Yang Zhao

A Cytokine Receptor Signaling Atlas Reveals How STAT Mosaics Fine-Tune T Cell Function

A fully orthogonal IL-2 receptor platform isolates 36 cytokine receptors in T cells; receptor-specific STAT combinations specify distinct fates, and STAT3-dominant programs give curative antitumor responses.

All-by-All Cytokine Receptor Pairing Network Unlocks Coding of Non-Natural T Cell States

The paper uses synthetic cytokine receptor pairings to generate novel T cell states with distinct functions, revealing how pairing orientation and STAT combinatorics influence cell fate.

Metabolic reinvigoration of NK cells by IL-21 enhances immunotherapy against MHC-I deficient solid tumors

This paper shows that IL-21-Fc reprograms NK cell metabolism to enhance their function against MHC-I deficient tumors, leading to tumor eradication in preclinical models.

Design of facilitated dissociation enables control over cytokine signaling duration

The paper designs proteins with controlled dissociation rates by introducing strained excited states, enabling rapid cytokine receptor dissociation.

De novo design and structure of a peptide-centric TCR mimic binding module

A de novo four-helix bundle designed with RFdiffusion and ProteinMPNN binds NY-ESO-1/HLA-A*02 at Kd 9.5 nM, with a 2.05 Å crystal structure and peptide-focused docking.