Nhu Tran, PhD, RN, CCRN, CCRP
Dr. Tran is a nurse scientist with the goal of improving the health and developmental outcomes of vulnerable neonates. Her role blends direct patient care (as RN in the NICU at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles) and research (as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Southern California). She is certified as a critical care registered nurse in the NICU and as a clinical research professional. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Nursing Research, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Southern California Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. Currently, her research aims to identify the mechanism of brain injury and developmental delay in infants with congenital heart defects, in order to create interventions to improve their outcomes.
Vulnerable Neonates
Neonatal Neurobehavior
Neurodevelopment
Congenital Heart Disease
Cerebral Oxygenation
Education
University of Southern California, MS, Nursing Leadership and Administration
University of California, Los Angeles, PhD, Nursing
University of Southern California, MS, Clinical, Biological, & Translational Investigations
Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, USC Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities/Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Accomplishments
Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), NICU
Clinical Research Professional (CCRP)
Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing, Gamma Tau at Large Chapter, Los Angeles, CA
Academy of Neonatal Nursing (ANN), Oakland, CA
American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), Mission Viejo, CA
Society of Pediatric Cardiovascular Nurses
Society of Clinical Research Associates
American Heart Association
2000: Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing, USC Dept. of Nursing, Los Angeles
2003: Commencement Speaker: USC Dept. of Nursing Graduation, Los Angeles
2007: Staff Nurse Research Fellowship, NICU, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
2012: Best Community Hospital Poster, School of Nursing Research Symposium, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa
2017: Best Dissertation Award, UCLA, School of Nursing, Los Angeles
Publications
Tran NN, Tran M, Panigrahy A, Brady KM, Votava-Smith JK. Association of Cerebrovascular Stability Index and Head Circumference Between Infants With and Without Congenital Heart Disease. Pediatr Cardiol. 2022 Apr 15;. doi: 10.1007/s00246-022-02891-3. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 35426499; NIHMSID:NIHMS1808555.
Mahdi EM, Tran NN**, Ourshalimian S, Sanborn S, Alquiros MT, Squillaro A, Lascano D, Herrington C, Kelley-Quon LI. Factors Impacting Long-Term Gastrostomy Tube Dependence in Infants with Congenital Heart Disease. J Surg Res. 2022 Feb;270:455-462. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.09.023. Epub 2021 Nov 17. PubMed PMID: 34800791.
Tran NN, Tran M, Lopez J, Woon J, Nguyen J, Brecht ML. Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Clinical Research. J Pediatr Nurs. 2021 Nov-Dec;61:240-244. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2021.06.005. Epub 2021 Jun 15. PubMed PMID: 34171517; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8205280.
Tran NN, Votava-Smith JK, Wood JC, Panigrahy A, Wee CP, Borzage M, Kumar SR, Murray PM, Brecht ML, Paquette L, Brady KM, Peterson BS. Cerebral oxygen saturation and cerebrovascular instability in newborn infants with congenital heart disease compared to healthy controls. PLoS One. 2021;16(5):e0251255. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251255. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 33970937; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8109808.
Research
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Vulnerable Neonates
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
Cerebrovascular Stability Index (CSI)
Media
2013, Sigma Theta Tau International, Is There a Difference between Calf and Brachial Blood Pressures presentation, https://stti.confex.com/stti/bc42/webprogram/Paper58745.html
2014, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Future of Nursing Scholar press release, http://futureofnursingscholars.org/scholar-bio/nhu-tran/
2014, Nurse.com article on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Future of Nursing Scholar, https://www.nurse.com/blog/2014/10/13/ucla-phd-candidate-receives-future-of-nursing-scholars-program-award/
2014, UCLA press release on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Future of Nursing Scholar, http://www.nursing.ucla.edu/news-and-events/press-releases/press-releases-archive-2014/ucla-phd-candidate-among-first-recipients-of-prestigious-future-of-nursing-scholars-program-awards/
2015, The Beach Reporter, Article on Haiti Mission Trip, http://tbrnews.com/news/redondo_beach/redondo-beach-nurses-return-from-haiti-mission-to-save-conjoined/article_349a8d1e-2bd7-11e5-a4dd-ab02e7df9d4d.html
2015, Article on Nursing Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, https://www.aacn.org/nursing-excellence/nurse-stories/nhu-tran
