Our Team
Kenneth Hu Ph.D. - Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, CPRIT Scholar of Cancer Research
Associate Member, James P Allison Institute
I earned my Ph.D. at Stanford University studying the role of mechanical force generation during T cell activation. I did my postdoc at UCSF developing ZipSeq for spatial barcoding of cells in tissue sections to align single cell RNA Seq data with imaging data to reveal spatial patterns of immune cell states. I’m now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Immunology at MD Anderson. Outside of the lab, I enjoy collecting and caring for a variety of arthropods, painting minis, and the odd boardgame.
JeHoon Lee Ph.D. - Research Scientist
I earned my PhD in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University and have since dedicated my career to pre-clinical research, specializing in oncology and toxicology. My work primarily involves the molecular and cellular analytical assays and the use of in vivo models to study various disease states. Additionally, I have actively contributed to the development and optimization of T-cell therapy for solid tumors.
I joined the Hu Lab as a research scientist in the fall of 2023, with the aim of advancing our understanding of cell-cell interactions through the utilization of the spatial heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment.
In my free time, I have a passion for outdoor sports and activities, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Yue Xuan B.S.- Graduate Research Assistant
I received my B.S. from Shandong University, China. During my undergraduate study, I worked on projects to uncover the structure and function of GPCRs. I joined the Hu lab as a PhD student in 2024. I am interested in building new tools to spatially and temporally profile proteases and elucidate their function in cancer. In my free time, I enjoy traveling and exploring natural sceneries.
Banru Chen Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Scholar
I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology of China, where I studied how the gut microbiota regulates the function of T cells in the intestinal epithelium. After completing my Ph.D. training in immunology, I began my postdoctoral research at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, focusing on a specific subset of microbiota-modulated Treg cells and their roles in regulating glucose metabolism and chronic inflammation. This experience gave me a comprehensive understanding of the immune system and its connection to immune-related diseases.
In the fall of 2024, I joined the Hu Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, focusing on tumor immunotherapy and spatial transcriptomics. I aim to deepen my understanding of the spatial organization of cells within the tumor microenvironment and contribute to advancing immunotherapy.
Outside the lab, I enjoy practicing basic yoga and Muay Thai. I also enjoy hiking in national parks and plan to explore camping and skiing.
Zhixuan (Sara) Huang B.S. - Research Assistant
Assistant Professor, CPRIT Scholar of Cancer Research
Hello! I completed my undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University May 2023. I am now a research assistant in Kenneth Hu’s lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Department of Immunology. I intend to pursue an MD or PhD after gaining more lab experience. In my spare time, I like to drink boba and watch sitcoms.
Shayani Dasgupta Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Scholar
I obtained my Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Calcutta, India. My doctoral research focused on investigating the altered RGS5 (regulator of G-protein signaling 5) signaling in pericytes, a type of stromal cell) residing within tumor microenvironment and explored its significance in tumor growth. Then I joined Dr. Gan’s lab as postdoctoral fellow in 2022 to study cancer metabolism and ferroptosis. I joined Hu's lab in 2024 as postdoctoral fellow with the aim of broadening my knowledge of immune-cell heterogeneity within tumors, understanding cell-cell interactions, deciphering the intricacies of the vascular network, and exploring their collective influence on immunotherapies.
Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending my free time attending dance workshops, indulging in mystery and mythology books, swimming, and occasionally unwinding by watching Netflix.
Derya Goksu Helvaci M.D. - Postdoctoral Scholar
Hi, I am Derya from Turkey. I obtained my M.D. degree from Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine. During my medical school education, I also worked in Dr. Duygu Sag’s lab on cancer immunology at the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center. My investigations were primarily focused on TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and its impact on human macrophage polarization. I joined the Hu lab in June 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow to gain a deeper perspective on cell death in the tumor microenvironment using a multi-omics approach. I also would like to learn novel techniques such as spatial profiling and two-photon microscopy.
During my free time, I enjoy jogging, watching movies (horror is my favorite genre), and playing computer games.
Hu Lab as of July 2024!