The Courtney Page Zillman Doctoral Fellowship Program
TUFT began funding the program in 2000. Young, ambitious scientist apply for these positions and are extensively interviewed by the highly regarded and dedicated doctors at Steele Research Center. Once selected, these fellows work under the close supervision of Dr. Emmanuel Katsanis.
2000-03 Fellow Yi Zeng
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)
View Past Fellowship Recipients
2008-2010: Fellow Collin LaCasse
2005-2007: Fellow Jessica Cantrell
2003-2005: Fellow Xinchun Chen
2003-2005: Fellow Ryan Falsey
2000-2003: Fellow Yi Zeng
2000-2003: Fellow Jason Beliakoff