Cathy Tran

Cathy Ngọc Hân Tran (she/her) is a doctoral student in the Archaeology Department at Simon Fraser University, in BC. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Anthropology from the University of Toronto. She recently transferred to her Ph.D. program from the M.A. program.

Born to an immigrant mother and refugee father in Toronto, Cathy’s life journey is built upon the legacy of her fractured Vietnamese community, that she carries into her research. Drawing from the legacy of the war in Vietnam, and recognizing the importance of identifying victims during humanitarian conflicts, Cathy’s research will explore how human DNA can be recovered from grave soils to develop a non-destructive and culturally respectful method for victim identification and for identification that can serve as a culturally respectful and ethical option for communities. 

Born to immigrant and refugee parents in Toronto, Cathy was raised to speak English and Vietnamese, while learning French at school. Cathy develops mentorship and leadership programs focused on empowering students to make an impact in their communities. Cathy is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities by developing leadership programs and mentoring her peers to make meaningful impacts. As an active student leader, she also strengthens her own community through leadership with Vietnamese community groups, cultural shows, and leadership conferences. Cathy continues to advocate and organize communities and others by organizing her peers and advocating for the rights of students, workers, and marginalized peoples. Through the Trudeau Foundation Leadership program, Cathy aims to explore creative avenues for change and work with her peers toward a collective vision for a better future: one that is built by the people, for the people.