People

Meet the Principal Investigator

Tuoqi Wu, Ph.D.

Tuoqi Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Education
2013                            Ph.D. in Biological and Biomedical Sciences

                                    Advisor: Rafi Ahmed

                                    Department of Microbiology and Immunology

                                    Emory University

 

2007                            B.S. in Biotechnology

                                    School of Life Sciences

                                    Dual B.S. in Computer Science

                                    School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science

                                    Peking University

 

Academic Employment and Positions

 

2021-present               Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

2021-present               Member, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dallas, TX

2019-2021                   Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO

2019-2021                   Member, Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO

2019-2021                   Member, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO

2013-2019                   Postdoctoral fellow, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

2007-2013                   Graduate research assistant, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

2006-2007                   Undergraduate researcher, National Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Beijing, China

Meet the lab members

Ziang Zhu

Ziang Zhu

PhD Candidate

Ziang was born in China, where he completed his undergraduate studies at East China University of Science and Technology. He obtained his master's degree from Georgetown University. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the UTSW Immunology graduate program, focusing on studying T-cell immunology.

 

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Safuwra Wizzard

PhD Candidate

Safuwra graduated from the University of California Merced in 2020 with a BS in Human Biology and a BA in Psychology. Based on her personal and research experiences, she has set her sights on a career in immunology and aspires to independently perform clinically relevant research. When she's not in lab, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, looking after her plants, and traveling.

Kerelos Shehata

Kerelos Shehata

PhD Student

Kerelos grew up in Boston and received his undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Northeastern University. After graduating, he worked at a biotechnology company developing iPSC-derived "off the shelf" CAR-T cell therapies. As a PhD student in the cancer biology graduate program, he is interested in researching novel strategies to enhance immune responses in solid tumors. Outside of the lab, Kerelos enjoys lifting weights, golf, tennis, and catching up with friends and family.

Taidou Hu

Taidou Hu

Postdoctoral Researcher

Taidou received his Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. His research interests mainly focus on the interplay between epigenetic landscape regulation and CD8+ T cell differentiation/exhaustion in human health and disease. In his free time, Taidou enjoys reading and listening.

 

Yafeng Gao

Yafeng Gao

Postdoctoral Researcher

Yafeng received her Ph.D. from Suzhou Institute of Systems Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, China. Her research interests mainly focus on studying T cell immunology. In her free time, she enjoys running and doing Chinese embroidery.

 

Ying Luo

Ying Luo

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ying Luo joined the Wu Lab as a postdoctoral researcher in September 2022. He received his Ph.D. degree in Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in June 2022. His research interest mainly focuses on T cell immunology. In his free time, Ying likes to program and watch videos.

Li Meng

Li Meng

Postdoctoral Researcher

Li received her Ph.D. from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in January 2024. Her research interests mainly focus on T cell exhaustion. In her free time, Li enjoys listening to music.