People
People
People
People
People
People
People
People
Current Position
Assistant Professor
School of Biomedical Sciences
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Research Training
2018-2022
Research Assistant Professor
School of Biomedical Sciences
Lee Woo Sing College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2013-2018
Postdoctoral Fellow
School of Biomedical Sciences
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Mentor: Prof. Alfred Sze Lok Cheng
2009-2013
Ph.D. (Immunology)
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Mentor: Prof. Zhiwei Chen
(The Awards for Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student, HKU)
Biography
Our lab mainly works on establishing a fundamental understanding of how the tumor cells modulate tissue immune microenvironment to support their growth, metastasis, and immune evasion, and how we can interrupt this process and restore host immunosurveillance. The ultimate goal is to exploit this knowledge to discover potential therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapy and maximize the therapeutic benefits to cancer patients.
Grants
- Latest
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PI, General Research Fund 2024/25, Unraveling the immunoregulatory role of sympathetic innervation in cancer liver metastases. RGC, HK$1,559,580.
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PI, General Research Fund 2023/24, Deciphering T helper-2 cell immunity in cancer liver metastasis-associated immunotherapy resistance. RGC, HK$1,523,774.
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PI, General Research Fund 2022/23, Mechanistic delineation of hepatoma-intrinsic FADD in modulating anti-tumor CD8+T cell response. RGC, HK$883,197.
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2022-2023
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Co-I, General Research Fund 2021/22, Targeting epigenetic vulnerability in immunosuppressive myeloid cells to overcome immunotherapy resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma. RGC, HK$1,170,652.
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2021-2023
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Co-I, AstraZeneca Oncology Pre-clinical Research Programme 2020, Overcoming the PD-1/PD-L1 therapeutic resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma by BET inhibitor. AstraZeneca, HK$400,000.
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PI, General Research Fund 2020/21, Delineating the immunoregulatory role of cholesterol on natural killer T cells in cancer liver metastases. RGC, HK$996,285.
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Co-I, General Research Fund 2020/21, Resistance to immune checkpoint targeting in hepatocellular carcinoma: Role of tumor interferon signaling. RGC, HK$1,195,542.
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2020-2022
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PI, Health and Medical Research Fund 2020, Improving liver cancer immunotherapy by co-targeting monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells. FHB, HK$1,000,000.
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2020-2021
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PI, General Research Fund 2019/20, Mechanistic delineation of myeloid CCRK signaling in tumor immunosuppression’. RGC, HK$1,004,845.
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Co-I, General Research Fund 2019/20, Molecular and functional characterization of the immunoregulatory CCRK-mTOR pathway in NAFLD-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. RGC, HK$1,049,917.
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2019-2020
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Co-I, Health and Medical Research Fund 2019, A novel liver-specific PD-L1-trap nanoparticle for hepatocellular carcinoma immunotherapy. FHB, HK$1,187,900.
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Co-I, AstraZeneca Oncology Pre-clinical Research Programme 2019, Targeting the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment by CXCR2 blockade for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy. AstraZeneca, HK$100,000.
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Co-I, BMS Pre-clinical Program 2019, Investigating the efficacy and mechanistic basis of BET and PD- 1/PD-L1 co-blockade in fibrosis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. BMS, HK$100,000.
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2018-2021
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Co-I, Terry Fox Foundation 2018, Functional dissection of fibrosis-induced monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells to develop new combination immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Terry Fox Foundation, HK$1,200,000.
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2017-2019
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PI, AstraZeneca Oncology Pre-clinical Research Programme 2017, Enhancement of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Immunotherapy through mTOR Inhibition. AstraZeneca, HK$400,000.
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2016-2018
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PI, Health and Medical Research Fund 2016, Elucidating the immunoregulatory role of the oncogenic cell-cycle related kinase in obesity-related hepatocellular carcinoma. FHB, HK$1,199,668.
Patents
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2015
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Soluble PD-1 Variants, Fusion Constructs, and Uses Thereof for Enhancing Immunity. U.S. US9029315. Licensed to Immuno Cure Limited (2017/2020).
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2014
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Novel PD1 isoforms, and uses thereof for potentiating functional antigen-specific CD8+ T cell immunity. U.S. US20140302070A1
Awards and Fellowships
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2020
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Sister Hirose Travel Award for Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) Annual Meeting, JCA
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2018
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Travel Award for JCA Annual Meeting, JCA
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Young Investigator Award, Hong Kong Society for Immunology (HKSI) Annual Meeting, HKSI
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Top Wining Proposal Award for Pre-clinical Oncology Research Programme, AstraZeneca