A major focus of the lab is to study the molecular mechanisms that regulate T cell activation, differentiation, effector function, and exhaustion using a variety of cutting-edge techniques, such as signal transduction, CRISPR library screening, single-cell RNA sequencing, and knockout mouse models. Our recent work also includes the use of bioinformatics to analyze tumor sequencing databases of cancer patients, identify cancer immunomodulators, and then conduct mechanistic studies using mouse models. Autoimmune studies include mouse models of multiple sclerosis, SLE, and colitis. Professor Sun's team has made many significant contributions in this field, including the discovery of key factors regulating T cell functions in autoimmunity and cancer immunity. Our work also has strong translational potential and plays an important guiding role in drug development and disease treatment. The laboratory also uses mouse models of cancer immunotherapy to conduct translational studies and explore improved methods of immunotherapy.

Representative Publications