Prof ZHOU Jingying - School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK

Prof ZHOU Jingying

Assistant Professor

39431350

zhoujy@cuhk.edu.hk

Room 509A, 5/F, Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Sciences Building, Area 39, CUHK

Publons

ORCID

Biography

Prof. ZHOU Jingying (周京穎) obtained her Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from the AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2013 and received the Awards for Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student (HKU). She continued her research as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Alfred Cheng’s lab, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 2018 and Assistant Professor in 2022. Prof. Zhou has published in international journals including Science Translational Medicine, Gut, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cancer Research, Nature Communications, Nature Microbiology and served as co-inventor of two U.S. patents on DNA vaccines. She has received academic awards including recognitions from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), United European Gastroenterology (UEG) and AstraZeneca. Prof. Zhou’s current research interests are focusing on studying the neuroimmunomodulations and immunometabolism in cancer metastasis and cancer immunotherapy, using integrative platforms of high-dimensional flow cytometry, immune cell tracing methods, cellular metabolomics neurotropic virus tracing, optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations, and the latest single-cell sequencing technologies. Different orthotopic mouse models including breast cancer, melanoma, colon cancer and liver cancer models as well as related patient specimens will be integrated.

Research Interests

T cell-based immunotherapies in gastrointestinal cancers
Liver immunity in gastrointestinal cancer metastases
Neuro-immune axis in gastrointestinal cancers

Selected Publications

Feng Y*, Ma W*, Zang Y, Guo Y, Li Y, Zhang Y, Dong X, Liu Y, Zhan X, Pan Z, Luo M, Wu M, Chen A, Kang D, Chen G#, Liu L#, Zhou J#, Zhang R#. Spatially organized tumor-stroma boundary determines the efficacy of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer patients. Nat Commun. 2024 In press.
Liu X, Liu M, Wu H, Tang W, Yang W, Chan TTH, Zhang L, Chen S, Xiong Z, Liang J, Si-Tou WWY, Shu T, Li J, Cao J, Zhong C, Sun H, Kwong TT, Leung HHW, Wong J, Lai PBS, To KF, Xiang T, Sung JJY, Chan SL, Zhou J#, Cheng AS#. PPP1R15A-expressing monocytic MDSCs promote immunosuppressive liver microenvironment in fibrosis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. JHEP Reports. 2024 Apr.
Xiong Z*, Chan SL*, Zhou J*, Vong JSL, Kwong TT, Zeng X, Wu H, Cao J, Tu Y, Feng Y, Yang W, Wong PPC, Liu X, Wang J, Tang W, Liang Z, Lu J, Li KM, Leung HHW, Chan AWH, To KF, Yip KYL, Lo YMD, Sung JJY#, Cheng AS#. Targeting PPAR-gamma counteracts tumor adaptation to immune-checkpoint blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma. Gut. 2023;72:1758-1773.
Tang W, Zhou J#, Yang W, Feng Y, Wu H, Mok MTS, Zhang L, Liang Z, Liu X, Xiong Z, Zeng Z, Wang J, Lu J, Li J, Sun H, Tian X, Yeung PC, Hou Y, Lee HM, Lam CCH, Leung HHW, Chan AWH, To KF, Wong J, Lai PBS, Ng KKC, Wong SKH, Wong VWS, Kong APS, Sung JJY, Cheng AS#. Aberrant cholesterol metabolic signaling impairs antitumor immunosurveillance through natural killer T cell dysfunction in obese liver. Cell Mol Immunol. 2022 July.19; 834–847.
Zeng X, Zhou J#, Xiong Z, Sun H, Yang W, Mok M, Wang J, Li J, Liu M, Tang W, Feng Y, Wang HKS, Tsang SW, Chow KL, Yeung C, Wong J, Lai PBS, Chan AWH, To KF, Chan SL, Xia Q, Xue J, Chen X, Yu J, Peng S, Sung JJY, Kuang M, Cheng AS#. Cell cycle-related kinase reprograms the liver immune microenvironment to promote cancer metastasis. Cell Mol Immunol. 2021 Apr;18(4):1005-1015.
Yang W*, Feng Y*, Zhou J*, Cheung OK, Cao JQ, Wang J, Tang WS, Tu YL, Xu LL, Wu F, Tan Z, Sun H, Tian Y, Wong J, Lai PB, Chan SL, Chan AW, Tan P, Chen Z, Sung JJ, Yip KYL, To KF, Cheng AS. Enhancer reprogramming by selective HDAC8 inhibition potentiates T cell infiltration and durable antitumor efficacy of PD-L1 blockade. Sci Transl Med. 2021 Apr 7;13(588).
Liu M*, Zhou J*, Liu X, Feng Y, Yang W; Wu F; Cheung OKW; Sun H; Zeng X; Tang W; Mok M; Wong J; Yeung PC; Lai PBS; Jin H; Chen J; Chan SL; Chan AWH; To KF; Chen Z; Sung JJ; Chen M; Cheng AS. Targeting Monocyte-intrinsic Enhancer Reprogramming Improves Immunotherapy Efficacy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Gut. 2020 Feb; 69(2):365-379.
Zhou J, Liu M, Sun H, Feng Y, Xu L, Chan AWH, Tong JH, Wong J, Chong CCN, Lai PBS, Wang HK, Tsang SW, Goodwin T, Liu R, Huang L, Chen Z, Sung JJ, Chow KL, To KF, Cheng AS. Hepatoma-intrinsic CCRK inhibition diminishes myeloid-derived suppressor cell immunosuppression and enhances immune-checkpoint blockade efficacy. Gut. 2018 May; 67:931-944.
Zhou J*, Cheung KL*, Henggui Liu*, Tan Z, Xian Tang, Yuanxi Kang, Yanhua Du, Haibo Wang, Liu L, Chen Z. Potentiating functional antigen-specific CD8+ T cell immunity by a novel PD1 isoform-based fusion DNA vaccine. Mol Ther. 2013 Jul; 21(7): 1445-1455.
Zhou J, Cheung KL, Tan Z, Wang H, Yu W, Du Y, Liu L, Yuen K, Chen Z. PD1-based vaccine amplifies CD8+T cell immunity in mice. J Clin Invest. 2013 Jun; 123(6):2629-42.

(*:co-first authors; #:co-corresponding authors)

Grants

Co-PI, RGC Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2024/25, T11-702/24-N ‘Sustained cART-free HIV-1 control by immunotherapeutic interventions’, RGC, 01-Jan-2025 to 31-Dec-2029, HK$66,762,000.
PI, General Research Fund 2024/25, 14103624 ‘Unravelling the immunoregulatory role of sympathetic innervation in cancer liver metastases’, RGC, 01-Jan-2025 to 31-Dec-2027, HK$1,559,580.
PI, General Research Fund 2023/24, 24110323 ‘Deciphering T helper-2 cell immunity in cancer liver metastasis-associated immunotherapy resistance’, RGC, 01-Jan-2024 to 31-Dec-2026, HK$1,573,774.
PI, General Research Fund 2022/23, 14107622 ‘Mechanistic delineation of hepatoma-intrinsic FADD in modulating anti-tumor CD8+T cell response’, RGC, 01-Jan-2023 to 31-Dec-2024, HK$883,197.
PI, General Research Fund 2020/21, 14104820 ‘Delineating the immunoregulatory role of cholesterol on natural killer T cells in cancer liver metastases’, RGC, 01-Jan-2021 to 31-Dec-2023, HK$996,285.
PI, Health and Medical Research Fund 2020, 07180556 ‘Improving liver cancer immunotherapy by co-targeting monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells’, FHB, 1-Sep-2020 to 31-Aug-2022, HK$1,000,000.
PI, General Research Fund 2019/20, 14108219 ‘Mechanistic delineation of myeloid CCRK signaling in tumor immunosuppression’. RGC, 1-Jan-2020 to 31-Dec-2021, HK$1,004,845.