
Lili Yang, Ph.D.
Bio
Lili Yang, Ph.D., studies how the immune system responds to chronic diseases like cancer. The immune system comprises a small, powerful network of blood cells that survey, detect and destroy almost all harmful invasions by germs or viruses. Some cancers can evade immune system detection because cancer cells are not true invaders; they are the body’s own cells that have turned malignant through rapid, uncontrolled division. Yang aims to develop gene therapies that engineer patient immune systems to recognize and kill cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
A major focus in the Yang lab is engineering blood-forming stem cells, which give rise to all blood and immune cell types, including the white blood cells called T cells that fight against disease-causing invaders. Among these T cells is a rare group of powerful cells called “invariant natural killer T” (or iNKT) cells that have the capacity to respond to diseases and are important to the immune system’s regulation of cancer, infections, allergies and autoimmune diseases. Unfortunately, the clinical application of iNKT cells is restricted by their scarcity and high variability; they make up approximately 0.001 to 1 percent of all blood cells in humans, with the number at the low end for cancer patients. Yang and her team have developed a novel approach to engineer cancer patients’ blood-forming stem cells to generate higher numbers of these powerhouse immune cells. Because blood-forming stem cells are self-renewing, Yang’s engineered cells could provide cancer patients with enough iNKT cells to fight the disease throughout their lifetimes.
Yang also studies the molecular and genetic forces that increase or suppress immune cells’ effectiveness against tumors. She is particularly interested in identifying the molecules that influence the activities of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, a subset of immune cells that leave the bloodstream to infiltrate tumors. With this information, she hopes to identify molecules that can be targeted by new drugs to boost anti-tumor immunity and suppress tumor growth.
Yang earned a doctorate degree in biology and completed post-doctoral training at Caltech.
Publications
- Off-the-shelf third-party HSC-engineered iNKT cells for ameliorating GvHD while preserving GvL effect in the treatment of blood cancersPublished in iScience on Tuesday, September 6, 2022
- Development of off-the-shelf hematopoietic stem cell-engineered invariant natural killer T cells for COVID-19 therapeutic interventionPublished in Stem Cell Research & Therapy on Monday, March 21, 2022
- HLA-A∗02:01 restricted T cell receptors against the highly conserved SARS-CoV-2 polymerase cross-react with human coronavirusesPublished in Cell Reports on Friday, December 10, 2021
- Development of allogeneic HSC-engineered iNKT cells for off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapyPublished in Cell on Tuesday, November 16, 2021
- Targeting monoamine oxidase A-regulated tumor-associated macrophage polarization for cancer immunotherapyPublished in Nature Communications on Thursday, June 10, 2021
- Creatine uptake regulates CD8 T cell antitumor immunityPublished in Journal of Experimental Medicine on Friday, October 18, 2019
- miR-146a modulates autoreactive CD4 T cell Th17 differentiation and regulates T cell-mediated autoimmunityPublished in Journal of Clinical Investigation on Tuesday, September 5, 2017
- Propagating Humanized BLT Mice for the Study of Human Immunology and ImmunotherapyPublished in Stem Cells and Development on Thursday, December 15, 2016
- Genetic engineering of hematopoietic stem cells to generate invariant natural killer T cellsPublished in PNAS on Tuesday, January 20, 2015
- Adoptive Transfer of MART-1 T-Cell Receptor Transgenic Lymphocytes and Dendritic Cell Vaccination in Patients with Metastatic MelanomaPublished in Clinical Cancer Research on Friday, March 14, 2014
- miR-146a controls the resolution of T cell responses in micePublished in Journal of Experimental Medicine on Monday, August 13, 2012
- Antibody-based protection against HIV infection by vectored immunoprophylaxisPublished in Nature on Thursday, January 5, 2012
- Homeostatic cytokines orchestrate the segregation of CD4 and CD8 memory T-cell reservoirs in micePublished in Blood on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
- Engineered lentivector targeting of dendritic cells for in vivo immunizationPublished in Nature Biotechnology on Sunday, February 24, 2008
- Targeting lentiviral vectors to specific cell types in vivoPublished in PNAS on Tuesday, August 1, 2006
- Long-term in vivo provision of antigen-specific T cell immunity by programming hematopoietic stem cellsPublished in PNAS on Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Honors & Affiliations
Honors
- Faculty Excellence Award for Outstanding Research Publication, UCLA Life Sciences, 2017
- Young Investigator Award, American Association of Immunologists, 2017
- Outstanding New Investigator Award, American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, 2017
- TR35 Award, MIT Technology Review Magazine, 2007
Affiliations
- UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute
- UCLA Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Programs in Bioscience Home Area
- UCLA Immunity, Microbes and Molecular Pathogenesis Graduate Programs in Bioscience Home Area
- UCLA Molecular Pharmacology Graduate Programs in Bioscience Home Area
- UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Funding
Yang’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Concern Foundation, the STOP Cancer Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, including support from the Jean Perkins Foundation through the Stem Cell Nano-Medicine Planning Award.