Sun Laboratory
Shao-Cong Sun, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Areas of Research
- Immunology Research
- Immunotherapy Research
Research in the Sun Laboratory concerns signal transduction that regulates immune cell functions, with a focus on T cell activation and tolerance. T cells play a central role in immune responses against pathogens and cancer. Under normal conditions, T cells mount robust responses to foreign antigens while maintaining tolerance to self-antigens. While tolerance is an important mechanism to prevent autoimmune diseases, it also poses a major obstacle for immune responses against cancer. Our goal is to better understand the signaling mechanisms that regulate T cell activation and self-tolerance, thereby improving immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Meet the Team
May 2018, front row (from left to right): Zuliang Jie, Tianxiao Gao, Jiseong Kim, Blanca Estela Hernandez, Xuhong Cheng, Yu Zheng, and Meidi Gu. Back row (from left to right): Chun-Jung Ko, Yanchuan Li, Lele Zhu, Xiaoping Xie, Shao-Cong Sun, Donghyun Joo, Jin-Young Yang, and Xiaofei Zhou.
Research Focus
An important part of ongoing research in the lab is to dissect ubiquitin-dependent signaling pathways and the NF-kB signaling pathway in the regulation of T-cell activation and tolerance in animal models of autoimmunity and antitumor immunity.
Publications
Contact Information
Shao-Cong Sun, Ph.D.
Department of Immunology
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
7455 Fannin Street, Unit 902, 1SCR 4.2019
Houston, TX 77030
Email: ssun@mdanderson.org