionist for the Department of Neurosurgery. Danielle enjoys working with both the adult and pediatric Neuro-Oncology teams.

Special Interests:

• Pediatric Neuro-Oncology

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Valerie Greene

Valerie Greene graduated from the UF Physician Assistant Program in 1991, where she then joined the UF Bone Marrow Transplant team. She then transitioned to UF’s Dept. of Surgery Abdominal Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery Service for 24 years.  As of August 2017, she has been a member of the Tran Lab Clinical team in Neurosurgery’s Division of Neuro-Oncology.

Special Interests

• Neuro-Oncology

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Deborah Sampson

Deborah Sampson began her nursing career in 1994 upon graduating from University of North Florida. Her career has encompassed several aspects of acute care nursing including; emergency nursing, trauma care, research, education and management. Debbie joined the University of Florida’s Neurosurgery team in 2016, as the Assistant Director of Neurosurgery. Her responsibilities include the oversight of the Neuro-Oncology research and clinical teams.

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Sonisha Warren

Sonisha Warren received her PhD in Medical Sciences, concentrating in Physiology and Pharmacology. In 2017, Dr. Warren joined the Tran research team as a Medical Scientist where she currently manages and runs clinical research projects in adult neuro-oncology including the 2-THE-TOP, PRECISION, PROGRESS, PULSED AVASTIN as well as several NCI Alliance and industry sponsored studies.

Special Interests

• Neuro-Oncology
• Cardiology
• Genetics