Hi. I'm Transon.

Bioengineer, Photographer, Food Enthusiast

About

I'm a bioengineer focused on doing good in the world.
(Here's my curriculum vitae.)

I develop technologies that help advance the life sciences, from microfluidic computers to better in vitro organ models to robotic systems that find better treatments for cancer patients.

I speak the languages of hardware, software, and biology; I've found that bringing those three worlds together is a great way to create something awesome.

I also strongly believe in the power of good communication, especially among scientists and engineers. We may have the ability to change the world, but there's no use if we can't explain how we're going to do it.

Hobbies

Food

My interest in cooking started back in high school with daily episodes of Emeril Live. I started a food blog to keep track of what I cooked, and it's evolved into a series of detailed, step-by-step recipes with lots of pictures. Check it out!

Photography

I bought my first DSLR (a Nikon D40) in 2007 and haven't looked back. Aside from food photography (which you can see on my food blog), you can see my other photos on my Flickr profile.

Piano

Music has played a significant role in my life; I've played piano in an orchestra, snare in a marching band, and marimba in a drum corps. Nowadays, I make piano recordings and show them on my YouTube channel.

History

  • Experience

  • Eigen Therapeutics
    CEO, Co-Founder

    Developing therapies that make cancer easier to find and eliminate.

  • Notable Labs
    2021–2021: VP of Engineering
    2017–2021: Head of Laboratory Automation
    2015–2017: Lead Engineer & Founding Engineer

    Building a platform across hardware, software, and biology to find better treatments for cancer patients.

  • The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Biomedical Engineer

    Conducted research under BIO-MIMETICS, a $32M program funded by DARPA and the NIH for the development of a "human body on a chip."

At a Glance

Press

Priming therapy biotech emerges from stealth with seed funding

Endpoints News covers the launch and initial funding announcement of Eigen Therapeutics, the biotech company I co-founded to develop priming therapies.

Robots Race for the Cure

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) has a joint interview with Matt (Notable CEO/Co-Founder) and me about how Notable uses robotics to find better cancer treatments.

Notable Labs tackles cancer research with cutting-edge tech

TetraScience has a 1-on-1 in-depth interview with me about Notable’s approach in using technology to speed up treatment discovery.

ELITE Tech-Know Geek Transon Nguyen of Notable Labs

My PM360 profile after winning the ELITE 100 award. TetraScience also does a recap of the awards.

Notable Labs Powered Clinical Trials

A profile on Notable Labs (done by the wonderful people at DCA) on how Notable is shaping the future of clinical trials.

Honors and Awards

  • Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Innovation Award Finalist, 2018
  • PM360 Elite 100, 2017
  • Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Fellow, 2013–2015
  • Honorable Mention, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, 2012
  • Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society Young Researcher Travel Grant, 2011
  • UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Fellowship, 2009–2010
  • UCI Summer Undergraduate Research Program Fellowship, 2009

Selected Talks

On average, I've given about one talk per year since 2015. Here's some of the more public ones:

Balancing Flexibility and Scale in Lab Automation

This was a fun lightning talk (15 minutes!) that I gave at SLAS 2021 in conjunction with Biosero. I talk about our approach to lab automation at Notable, and how to reconcile the frequent changes in R&D with the slightly slower development times of lab automation.

A Modern Platform for Personalized Treatment Discovery for Cancer Patients

In this talk at SLAS 2018, I give an overview of what Notable does and how we use our platform to help find better treatments for cancer patients.

Portfolio

Contact

Questions? Comments?
Shoot me an email or hunt me down on social media through the links on the bottom.