Yu L Lei, DDS, PhD, Diplomate ABOMP
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Associate Professor, Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Clinical Interests
I am a board-certified Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologists. I provide histologic and molecular diagnoses for oral premalignant lesions, oral autoimmune conditions, oral cancers, and odontogenic lesions. In addition, I specialize in the clinical diagnosis and management of complex oral mucosal conditions, such as oral pre-malignant lesions, oral lichen planus, benign membrane pemphigoid, pemphigus, and cancer treatment-associated oral mucositis.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2011 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, PHD, Immunology |
| 2006 | West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, CHN, DDS, Dentistry |
Postgraduate Training
| 2014-2014 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Head and Neck Oncology Research, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA |
| 2011-2014 | Clinical Residency, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA |
| 2011-2011 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2015 | American Heart Association - Basic Life Support |
| 2014 | American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021 - 2024
Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021 - 2024
Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 2016 - 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, 2015 - 2021
Other Professional Positions
Attending Oral Oncologist, Head and Neck Cancer Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2024 - Present
Key Opinion Leader Advisory Board Member, Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, New York, NY, 2021 - 2022
Scientific Advisory Board Member, Saros Therapeutics, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021 - Present
Co-Founder, Saros Therapeutics, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021 - Present
Attending Oral Pathologist, University of Michigan Oral Pathology Biopsy Service, Ann Arbor, MI, 2015 - 2024
Honors & Awards
| 2024 | AACR Scholar-in-Training Award supported by an independent educational grant from AbbVie, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Conference |
| 2024 | NCI-Sponsored Travel Award (Mentor; Awardee - Wang Gong), Cancer Moonshot Immuno-Oncology Translational Network Capstone Meeting, Bethesda, MD |
| 2024 | NCI-Sponsored Travel Award (Mentor; Awardee: Hulya F. Taner), Cancer Moonshot Immuno-Oncology Translational Network Capstone Meeting, Bethesda, MD |
| 2023 - 2024 | Mentor for class 2023-2024, AADOCR MIND the Future Program |
| 2022 | Basic and Translational Research Award, 27th Annual Hinman Student Research Symposium |
| 2022 | Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine, United States National Academy of Medicine |
| 2022 | Merging Leaders in Health and Medicine, United States National Academy of Medicine |
| 2021 | Balint-Orban Memorial Award Basic Science Winner, American Academy of Periodontology |
| 2021 | Single-Cell Multimodal Data Integration Competition for Modality Prediction, 35th Neural Information Processing Systems Conference |
| 2021 | Virtual IMMUNOLOGY2021™ Presidents' Reception, American Association of Immunologists |
| 2021 - 2022 | Mentor for class 2021-2022, AADOCR MIND the Future Program |
| 2021 | First Place Award, Single-Cell Multimodal Data Integration Competition for Modality Prediction, 35th Neural Information Processing Systems Conference |
| 2019 | Rising Stars Award, National Institutes of Health |
| 2017 | First Place, Joseph Lister Award for New Investigators, International Association for Dental Research |
| 2017 | Star Peer Reviewer, Springer - Head and Neck Pathology |
| 2014 - 2019 | Dentist-Scientist Pathway to Independence Award, National Institute of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH/NIDCR) |
| 2014 | The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) (T32), National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) |
| 2014 | Top Reviewer, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology |
| 2013 | Leon Barnes Award, United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology |
| 2012 | Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Award, Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists |
| 2010 | Derek T. Turner Award for Excellence in Dental Research, North Carolina Local Section of the American Association for Dental Research |
| 2010 | Freedland Advanced Dental Education Fellowships, North Carolina Local Section of the American Association for Dental Research |
| 2008 | Derek T. Turner Award for Excellence in Dental Research, North Carolina Local Section of the American Association for Dental Research |
Professional Memberships
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2024 - 2028 |
| Title: | Intercepting the Evolution of Pro-tumoral Myeloid Cells During the Initiation of Oral Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Mentor |
| ID: | F31 DE033922 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Advancing On-Slide and Optical Biopsy Tools to Detect High-Risk Oral Premalignancy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| ID: | U01 DE033330-01 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2025 |
| Title: | Process Development and Preclinical Advancement of a Novel Nanoparticle Formulation for Immune Activation |
| Funding Source: | Saros Therapeutics |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R44 CA281497-01A1 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2024 |
| Title: | New Nanoparticle Platform for Metallo-Immunotherapy, Phase II |
| Funding Source: | Frankel Innovation Initiative |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Examining the role of the miR-181a:Wnt/B-catenin axis in ovarian cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01 CA197780-06A1 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Preclinical development of first-in-class GSTO1 degraders for colorectal cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH-DHHS |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01 CA266513 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Engineered Nano-formulations for STING Activation |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01 DE031951 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Salivary gland cancer stem cells |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01DE021139 |
| Date: | 2021 - 2025 |
| Title: | Targeting TRIM29 to Reverse Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Resistance in Bladder Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Damon Runyon Cancer Research |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Date: | 2021 - 2026 |
| Title: | New Engineering Strategy for Harnessing Immune System Against Head and Neck Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01 DE030691 |
| Date: | 2020 - 2025 |
| Title: | Sensitizing High Grade Serous Cancers to Immunotherapy through the Induction of DNA Damage |
| Funding Source: | NIH-DHHS |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | 5 R01 CA251198-05 |
| Date: | 2020 - 2025 |
| Title: | Targeting the DNA damage response in combination with radiation to induce innate immunity and improve immunotherapy efficacy in pancreatic cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | R01 CA240515 |
| Date: | 2019 - 2024 |
| Title: | Hulya Taner - Immuno-Prevention Strategies for High Risk Oral Epithelial Dysplasia |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| ID: | U01 DE02925501 |
| Date: | 2019 - 2024 |
| Title: | Robust Immuno-prevention Strategies for High-Risk Oral Epithelial Dysplasia |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| ID: | U01 DE02925501 |
| Date: | 2019 - 2024 |
| Title: | Enhance Immunoprevention by Blocking Early Expansion of Suppressive Myeloid Cells – NIH Competitive Administrative Supplement |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| ID: | U01 DE02925501 |
| Date: | 2018 - 2028 |
| Title: | Restoring the Immunogenicity of Head and Neck Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIDCR |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| ID: | 2R01 DE026728 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Han K, Xie F, Animasahun O, Nenwani M, Kitamoto S, Kim Y, Phoo MT, Xu J, Wuchu F, Omoloja K, Achreja A, Choppara S, Li Z, Gong W, Cho YS, Dobson H, Ahn J, Zhou X, Huang X, An X, Kim A, Xu Y, Wu Q, Lee SH, O'Konek JJ, Xie Y, Lei YL, Kamada N, Nagrath D, Moon JJ. Inulin-gel-based oral immunotherapy remodels the small intestinal microbiome and suppresses food allergy. Nat Mater. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38977883.
- Sun X, Zhou X, Shi X, Abed OA, An X, Lei YL, Moon JJ. Strategies for the development of metalloimmunotherapies. Nat Biomed Eng. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38914800.
- Aikins ME, Sun X, Dobson H, Zhou X, Xu Y, Lei YL, Moon JJ. STING-activating cyclic dinucleotide-manganese nanoparticles evoke robust immunity against acute myeloid leukemia. J Control Release 368:768-779, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38492861.
- Sun X, Huang X, Park KS, Zhou X, Kennedy AA, Pretto CD, Wu Q, Wan Z, Xu Y, Gong W, Sexton JZ, Tai AW, Lei YL, Moon JJ. Self-Assembled STING-Activating Coordination Nanoparticles for Cancer Immunotherapy and Vaccine Applications. ACS Nano 18(15):10439-10453, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38567994.
- Lo BC, Kryczek I, Yu J, Vatan L, Caruso R, Matsumoto M, Sato Y, Shaw MH, Inohara N, Xie Y, Lei YL, Zou W, Núñez G. Microbiota-dependent activation of CD4+ T cells induces CTLA-4 blockade-associated colitis via Fcγ receptors. Science 383(6678):62-70, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38175892.
- Xu C, Dobson HE, Yu M, Gong W, Sun X, Park KS, Kennedy A, Zhou X, Xu J, Xu Y, Tai AW, Lei YL, Moon JJ. STING agonist-loaded mesoporous manganese-silica nanoparticles for vaccine applications. J Control Release 357:84-93, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36948420.
- Heath BR, Gong W, Taner HF, Broses L, Okuyama K, Cheng W, Jin M, Fitzsimonds ZR, Manousidaki A, Wu Y, Zhang S, Wen H, Chinn SB, Bartee E, Xie Y, Moon JJ, Lei YL. Saturated fatty acids dampen the immunogenicity of cancer by suppressing STING. Cell Rep 42(4):112303, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36952341.
- Barnett KC, Xie Y, Asakura T, Song D, Liang K, Taft-Benz SA, Guo H, Yang S, Okuda K, Gilmore RC, Loome JF, Oguin Iii TH, Sempowski GD, Randell SH, Heise MT, Lei YL, Boucher RC, Ting JP. An epithelial-immune circuit amplifies inflammasome and IL-6 responses to SARS-CoV-2. Cell Host Microbe 31(2):243-259.e6, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36563691.
- Zhao B, Gong W, Ma A, Chen J, Velegraki M, Dong H, Liu Z, Wang L, Okimoto T, Jones DM, Lei YL, Long M, Oestreich KJ, Ma Q, Xin G, Carbone DP, He K, Li Z, Wen H. SUSD2 suppresses CD8+ T cell antitumor immunity by targeting IL-2 receptor signaling. Nat Immunol 23(11):1588-1599, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36266363.
- Hong HS, Mbah NE, Shan M, Loesel K, Lin L, Sajjakulnukit P, Correa LO, Andren A, Lin J, Hayashi A, Magnuson B, Chen J, Li Z, Xie Y, Zhang L, Goldstein DR, Carty SA, Lei YL, Opipari AW, Argüello RJ, Kryczek I, Kamada N, Zou W, Franchi L, Lyssiotis CA. OXPHOS promotes apoptotic resistance and cellular persistence in TH17 cells in the periphery and tumor microenvironment. Sci Immunol 7(77):eabm8182, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36399539.
- Sun X, Zhang Y, Li J, Park KS, Han K, Zhou X, Xu Y, Nam J, Xu J, Shi X, Wei L, Lei YL, Moon JJ. Amplifying STING activation by cyclic dinucleotide-manganese particles for local and systemic cancer metalloimmunotherapy. Nat Nanotechnol 16(11):1260-1270, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34594005.
- Donnelly CR, Jiang C, Andriessen AS, Wang K, Wang Z, Ding H, Zhao J, Luo X, Lee MS, Lei YL, Maixner W, Ko MC, Ji RR. STING controls nociception via type I interferon signalling in sensory neurons. Nature 591(7849):275-280, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33442058.
- Wang CW, Hao Y, Di Gianfilippo R, Sugai J, Li J, Gong W, Kornman KS, Wang HL, Kamada N, Xie Y, Giannobile WV, Lei YL. Machine learning-assisted immune profiling stratifies peri-implantitis patients with unique microbial colonization and clinical outcomes. Theranostics 11(14):6703-6716, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34093848.
- Gong W, Donnelly CR, Heath BR, Bellile E, Donnelly LA, Taner HF, Broses L, Brenner JC, Chinn SB, Ji RR, Wen H, Nör JE, Wang J, Wolf GT, Xie Y, Lei YL. Cancer-specific type-I interferon receptor signaling promotes cancer stemness and effector CD8+ T-cell exhaustion. Oncoimmunology 10(1):1997385, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34858725.
- Kitamoto S, Nagao-Kitamoto H, Jiao Y, Gillilland MG, Hayashi A, Imai J, Sugihara K, Miyoshi M, Brazil JC, Kuffa P, Hill BD, Rizvi SM, Wen F, Bishu S, Inohara N, Eaton KA, Nusrat A, Lei YL, Giannobile WV, Kamada N. The Intermucosal Connection between the Mouth and Gut in Commensal Pathobiont-Driven Colitis. Cell 182(2):447-462.e14, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32758418.
- Deng M, Tam JW, Wang L, Liang K, Li S, Zhang L, Guo H, Luo X, Zhang Y, Petrucelli A, Davis BK, Conti BJ, June Brickey W, Ko CC, Lei YL, Sun S, Ting JP. TRAF3IP3 negatively regulates cytosolic RNA induced anti-viral signaling by promoting TBK1 K48 ubiquitination. Nat Commun 11(1):2193, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32366851.
- Luo X, Donnelly CR, Gong W, Heath BR, Hao Y, Donnelly LA, Moghbeli T, Tan YS, Lin X, Bellile E, Kansy BA, Carey TE, Brenner JC, Cheng L, Polverini PJ, Morgan MA, Wen H, Prince ME, Ferris RL, Xie Y, Young S, Wolf GT, Chen Q, Lei YL. HPV16 drives cancer immune escape via NLRX1-mediated degradation of STING. J Clin Invest 130(4):1635-1652, 2020. PMID: 31874109.
- Hao Y, Yan M, Heath BR, Lei YL, Xie Y. Fast and robust deconvolution of tumor infiltrating lymphocyte from expression profiles using least trimmed squares. PLoS Comput Biol 15(5):e1006976, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31059559.
- Tan YS, Sansanaphongpricha K, Xie Y, Donnelly CR, Luo X, Heath BR, Zhao X, Bellile E, Hu H, Chen H, Polverini PJ, Chen Q, Young S, Carey TE, Nör JE, Ferris RL, Wolf GT, Sun D, Lei YL. Mitigating SOX2-potentiated Immune Escape of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma with a STING-inducing Nanosatellite Vaccine. Clin Cancer Res 24(17):4242-4255, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29769207.
- Lei Y, Kansy BA, Li J, Cong L, Liu Y, Trivedi S, Wen H, Ting JP, Ouyang H, Ferris RL. EGFR-targeted mAb therapy modulates autophagy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through NLRX1-TUFM protein complex. Oncogene 35(36):4698-707, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26876213.
- Lei Y, Wen H, Yu Y, Taxman DJ, Zhang L, Widman DG, Swanson KV, Wen KW, Damania B, Moore CB, Giguère PM, Siderovski DP, Hiscott J, Razani B, Semenkovich CF, Chen X, Ting JP. The mitochondrial proteins NLRX1 and TUFM form a complex that regulates type I interferon and autophagy. Immunity 36(6):933-46, 2012. PMID: 22749352.
- Wen H, Lei Y, Eun SY, Ting JP. Plexin-A4-semaphorin 3A signaling is required for Toll-like receptor- and sepsis-induced cytokine storm. J Exp Med 207(13):2943-57, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21098092.
- Ting JP, Duncan JA, Lei Y. How the noninflammasome NLRs function in the innate immune system. Science 327(5963):286-90, 2010. PMID: 20075243.
- Moore CB, Bergstralh DT, Duncan JA, Lei Yb, Morrison TE, Zimmermann AG, Accavitti-Loper MA, Madden VJ, Sun L, Ye Z, Lich JD, Heise MT, Chen Z, Ting JP. NLRX1 is a regulator of mitochondrial antiviral immunity. Nature 451(7178):573-7, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18200010.
Abstracts
- Ding J, Li L, Lu Q, Venegas J, Wang Y, Wu L, Jin W, Wen H, Liu R, Tang W, Li Z, Zuo W, Chang Y, Lei YL, Shang L, Danaher P, Xie Y, Tang J. SPATIALCTD: a large-scale TME spatial transcriptomic dataset to evaluate cell type deconvolution for immuno-oncology. 28th Annual International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB), Boston, MA, 2024, 2024.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 26, 2024