Molecular Pharmacology Program

The Xinbo Yang Lab

Research

The Xinbo Yang Lab
Xinbo Yang, PhD
Assistant Professor

The Xinbo Yang lab is interested in studying the T cell receptor (TCR) specificity in cancer and autoimmune disease. The patrolling T cells constantly scan host tissues to eliminate infected or malignant cells. Failure to recognize such cells leads to pathogen evasion or cancer. Whereas mis-recognizing healthy tissue can cause collateral tissue damage that led to autoimmune disease. We seek to understand the molecular basis of this fine-tuned self-foreign discrimination system by applying interdisciplinary approaches such as, antigen-discovery platforms, protein engineering techniques and structural biology tools. The isolated antigens and their parent proteins for ‘orphan’ TCRs would then allow specific perturbation on each target to see how T cell responses are affected. Such mechanistic studies will facilitate animal model generation to further understand disease pathogenesis and ultimately benefit pMHC based therapeutic development.

Publications Highlights

Yang X*, Nishimiya D*, Lochte S, Jude KM, Borowska M, Savvides CS, Dougan M, Su L, Zhao X, Piehler J, Garcia KC. (2023) Facile repurposing of peptide-MHC restricted antibodies for cancer immunotherapy. Nat. Biotechnol. 41, 932-943. PMID: 36593402. *Equal contribution

Yang X*, Garner LI*, Zvyagin IV*, Paley MA*, Komech EA, Jude KM, Zhao X, Fernandes RA, Hassman LM, Paley GL, Savvides CS, Brackenridge S, Quastel MN, Chudakov DM, Bowness P, Yokoyama WM, McMichael AJ, Gillespie GM, Garcia KC. (2022) Autoimmunity-associated T cell receptors recognize HLA-B*27-bound peptides. Nature. 612, 771-777. PMID: *Equal contribution

Hoover AR, Kaabinejadian S, Krawic J, Sun X, Naqash AR, Yin Q, Yang X, Garcia KC, Davis MM, Hildebrand WH, Chen WR. (2022) Localized ablative immunotherapy drives de novo CD8+ T-cell responses to poorly immunogenic tumors. J. Immunother. Cancer. 10, e004973. PMID: 36253002.

Zhao X, Kolawole EM, Chan W, Feng Y, Yang X, Gee MH, Jude KM, Sibener LV, Fordyce PM, Germain RN, Evavold BD, Garcia KC. Tuning T cell receptor sensitivity through catch bond engineering. Science. 376, eabl5282. PMID: 35389803.

Ali M, Giannakopoulou E, Li Y, Lehander M, Culleton SV, Yang W, Knetter C, Odabsai MC, Bollineni RC, Yang X, Foldvari Z, Boschen ML, Taraldsrud E, Stronen E, Toebes M, Hillen A, Mazzi S, H de Ru A, Janssen G, Kolstad N, Tjonnfjord GE, Lie BA, Griffioen M, Lehmannn S, Osnes LT, Buechner J, Garcia KC, Schumacher TN, van Veelen PA, Leisegan M, Jacobsen SEW, Woll P, Olweus J. (2021) T cells targeted to TdT kill leukemic lymphoblasts while sparing normal lymphocytes. Nat. Biotechnol. 40, 488-498. PMID: 34873326.

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People

The Xinbo Yang Lab

Xinbo Yang, PhD

Assistant Professor

  • Xinbo Yang’s lab applies structural biology and protein engineering to decode T cell receptor specificity in cancer and autoimmune disease.
  • PhD, University of Maryland College Park
[email protected]
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Lab Affiliations

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Decoding and Reprogramming T Cells

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rockefeller Research Laboratories
430 East 67th Street
Room RRL-116
New York, NY 10065

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Xinbo Yang discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • 3T Biosciences
    Equity

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.


This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

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