Ye Lab – Nanjing University

Research Overview

Our lab is interested in overcoming the technological limitations that have delayed progress in discovering promising immuno-oncology targets, such as developing new gene editing and activation technologies for CRISPR screening in T cells. Leveraging these groundbreaking technologies, we have discovered mechanisms for boosting immune cell functions and have revealed elusive membrane protein and metabolism-related targets that stand to dramatically improve the efficacy of T cell-based immunotherapies. The new targets have already shown exceptional promise in enhancing anti-tumor activity in multiple cancer models. Further mechanistic dissection of these targets may revolutionize our understanding of the complex interactions among cancer cells, genes, and immunity and aid in developing transformative therapeutics for difficult-to-treat cancers and other diseases. We are also interested in cell therapy and cell engineering including CAR-T therapy and immune cell engineering. Our lab’s work in the areas of biotechnology, genetic engineering, and target discovery holds the extraordinary potential to enable breakthrough treatments for difficult-to-treat cancers. To this end, we utilize various advanced tools, including CRISPR-based genome editing, high-throughput screening, viral systems, animal models, and bioinformatics to tackle the challenges in the field jointly.