Dr Nhan Tran was born in Vietnam and grew up in the United States where he completed studies in international relations and modern languages. He obtained a graduate degree in International Public Health and a PhD in Health Systems Research with an emphasis on road traffic injuries from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Dr Tran worked at the regional and federal levels of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in various capacities managing programmes and as a science advisor. Later, as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Dr Tran was engaged in health systems and road safety research and co-founded the International Injury Research Unit.

Dr Tran joined WHO in 2011. He was previously the Manager of the WHO Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research where he led the development of guidance and initiatives to strengthen health systems through the implementation of proven effective interventions. Since October 2017 Dr Tran is the Head of Safety and Mobility within the Department for the Social Determinants of Health. He coordinates work in the areas of unintentional injury prevention-focused mainly on road safety, injury surveillance/surveys and alcohol and drug-related injuries.