The Wang laboratory is engaging in cross-disciplinary studies by collaborating with basic and clinical researchers from LRI /CCF and Case Western Reserve University. Immune-checkpoint blockade therapies have revolutionized the field of Cancer Immunotherapy. The Wang laboratory is among the first groups to demonstrate that the immune-checkpoint protein “V domain Immunoglobulin Suppressor of T cell Activation” (VISTA) is a promising target for cancer Immunotherapy. Current projects are multi-disciplinary and involve elucidating the epigenetic and metabolic regulations by novel inhibitory receptors on tumor-associated cytotoxic T cells and tumor-associated macrophages or myeloid derived suppressor cells. We are also investigating the mechanisms of resistance following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapies in lymphoma patients.
Research Information
Research Interests
The Wang laboratory is currently interested in defining the mechanisms by which immune checkpoint proteins regulate anti-tumor immune responses and to develop rational therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.
Specifically, the lab focuses on delineating the mechanisms by which a novel immune checkpoint protein, V-domain Immunoglobulin Suppression of T cell Activation (VISTA), modulates immune responses to tumors. The Wang research group has published a series of original research and review articles that address the inhibitory roles of VISTA during the development of anti-tumor immunity, autoimmunity, and inflammatory diseases (1-9). The group has shown that VISTA is a critical immune checkpoint protein that controls myeloid cell- and T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity, therefore is a valuable target for cancer immunotherapy.
Currently, the Wang lab is committed to discovering novel inhibitory receptors that interact with VISTA and developing effective approaches that block VISTA-mediated immune checkpoint pathway and improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.
External Appointments
Associate Staff, Translational Hematology and Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic