Meet the Principal Investigator
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
Jeancarlo Gutierrez
Lab Manager
JC graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Biochemistry. His undergraduate research focused on analyzing the effects of deleting the RGD motifs of basal membrane proteins in C. elegans. He joined Yao lab as a research technician and lab manager in May 2023. His research interest is understanding the immune responses to cancer and microbial pathogens. In his spare time, he likes to play chess, video games, and drive cars.
Ziang Zhu
PhD student
Ziang Zhu 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.
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.
Safuwra Wizzard
PhD student
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!
Wenhui Guo
Postdoctoral Researcher
Wenhui received her Ph.D. from China Agricultural University in January 2023 and joined the Wu Lab as a postdoctoral researcher in September 2023. Her research interests mainly focus on the regulation mechanisms of T-cell exhaustion. In her free time, Wenhui enjoys playing badminton and Lego.
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.