Research Interests

• Tumor mass consists not only of a heterogeneous population of cancer cells but also the surrounding blood vessels, immune cells, fibroblasts, secreted factors and extracellular matrix proteins, collectively known as the tumor microenvironment (TME). Intriguingly, the primary tumor itself is also able to influence and alter the environment of secondary organs by promoting the formation of supportive metastatic microenvironment, termed “pre-metastatic niche”, prior to tumor cell dissemination. Type I interferons (IFNs) have a major role not only in antiviral immune responses but also in anti-tumor immunity. Our lab research focuses on the role of type I IFN signaling in TME to investigate the mechanisms underlying tumor immune evasion and the generation of pre-metastatic niche, which may enable the development of new therapeutic interventions aimed at promoting anti-tumor immune response.