Dr. Thuy Tran is a physician-scientist in immuno-oncology whose long-term goal is to improve outcomes for patients with cancer by overcoming resistance to immunotherapy, reducing immune-related toxicities, and attacking fibrosis. Her research integrates basic and translational studies with a path toward early-phase clinical trials, focusing on identifying targets that enhance innate anti-tumor immunity in synergy with checkpoint inhibitors, defining immune cell mechanisms that drive checkpoint inhibitor–associated toxicity, and targeting desmoplastic stromas to reverse autoimmune fibrosis and enhance drug delivery. Dr. Tran’s research revolves around macrophage-migration inhibitor factor (MIF) and its functional paralog d-dopachrome tautomerase (D-DT), which are known to drive pathogenic chronic inflammation in multiple autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma, as well as in cancer progression and metastases. Findings in multiple disease models demonstrate synergy of MIF and D-DT inhibition in reversing disease pathology, and the generation of first-in-class dual MIF/D-DT inhibitors are under active development.