Chen Yao, Ph.D.

2022-present: joined the Cancer Biology graduate program

2021-present: Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

2021-present: Kidney Cancer Program, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

2016-2021: Postdoctoral fellow, NIAMS, Bethesda, MD

2011-2016: Graduate student, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

• Adaptive anti-viral immunity
• T cell differentiation and function
• Tumor immunology

Featured Publications

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

MicroRNA-221 and -222 modulate intestinal inflammatory Th17 cell response as negative feedback regulators downstream of interleukin-23.

Mikami Y, Philips RL, Sciumè G, Petermann F, Meylan F, Nagashima H, Yao C, Davis FP, Brooks SR, Sun HW, Takahashi H, Poholek AC, Shih HY, Afzali B, Muljo SA, Hafner M, Kanno Y, O'Shea JJ, Immunity 2021 Mar 54 3 514-525.e6

Compromised counterselection by FAS creates an aggressive subtype of germinal center lymphoma.

Razzaghi R, Agarwal S, Kotlov N, Plotnikova O, Nomie K, Huang DW, Wright GW, Smith GA, Li M, Takata K, Yamadi M, Yao C, O'Shea JJ, Phelan JD, Pittaluga S, Scott DW, Muppidi JR, J Exp Med 2021 Mar 218 3

Rapid Enhancer Remodeling and Transcription Factor Repurposing Enable High Magnitude Gene Induction upon Acute Activation of NK Cells.

Sciumè G, Mikami Y, Jankovic D, Nagashima H, Villarino AV, Morrison T, Yao C, Signorella S, Sun HW, Brooks SR, Fang D, Sartorelli V, Nakayamada S, Hirahara K, Zitti B, Davis FP, Kanno Y, O'Shea JJ, Shih HY, Immunity 2020 10 53 4 745-758.e4

Neuropeptide CGRP Limits Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Responses and Constrains Type 2 Inflammation.

Nagashima H, Mahlakõiv T, Shih HY, Davis FP, Meylan F, Huang Y, Harrison OJ, Yao C, Mikami Y, Urban JF, Caron KM, Belkaid Y, Kanno Y, Artis D, O'Shea JJ, Immunity 2019 10 51 4 682-695.e6

The Magnitude of IFN-? Responses Is Fine-Tuned by DNA Architecture and the Non-coding Transcript of Ifng-as1.

Petermann F, Pekowska A, Johnson CA, Jankovic D, Shih HY, Jiang K, Hudson WH, Brooks SR, Sun HW, Villarino AV, Yao C, Singleton K, Akondy RS, Kanno Y, Sher A, Casellas R, Ahmed R, O'Shea JJ, Mol. Cell 2019 Jul

Retinoic Acid Receptor Alpha Represses a Th9 Transcriptional and Epigenomic Program to Reduce Allergic Pathology.

Schwartz DM, Farley TK, Richoz N, Yao C, Shih HY, Petermann F, Zhang Y, Sun HW, Hayes E, Mikami Y, Jiang K, Davis FP, Kanno Y, Milner JD, Siegel R, Laurence A, Meylan F, O'Shea JJ Immunity 2019 Jan 50 1 106-120.e10

Commensal-specific T cell plasticity promotes rapid tissue adaptation to injury.

Harrison OJ, Linehan JL, Shih HY, Bouladoux N, Han SJ, Smelkinson M, Sen SK, Byrd AL, Enamorado M, Yao C, Tamoutounour S, Van Laethem F, Hurabielle C, Collins N, Paun A, Salcedo R, O'Shea JJ, Belkaid Y, Science 2019 01 363 6422

Langerhans Cells Transfer Targeted Antigen to Dermal Dendritic Cells and Acquire Major Histocompatibility Complex II In Vivo.

Yao C, Kaplan DH, J Invest Dermatol 2018 07 138 7 1665-1668