Yu Lei
Associate Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Head and Neck Surgery
We are a translational immunology group that has developed robust sponsored programs in the
following six areas. (i) We are interested in discovering major cancer immune escape mechanisms, such asoncogenic inhibition of the pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-mediated type-I interferon (IFN-I) signaling. (ii) We are characterizing the compartment-specific roles of innate immune signaling in cancer cells, myeloid cells,and peripheral nerves in the tumor microenvironment (TME). (iii) We are testing robust nanotechnologies to normalize innate immune sensing of cancers and expedite clinical translation. (iv) We are mapping the metabolic requirements for proper innate immune recognition of cancers. (v) We are developing high-fidelity preclinical models for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to test novel immunoprevention and immunotherapy strategies. (vi) We are developing robust artificial intelligence-assisted, spatially resolved tools to detect pre-cancerous lesions with a bona fide high-risk for malignant transformation.
Education & Training
PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011