Department of Immunology, Kidney Cancer Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Project Title: Harnessing Stem-Like CD8 T Cells for Immunotherapies to Eradicate HIV Reservoirs
Award Year: 2021
Biography
Dr. Chen Yao is an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology and the Kidney Cancer Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Chen Yao obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, where she was mentored by Dr. Daniel Kaplan. Following that, she pursued postdoctoral training in the systems immunology laboratory overseen by Dr. John O'Shea at the National Institutes of Health. Leveraging advanced computational and experimental techniques, the Yao lab focuses on uncovering transcriptional, epigenetic, and metabolic pathways that govern T cell differentiation and function during chronic viral infection and cancer. In addition to the NIAID New Innovators Awards, Dr. Chen Yao has also been honored with the CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Scholar Award, and the KCRP Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators – Early-Career Scholar Award.