Tao Yue

Tao Yue, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern Medical Center, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Immunology. He is also an affiliate member of the Kidney Cancer Program in the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research focuses on developing translational immunology platforms to address cancer immunotherapy challenges, including biomarker discovery and novel treatment strategies.

Dr. Yue earned his Ph.D. from UT Southwestern, studying tumor suppressor pathways in neural development. During postdoctoral training under Nobel Laureate Dr. Bruce Beutler, he advanced genetic screening techniques and discovered SLFN2’s role in T cell immunity. Further work with Dr. Yang-Xin Fu led to IL-2-based immunotherapeutics targeting tumor microenvironments.

Key research areas include: (1) acidic tumor microenvironment analysis using nanotechnology and multi-omic approaches; (2) biomarker identification for kidney cancer therapy resistance via the Kidney Cancer SPORE program; and (3) testing immunotherapy delivery methods using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and humanized mouse models. His lab aims to create personalized immunotherapies with predictive biomarkers to improve patient outcomes.

Funding sources include NIH, NCI Kidney Cancer SPORE, Rally Foundation, and UT Southwestern. His work bridges basic science and clinical translation, emphasizing collaboration with cancer centers and immunology programs.