People

Conghui Yao

Assistant Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Assistant Professor of Ben May Department of Cancer Research
Research and Scholarly Interests: Cancer Metabolism, Immunometabolism, Metabolomics
Websites: Research Network Profile
Contact: yaoconghui@uchicago.edu
Graduate Program: Committee on Cancer Biology

My laboratory aims to elucidate the metabolic regulation in diseases such as cancer and obesity. We utilize a cross-disciplinary platform that integrates analytical, biochemical, cell biological, and organismal approaches to study immune cell metabolism and cancer metabolism with a goal to 1) identify new mechanisms that regulate immune cell metabolism and their anti-tumor immune response, 2) discover novel metabolic vulnerability in cancer cells and tumor-immune crosstalk and 3) apply this knowledge to deepen our understanding of fundamental cancer biology and develop therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapy. To achieve these goals, my laboratory employs cutting-edge mass spectrometry-based metabolomics with advanced data analysis, mitochondrial biochemistry, cell biology, in vivo stable isotope tracing, and genetic tools to identify novel metabolic nodes relevant to cancer and anti-tumor immunity.

Age-Associated Contraction of Tumor-Specific T Cells Impairs Antitumor Immunity.
Age-Associated Contraction of Tumor-Specific T Cells Impairs Antitumor Immunity. Cancer Immunol Res. 2024 Nov 04; 12(11):1525-1541.
PMID: 39186561

Editorial: Double-edged swords: important factors connecting metabolic disorders and cancer development - from basic research to translational applications, volume II.
Editorial: Double-edged swords: important factors connecting metabolic disorders and cancer development - from basic research to translational applications, volume II. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024; 15:1441828.
PMID: 38962679

Metabolic modulation of mitochondrial mass during CD4+ T cell activation.
Metabolic modulation of mitochondrial mass during CD4+ T cell activation. Cell Chem Biol. 2023 09 21; 30(9):1064-1075.e8.
PMID: 37716347

Uncoupled glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle in kidney cancer reveals that cytosolic GPD is essential to support lipid synthesis.
Uncoupled glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle in kidney cancer reveals that cytosolic GPD is essential to support lipid synthesis. Mol Cell. 2023 04 20; 83(8):1340-1349.e7.
PMID: 37084714

NRF2 activation induces NADH-reductive stress, providing a metabolic vulnerability in lung cancer.
NRF2 activation induces NADH-reductive stress, providing a metabolic vulnerability in lung cancer. Cell Metab. 2023 Apr 04; 35(4):722.
PMID: 37019082

Editorial: Double-edged swords: Important factors connecting metabolic disorders and cancer development - from basic research to translational applications.
Editorial: Double-edged swords: Important factors connecting metabolic disorders and cancer development - from basic research to translational applications. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023; 14:1168700.
PMID: 36936168

NRF2 activation induces NADH-reductive stress, providing a metabolic vulnerability in lung cancer.
NRF2 activation induces NADH-reductive stress, providing a metabolic vulnerability in lung cancer. Cell Metab. 2023 03 07; 35(3):487-503.e7.
PMID: 36841242

A metabolomic signature of the APOE2 allele.
A metabolomic signature of the APOE2 allele. Geroscience. 2023 02; 45(1):415-426.
PMID: 35997888

HIF1a is required for NK cell metabolic adaptation during virus infection.
HIF1a is required for NK cell metabolic adaptation during virus infection. Elife. 2021 08 16; 10.
PMID: 34396954

Combined epigenetic and metabolic treatments overcome differentiation blockade in acute myeloid leukemia.
Combined epigenetic and metabolic treatments overcome differentiation blockade in acute myeloid leukemia. iScience. 2021 Jun 25; 24(6):102651.
PMID: 34151238
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People

Conghui Yao

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