Dr. Qing Yi is a trained medical immunologist with over 25 years of experience as a well-funded and published researcher. He is one of the leading investigators in the fields of tumor immunology and immunotherapy in multiple myeloma and other cancers. Since arriving in the US in 1998, Dr. Yi has been awarded, as the PI, 9 R01s from NCI, 1 project and 1 core grant in the MDACC Myeloma SPORE (P50), 4 R01-type translational grants from the LLS, 4 Senior Researcher Awards from the MMRF, 2 K99/R00 grants (as the mentor), and numerous intramural and industry grants. Dr. Yi and colleagues have published more than 160 peer-reviewed research articles, with 45 being in top-tier journals with an impact factor of greater than 10. Prior to his current appointment as Associate Director of the Houston Methodist Cancer Center, Dr. Yi had faculty appointments at Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Karolinska Hospital and Institute, Sweden.

(1) characterizing myeloma- and tumor-specific T cells and their subsets and examining their functions in relationship to myeloma tumor cells using both in vitro and in vivo approaches (2) identifying novel myeloma-associated antigens and better methods for immunotherapy (3) investigating the cross-talk between the tumor microenvironment and the immune system in malignancy (4) clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of immunizing patients with idiotype or dendritic cell-based vaccines (5) exploring immunotherapies using novel myeloma antigens such as DKK1 in multiple myeloma. Our recent research focuses on (a) developing novel therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for myeloma and other cancers, (b) identifying T-cell subsets that have potent anti-tumor effects after adoptive transfer, and (c) identifying tumor microenvironment components that induce tumor drug resistance.

Efficacy of anti-CD147 chimeric antigen receptors targeting hepatocellular carcinoma Tseng, HC, Xiong, W, Badeti, S, Yang, Y, Ma, M, Liu, T, Ramos, CA, Dotti, G, Fritzky, L, Jiang, JG, Yi, Q, Guarrera, J, Zong, WX, Liu, C & Liu, D 2020, , Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 4810. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18444-2 Enhanced CAR-T activity against established tumors by polarizing human T cells to secrete interleukin-9 Liu, L, Bi, E, Ma, X, Xiong, W, Qian, J, Ye, L, Su, P, Wang, Q, Xiao, L, Yang, M, Lu, Y & Yi, Q 2020, , Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 5902. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19672-2 MIF as a biomarker and therapeutic target for overcoming resistance to proteasome inhibitors in human myeloma Wang, Q, Zhao, D, Xian, M, Wang, Z, Bi, E, Su, P, Qian, J, Ma, X, Yang, M, Liu, L, Zu, Y, Pingali, SR, Chen, K, Cai, Z & Yi, Q 2020, , Blood. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020005795 Targeting of CD38 by the Tumor Suppressor miR-26a Serves as a Novel Potential Therapeutic Agent in Multiple Myeloma Hu, Y, Liu, H, Fang, C, Li, C, Xhyliu, F, Dysert, H, Bodo, J, Habermehl, G, Russell, BE, Li, W, Chappell, M, Jiang, X, Ondrejka, SL, Hsi, ED, Maciejewski, JP, Yi, Q, Anderson, KC, Munshi, NC, Ao, G, Valent, JN, Lin, J & Zhao, J 2020, , Cancer research, vol. 80, no. 10, pp. 2031-2044. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-1077 Enhanced lipid accumulation and metabolism are required for the differentiation and activation of tumor-associated macrophages Su, P, Wang, Q, Bi, E, Ma, X, Liu, L, Yang, M, Qian, J & Yi, Q 2020, Cancer research, vol. 80, no. 7, pp. 1438-1450. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-2994 Identification of an immunogenic DKK1 long peptide for immunotherapy of human multiple myeloma Li, R, Zheng, C, Wang, Q, Bi, E, Yang, M, Hou, J, Fu, W, Yi, Q & Qian, J 2020, , Haematologica. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2019.236836 The many substrates and functions of NEDD4-1 Huang, X, Chen, J, Cao, W, Yang, L, Chen, Q, He, J, Yi, Q, Huang, H, Zhang, E & Cai, Z 2019, , Cell Death and Disease, vol. 10, no. 12, 904. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-019-2142-8 CCL2 promotes macrophages-associated chemoresistance via MCPIP1 dual catalytic activities in multiple myeloma Xu, R, Li, Y, Yan, H, Zhang, E, Huang, X, Chen, Q, Chen, J, Qu, J, Liu, Y, He, J, Yi, Q & Cai, Z 2019, , Cell death & disease, vol. 10, no. 10, pp. 781. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-019-2012-4 Cholesterol induces T cell exhaustion Ma, X & Yi, Q 2019, , Aging, vol. 11, no. 18, pp. 7334-7335. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102305 The NEDD4-1 E3 ubiquitin ligase: A potential molecular target for bortezomib sensitivity in multiple myeloma Huang, X, Gu, H, Zhang, E, Chen, Q, Cao, W, Yan, H, Chen, J, Yang, L, Lv, N, He, J, Yi, Q & Cai, Z 2019, , International Journal of Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32615 Cholesterol Induces CD8+ T Cell Exhaustion in the Tumor Microenvironment Ma, X, Bi, E, Lu, Y, Su, P, Huang, C, Liu, L, Wang, Q, Yang, M, Kalady, MF, Qian, J, Zhang, A, Gupte, AA, Hamilton, DJ, Zheng, C & Yi, Q 2019, , Cell Metabolism, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 143-156.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.04.002 Multiple myeloma cell-derived IL-32? increases the immunosuppressive function of macrophages by promoting indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression Yan, H, Dong, M, Liu, X, Shen, Q, He, D, Huang, X, Zhang, E, Lin, X, Chen, Q, Guo, X, Chen, J, Zheng, G, Wang, G, He, J, Yi, Q & Cai, Z 2019, , Cancer Letters, vol. 446, pp. 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2019.01.012 TNF-a enhances Th9 cell differentiation and antitumor immunity via TNFR2-dependent pathways Jiang, Y, Chen, J, Bi, E, Zhao, Y, Qin, T, Wang, Y, Wang, A, Gao, S, Yi, Q & Wang, S 2019, , Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, vol. 7, no. 1, 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40425-018-0494-8 Reprogrammed marrow adipocytes contribute to myeloma-induced bone disease Liu, H, He, J, Koh, SP, Zhong, Y, Liu, Z, Wang, Z, Zhang, Y, Li, Z, Tam, BT, Lin, P, Xiao, M, Young, KH, Amini, B, Starbuck, MW, Lee, HC, Navone, NM, Davis, RE, Tong, Q, Bergsagel, PL, Hou, J, Yi, Q, Orlowski, RZ, Gagel, RF & Yang, J 2019, , Science translational medicine, vol. 11, no. 494, eaau9087. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aau9087 MicroRNA-31-5p enhances the Warburg effect via targeting FIH Zhu, B, Cao, X, Zhang, W, Pan, G, Yi, Q, Zhong, W & Yan, D 2019, , FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 545-556. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201800803R E-cadherin expression on multiple myeloma cells activates tumor-promoting properties in plasmacytoid DCs Bi, E, Li, R, Bover, LC, Li, H, Su, P, Ma, X, Huang, C, Wang, Q, Liu, L, Yang, M, Lin, Z, Qian, J, Fu, W, Liu, Y-J & Yi, Q 2018, , The Journal of clinical investigation, vol. 128, no. 11, pp. 4821-4831. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI121421 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces peripheral blood abnormalities and plasma cell neoplasms resembling multiple myeloma in mice Wang, L, Kumar, M, Deng, Q, Wang, X, Liu, M, Gong, Z, Zhang, S, Ma, X, Xu-Monette, ZY, Xiao, M, Yi, Q, Young, KH, Ramos, KS & Li, Y 2019, , Cancer Letters, vol. 440-441, pp. 135-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2018.10.009 Targeting the MALAT1/PARP1/LIG3 complex induces DNA damage and apoptosis in multiple myeloma Hu, Y, Lin, J, Fang, H, Fang, J, Li, C, Chen, W, Liu, S, Ondrejka, S, Gong, Z, Reu, F, Maciejewski, J, Yi, Q & Zhao, J-J 2018, , Leukemia, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 2250-2262. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-018-0104-2 IL-33 drives the antitumor effects of dendritic cells via the induction of Tc9 cells Liu, N, Jiang, Y, Chen, J, Nan, H, Zhao, Y, Chu, X, Wang, A, Wang, D, Qin, T, Gao, S, Yi, Q, Yue, Y & Wang, S 2018, , Cellular and Molecular Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-018-0166-0 Therapeutic effects of the novel subtype-selective histone deacetylase inhibitor chidamide on myeloma-associated bone disease He, J, Chen, Q, Gu, H, Chen, J, Zhang, E, Guo, X, Huang, X, Yan, H, He, D, Yang, Y, Zhao, Y, Wang, G, He, H, Yi, Q & Cai, Z 2018, , Haematologica, vol. 103, no. 8, pp. 1369-1379. https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2017.181172