Yong-Chen William Lu, PhD

Research Program: Cancer Biology Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor Campus: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College: College of Medicine Department: Pathology Research Faculty

Cancer Research Interest

• Disease Site Focus: Melanoma, GI, Breast, Brain
• Research Focus Area: Treatment, Health Disparities, Informatics
• Type of Research: Basic, Clinical
• Research Keywords: Cancer Immunotherapy, T cell biology, Single-cell Genomics, Mutated antigen / neoantigen
• Research Interest Statement: My research focuses on the development of effective T cell-based immunotherapies for patients with metastatic cancers. I has played a pivotal role in the successful cancer treatments using the T-cell therapies targeting shared cancer antigens or patient-specific mutated antigens. More recently, I also utilize single-cell sequencing technologies to facilitate the development of new T-cell therapies against cancer.

Contact Information

• Email Address: YLU@UAMS.EDU
• Profiles Research Networking Software: View Profile

Active Grants

• Arkansas Breast Cancer Research Program – AWD00055866
  “ABCRP Fy24 award - Yong-Chen William Lu”
  Principal Investigator
  9/1/2023 – 8/31/2025

Recent Publications

• Maravelia P, Yao H, Cai C, [et al., including Lu YW]. Unlocking novel T cell-based immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma through neoantigen-driven T cell receptor isolation. Gut. 2025. PMID: 39832892.
• Kirkpatrick C, Lu YW. Deciphering CD4(+) T cell-mediated responses against cancer. Molecular carcinogenesis. 2024 63(7):1209-1220. PMID: 38725218. PMCID: PMC11166516.
• Kim SP, Vale NR, Zacharakis N, [et al., including Lu YC]. Adoptive Cellular Therapy with Autologous Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and T-cell Receptor-Engineered T Cells Targeting Common p53 Neoantigens in Human Solid Tumors. Cancer immunology research. 2022:OF1-OF15. PMID: 35749374. PMCID: PMC9357191.
• Lin CC, Chang TY, Lu YC, [et al.]. TREM-2 mediates dendritic cell-induced NO to suppress Th17 activation and ameliorate chronic kidney diseases. Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany). 2022 100(6):917-931. PMID: 35532794.
• Lowery FJ, Krishna S, Yossef R, [et al., including Lu YC]. Molecular signatures of antitumor neoantigen-reactive T cells from metastatic human cancers. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2022:eabl5447. PMID: 35113651. PMCID: PMC8996692.
• Dai L, Lu YC, Chen J, [et al.]. Oral Shedding of an Oncogenic Virus Alters the Oral Microbiome in HIV+ Patients. Frontiers in microbiology. 2022 13:882520. PMID: 35516440. PMCID: PMC9063630.
• Davis L, Tarduno A, Lu YC. Neoantigen-Reactive T Cells: The Driving Force behind Successful Melanoma Immunotherapy. Cancers. 2021 13(23). PMID: 34885172. PMCID: PMC8657037.
• Maravelia P, Silva DN, Rovesti G, [et al., including Lu YC]. Liquid Biopsy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Opportunities and Challenges for Immunotherapy. Cancers. 2021 13(17). PMID: 34503144. PMCID: PMC8431414.
• Leko V, Cafri G, Yossef R, [et al., including Lu YC]. Identification of neoantigen-reactive T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of a patient with glioblastoma. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer. 2021 9(7). PMID: 34266885. PMCID: PMC8286793.
• Lu YC, Zheng Z, Lowery FJ, [et al.]. Direct identification of neoantigen-specific TCRs from tumor specimens by high-throughput single-cell sequencing. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer. 2021 9(7). PMID: 34321276. PMCID: PMC8320258.
• Pasetto A, Lu YC. Single-Cell TCR and Transcriptome Analysis: An Indispensable Tool for Studying T-Cell Biology and Cancer Immunotherapy. Frontiers in immunology. 2021 12:689091. PMID: 34163487. PMCID: PMC8215674.
• Shibata T, Shah S, Evans T, [et al., including Lu YC]. Expansion of Human Papillomavirus-Specific T Cells in Periphery and Cervix in a Therapeutic Vaccine Recipient Whose Cervical High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion Regressed. Frontiers in immunology. 2021 12:645299. PMID: 34659195. PMCID: PMC8515132.
• Lu YC, Wang XJ. Harnessing the power of the immune system in cancer immunotherapy and cancer prevention. Molecular carcinogenesis. 2020 59(7):675-678. PMID: 32386070.