Research:
My research in Dr. Katsanis' lab is mainly focused on developing novel vaccines against cancers, including pediatric cancers. One of the immunotherapeutic strategies I am currently working with is generating vaccines from tumors. My work has shown that these vaccines can stimulate the host immune system to carry out better functions. Injections of such vaccines into mice is able to protect mice from developing tumor or to delay tumor growth in mice with tumors. Some future work will involve the combination of these vaccines with chemotherapy drugs for more potent anti-cancer therapies.

Yi Zeng

Publications:
1. He L., Feng H., Raymond A., Kreeger M, Zeng Y., Graner M.W., Whitesell L., Katsanis E. Dendritic cell-peptide immunization provides immunoprotection against bcr-abl positive leukemia in mice. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy 2001, 50(1):31-40

2. Feng H., Zeng Y., Whitesell L., Katsanis E. Stressed apoptotic tumor cells express heat shock proteins and elicit tumor specific immunity. Blood 2001, 97(11):3505-12

3. Zeng Y., Feng H., Graner M., Katsanis E.: Dendritic cells loaded with tumor-derived multiple chaperone proteins enriched by free solution-isoelectric focusing yield significant protective immunity. (submitted to Blood)

4. Graner M.W., Zeng Y., Feng H., Katsanis E. Tumor-derived multi-chaerone complexes prepared by free solution-isoelectric focusing are effective prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against a wide variety of tumor types (in preparation)