People
Meet the PI
Chen Yao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Yao received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Daniel Kaplan. She completed her postdoctoral training with John O’Shea at the National Institute of Health. Dr. Yao joined the Department of Immunology and the Kidney Cancer Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2021. Dr. Yao is an awardee of the NIAID New Innovators Awards (DP2) and the CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Scholar Award.
Meet the Lab
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 ascertained a career in Immunology and aspires to perform clinically relevant research independently. When she's not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, looking after her plants, and traveling.
Kiddist Yihunie
PhD Candidate
Kiddist graduated from Texas Tech University with an MS in Microbiology in August 2021, focusing on the temperature-dependent physiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. She joined Yao Lab as a research assistant/lab manager in September 2021 and has returned as a PhD student with an interest in cancer immunology and host immune response during chronic infections. Outside of the lab, she likes playing video games, baking, and spending time with her cat Rohan.
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.
Jonathan Hoar
Research Assistant
Jonathan graduated from Texas A&M University in 2023 with a B.S. in Biology and minors in Psychology and Bioinformatics. During his undergraduate research, he focused on the interplay of IGF-1 within the gut-brain axis, exploring its impact in the context of traumatic brain injury. He is interested in neuro-oncology research, and he aims to accumulate expertise in immunology and cancer studies before pursuing a PhD. When he’s not in the lab, he enjoys watching movies, spending time with his cat Ally, and catching up with friends.
Christina (‘Kris’) Dollinger
Research Assistant
Christina graduated from the University of Houston with an M.A. in Bio-Medical Anthropology. She has two first-author papers: “Cameras as Cultural Stressors in Changing the Immune System: Implications for NASA’s Astronaut Program” and “Nanometer Condensate Organization in Live Cells Derived from Partitioning Measurements.” She is interested in pursuing a PhD exploring the connection between the immune system and neurodegeneration in ALS. In her free time, she enjoys writing fantasy/post-apocalyptic novels, creating manga, playing video games, and playing her harp.
Research
The long-term goal of Yao Laboratory is to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms that determine the efficacy of vaccines and immunotherapies against infectious diseases and cancers. There are two major directions in the Yao Lab.
- Long-term T cell immunity is critical in combating chronic viral infection and cancer. We have found that transcription factors TOX and BACH2 are critical for the formation of stem-like CD8 T cells and the development of long-term immunity. We will dissect the molecule targets of TOX and BACH2 that mediate their function in T cells.
- Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, only a minority of patients with RCC achieved complete responses after immunotherapies. In the Yao Lab, we aim to understand the T-cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that determine their antitumor responses induced by immunotherapies. Using mouse RCC models and patient samples, we will identify and validate prognostic biomarkers for immunotherapies against RCC. In addition, we will use gene-editing technologies to uncover and validate novel pathways that can be targeted to enhance antitumor T-cell responses during cancer immunotherapies.
Publications
Full list of publications through NCBI
Single-cell clonal lineage tracing identifies the transcriptional program controlling the cell-fate decisions by neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Luo Y, Hu T, Yao C, Wu T, 2025 Oct Cancer Immunol Res
Aging Compromises Terminal Differentiation Program of Cytotoxic Effector Lineage and Promotes Exhaustion in CD8+ T Cells Responding to Coronavirus Infection. Zhu Z, Lou G, Luo Y, Yihunie K, Hoar J, Daniel JA, Evers BM, Yao C, Wu T, 2025 May Aging Cell e70109
BACH2 dosage establishes the hierarchy of stemness and finetunes antitumor immunity in CAR T cells.Hu T, Zhu Z, Luo Y, Wizzard S, Hoar J, Shinde SS, Yihunie K, Yao C, Wu T, 2025 Aug bioRxiv
The redox sensor KEAP1 facilitates adaptation of T cells to chronic antigen stimulation by preventing hyperactivation.
Zhu Z, Luo Y, Lou G, Yihunie K, Wizzard S, DeVilbiss AW, Muh S, Ma C, Shinde SS, Hoar J, Hu T, Zhang N, Biswal S, DeBerardinis RJ, Wu T, Yao C, Sci Immunol 2024 Nov 9 101 eadk2954
FOXP1 and KLF2 reciprocally regulate checkpoints of stem-like to effector transition in CAR T cells. Zhu Z, Lou G, Teng XL, Wang H, Luo Y, Shi W, Yihunie K, Hao S, DeGolier K, Liao C, Huang H, Zhang Q, Fry T, Wang T, Yao C, Wu T, Nat. Immunol. 2024 01 25 1 117-128
BACH2 enforces the transcriptional and epigenetic programs of stem-like CD8+ T cells. Yao C, Lou G, Sun HW, Zhu Z, Sun Y, Chen Z, Chauss D, Moseman EA, Cheng J, D'Antonio MA, Shi W, Shi J, Kometani K, Kurosaki T, Wherry EJ, Afzali B, Gattinoni L, Zhu Y, McGavern DB, O'Shea JJ, Schwartzberg PL, Wu T, Nat. Immunol. 2021 03 22 3 370-380
Single-cell RNA-seq reveals TOX as a key regulator of CD8+ T cell persistence in chronic infection. Yao C, Sun HW, Lacey NE, Ji Y, Moseman EA, Shih HY, Heuston EF, Kirby M, Anderson S, Cheng J, Khan O, Handon R, Reilley J, Fioravanti J, Hu J, Gossa S, Wherry EJ, Gattinoni L, McGavern DB, O'Shea JJ, Schwartzberg PL, Wu T, Nat. Immunol. 2019 07 20 7 890-901
Contact Us
Location
Office: NS6. 218
Lab: NS6. 230
Mailing Address
UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75390-9072
Get directions
Join Our Lab
The Yao Lab is always seeking highly motivated post-doctoral and graduate researchers. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Yao at Chen.Yao@UTSouthwestern.edu (Email).