Phong T. Le

Phong T. Le, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Cancer Biology at Loyola University Chicago (LUC). His research focuses on understanding T-cell development and thymic epithelial cell biology, with a particular interest in exosomes as therapeutic tools. He leads a laboratory investigating how human thymic epithelial cells (TECs) regulate T-cell maturation from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), leveraging genetic modifications and exosome-based systems.

• Education: PhD from The Ohio State University; Postdoctoral training at Duke University

Research interests include Notch signaling pathways, thymoproteasome components (PSMB8/PSMB11), and WNT3A signaling in T-cell development. His work has implications for immunotherapy and treating hematopoietic malignancies through enhanced T-cell engraftment. Key projects involve engineering TEC lines to overexpress Delta-like 4 and developing exosome-based 'drugs' for T-cell differentiation.

Publications span immunology, cancer biology, and cell signaling, with contributions to journals like PLOS One, Journal of Immunology, and Blood. His lab collaborates on interdisciplinary projects at LUC’s Cancer Biology Center (CBCC).