Thanh Loc Nguyen

Dr Thanh Loc Nguyen

Grant-Funded Researcher, TI&I Program

South Australian Immunogenomics Cancer Institute

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr. Thanh Loc Nguyen earned his Ph.D. in 2021 from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, Republic of Korea, under the supervision of Prof. Jaeyun Kim. During his graduate studies, he received the Brain Korea 21 (BK21) Excellent Challenger Scholarship in recognition of his outstanding research performance. Following his doctoral studies, he continued as a BK21 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the same research group.

Dr. Nguyen is a materials scientist with a background in immunology and immunotherapy. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental chemistry of materials that control their interactions with the immune system, particularly dendritic cells and T cells. Dendritic cells act as the immune system's sentinels, orchestrating immune responses by activating or suppressing T cells. His work aims to design micro- and nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems to modulate immune responses on demand, either activating the immune system to fight cancer or suppressing it to treat autoimmune diseases, thereby minimizing the side effects associated with conventional therapies. He is also actively exploring therapeutic hydrogels for the treatment of skin inflammatory diseases and wound healing.

As of February 2025, Dr. Nguyen has an h-index of 16 with over 1,400 citations. His research has led to 2 U.S. patents, 1 Korean patent, and numerous publications in high-impact journals, including Nature Communications (2 papers), Biomaterials (5 papers), Advanced Materials (1 paper), ACS Nano (2 papers), Advanced Functional Materials (2 papers), and ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (4 papers). From 2021 to 2023, he was awarded 2 Creative Challenge Research funding grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), securing approximately AUD 150,000 to support his innovative research. In addition, he serves as a reviewer for top-tier journals in the field of nano-biomaterials and immunology such as Nature Nanotechnology, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, and the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.

Dr. Nguyen recently joined the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI) as a Level B Grant-Funded Researcher, where he is working on the development of an in situ cancer vaccine to treat triple-negative breast cancer. He is deeply committed to contributing to a future free of cancer. Outside the lab, Dr. Nguyen enjoys spending time with his family, networking, playing e-sports, and swimming. He is passionate about sharing his research with non-expert audiences, making complex scientific concepts accessible to the wider community.

Research interests

- Cancer Immunotherapy

- Immune-biomaterials interactions

- Immunoengineering

- Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

 

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2025 Phan, N. M., Nguyen, T. L., Min, D. K., & Kim, J. (2025). Mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticle-based tolerogenic vaccine induces antigen-specific immune tolerance to prevent and treat autoimmune multiple sclerosis. Biomaterials, 316, 122997.
    DOI
    2025 Choi, S., Fan, Z., Im, J., Nguyen, T. L., Park, N., Choi, Y., . . . Kim, J. (2025). Tendon-mimicking anisotropic alginate-based double-network composite hydrogels with enhanced mechanical properties and high impact absorption. Carbohydrate Polymers, 352, 11 pages.
    DOI
    2024 Phan, N. M., Nguyen, T. L., Choi, Y., Mo, X. W., Trinh, T. A., Yi, G. -R., & Kim, J. (2024). High Cellular Internalization of Virus-Like Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Enhances Adaptive Antigen-Specific Immune Responses against Cancer.. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 16(35), 45917-45928.
    DOI
    2024 Nguyen, T. L., Phan, N. M., & Kim, J. (2024). Administration of ROS-Scavenging Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Simply Mixed with Autoantigenic Peptides Induce Antigen-Specific Immune Tolerance against Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 16(26), 33106-33120.
    DOI Scopus3 Europe PMC3
    2024 Trinh, T. A., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2024). Lignin-Based Antioxidant Hydrogel Patch for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis by Mitigating Oxidative Stress in the Skin. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 16(26), 33135-33148.
    DOI Scopus10 Europe PMC6
    2024 Im, J., Choi, Y., Nguyen, T. L., Kim, M. K., & Kim, J. (2024). Injectable Mesocellular Foam Silica Microparticles with a Dual Role of Cell-Recruiting Scaffolds and Intracellular Delivery Vehicles for Enhanced Cancer Vaccine. Advanced Functional Materials, 34(25), 11 pages.
    DOI Scopus1
    2024 Mo, X. W., Phan, N. M., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2024). H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Self-Supplying CaO<sub>2</sub> Nanoplatform Induces Ca<sup>2+</sup> Overload Combined with Chemodynamic Therapy to Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy. ACS Applied Materials &amp; Interfaces, 16(43), 58337-58345.
    DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC1
    2023 Phan, N. M., Nguyen, T. L., Shin, H., Trinh, T. A., & Kim, J. (2023). ROS-Scavenging Lignin-Based Tolerogenic Nanoparticle Vaccine for Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. ACS Nano, 17(24), 24696-24709.
    DOI Scopus9 Europe PMC7
    2023 Trinh, T. A., Le, T. M. D., Nguyen, H. T. T., Nguyen, T. L., Kim, J., Huynh, D. P., & Lee, D. S. (2023). pH-temperature Responsive Hydrogel-Mediated Delivery of Exendin-4 Encapsulated Chitosan Nanospheres for Sustained Therapeutic Efficacy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Macromolecular Bioscience, 23(11), e2300221.
    DOI Scopus6 Europe PMC1
    2022 Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2022). Nanoparticle-Based Tolerogenic Vaccines for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases: A Review. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(5), 6013-6028.
    DOI Scopus6
    2022 Phan, V. H. G., Murugesan, M., Manivasagan, P., Nguyen, T. L., Phan, T. -H., Luu, C. H., . . . Thambi, T. (2022). Injectable Hydrogel Based on Protein-Polyester Microporous Network as an Implantable Niche for Active Cell Recruitment.. Pharmaceutics, 14(4), 17 pages.
    DOI Scopus15 Europe PMC11
    2022 Kim, Y. E., Choi, S. W., Kim, M. K., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2022). Therapeutic Hydrogel Patch to Treat Atopic Dermatitis by Regulating Oxidative Stress. Nano Letters, 22(5), 2038-2047.
    DOI Scopus67 Europe PMC39
    2022 Nguyen, T. L., Choi, Y., Im, J., Shin, H., Phan, N. M., Kim, M. K., . . . Kim, J. (2022). Immunosuppressive biomaterial-based therapeutic vaccine to treat multiple sclerosis via re-establishing immune tolerance.. Nature communications, 13(1), 15 pages.
    DOI Scopus25 Europe PMC13
    2022 Phan, N. M., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2022). Nanozyme-Based Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy. Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 19(2), 237-252.
    DOI Scopus37 Europe PMC16
    2022 Ji, D., Park, J. M., Oh, M. S., Nguyen, T. L., Shin, H., Kim, J. S., . . . Kim, J. (2022). Superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels.. Nature communications, 13(1), 10 pages.
    DOI Scopus271 Europe PMC72
    2021 Ji, D., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2021). Bioinspired Structural Composite Hydrogels with a Combination of High Strength, Stiffness, and Toughness. Advanced Functional Materials, 31(28), 8 pages.
    DOI Scopus39
    2020 Nguyen, T. L., Cha, B. G., Choi, Y., Im, J., & Kim, J. (2020). Injectable dual-scale mesoporous silica cancer vaccine enabling efficient delivery of antigen/adjuvant-loaded nanoparticles to dendritic cells recruited in local macroporous scaffold. Biomaterials, 239, 11 pages.
    DOI Scopus107 Europe PMC48
    2020 Duong, H. T. T., Thambi, T., Yin, Y., Kim, S. H., Nguyen, T. L., Phan, V. H. G., . . . Lee, D. S. (2020). Degradation-regulated architecture of injectable smart hydrogels enhances humoral immune response and potentiates antitumor activity in human lung carcinoma. Biomaterials, 230, 12 pages.
    DOI Scopus90 Europe PMC45
    2020 Nguyen, T. L., Yin, Y., Choi, Y., Jeong, J. H., & Kim, J. (2020). Enhanced Cancer DNA Vaccine via Direct Transfection to Host Dendritic Cells Recruited in Injectable Scaffolds. ACS Nano, 14(9), 11623-11636.
    DOI Scopus50 Europe PMC23
    2020 Lee, J. Y., Kim, M. K., Nguyen, T. L., & Kim, J. (2020). Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Extra-Large Mesopores for Enhanced Cancer Vaccine. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12(31), 34658-34666.
    DOI Scopus91 Europe PMC36
    2019 Giang Phan, V. H., Duong, H. T. T., Thambi, T., Nguyen, T. L., Turabee, M. H., Yin, Y., . . . Lee, D. S. (2019). Modularly engineered injectable hybrid hydrogels based on protein-polymer network as potent immunologic adjuvant in vivo. Biomaterials, 195, 100-110.
    DOI Scopus54 Europe PMC21
    2019 Le, T. M. D., Jung, B. K., Li, Y., Duong, H. T. T., Nguyen, T. L., Hong, J. W., . . . Lee, D. S. (2019). Physically crosslinked injectable hydrogels for long-term delivery of oncolytic adenoviruses for cancer treatment. Biomaterials Science, 7(10), 4195-4207.
    DOI Scopus42 Europe PMC20
    2019 Nguyen, T. L., Choi, Y., & Kim, J. (2019). Mesoporous Silica as a Versatile Platform for Cancer Immunotherapy. Advanced Materials, 31(34), 17 pages.
    DOI Scopus194 Europe PMC72
    2019 Sinha, A., Choi, Y., Nguyen, M. H., Nguyen, T. L., Choi, S. W., & Kim, J. (2019). A 3D Macroporous Alginate Graphene Scaffold with an Extremely Slow Release of a Loaded Cargo for In Situ Long-Term Activation of Dendritic Cells. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 8(5), 10 pages.
    DOI Scopus34 Europe PMC15
    2019 Yin, Y., Nguyen, T. L., Wang, B., Duong, H. T. T., Lee, D. S., Kim, J. H., . . . Jeong, J. H. (2019). Simultaneous delivery of DNA vaccine and hydrophobic adjuvant using reducible polyethylenimine-functionalized graphene oxide for activation of dendritic cells. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 80, 870-876.
    DOI Scopus19
    2018 Duong, H. T. T., Yin, Y., Thambi, T., Nguyen, T. L., Giang Phan, V. H., Lee, M. S., . . . Lee, D. S. (2018). Smart vaccine delivery based on microneedle arrays decorated with ultra-pH-responsive copolymers for cancer immunotherapy. Biomaterials, 185, 13-24.
    DOI Scopus166 Europe PMC62
    2017 Sinha, A., Cha, B. G., Choi, Y., Nguyen, T. L., Yoo, P. J., Jeong, J. H., & Kim, J. (2017). Carbohydrate-Functionalized rGO as an Effective Cancer Vaccine for Stimulating Antigen-Specific Cytotoxic T Cells and Inhibiting Tumor Growth. Chemistry of Materials, 29(16), 6883-6892.
    DOI Scopus32

  • Patents
    Year Citation
    2024 Nguyen, T. L., & Jaeyun, K. (2024). US 11,890,332 B2, Dual-scale porous silica particle-based composition for preventing or treating cancer. United States.
    2023 Nguyen, T. L., & Jaeyun, K. (2023). US 2023/0241190 A1, Vaccine for treating multiple sclerosis. United States.

  • 2021.03 - 2023.02: Brain Korea 21 Postdoctoral Fellowship

     

  • 2021.06 - 2022.05: Creative Challenge Research Fellow, awarded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF, 2021R1I1A1A01059165)

    Project title: Restoring immune tolerance based on functional nanoparticles for the treatment of multiple sclerosis

    Role: Sole CI, Grant amount: 70M KRW (~77,000 AUD)

     

  • 2022.06 - 2023.05: Creative Challenge Research Fellow, awarded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF, 2022R1I1A1A01073332)

    Project title: Hollow manganese oxide nanoparticles for therapeutic vaccine platform of multiple sclerosis

    Role: Sole CI, Grant amount: 70M KRW (~77,000 AUD)

2024 second semester: Advanced Engineering of Biomaterials (4420_BIOPRENG_7109), The University of Adelaide

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2025 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Biomaterials-based cancer immunotherapy South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute - Other Part Time Bansari Patel
  • Position: Grant-Funded Researcher, TI&I Program
  • Phone: 83134426
  • Email: thanhloc.nguyen@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Org Unit: South Australian Immunogenomics Cancer Institute
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