Weishan Huang

Weishan Huang is an Associate Professor of Immunology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University. She joined the LSU Vet Med Faculty on January 3, 2018, and leads the Huang Lab which focuses on immune system research.

Dr. Huang earned her PhD from Cornell University (2014), MS from Pennsylvania State University (2010), and BS/BE from Tsinghua University in China (2008). Her research spans immunology, regulatory immunity, immune memory, vaccination, infectious diseases, and cancer immunology with a focus on T cell signal transduction in host defense and immunopathology.

Her laboratory investigates regulatory T cell development and function, memory and homeostasis of CD8+ T cells, and antiviral/immune modulating drug discovery. She utilizes disease models including influenza infection, COVID-19, allergic asthma, cancer, and colitis to study immune homeostasis and develop immunotherapies like immune checkpoint blockades and CAR-T therapy.

Dr. Huang serves as course coordinator and lecturer for Veterinary Immunology (VMED 5172) and Basic Immunology (PBS 7003), and lectures on virology topics related to Orthomyxoviridae and Retroviridae. Her recent publications demonstrate expertise in T cell signaling, viral immunology, and immunotherapeutic approaches to disease.

• AAI ASPIRE Award (2024)
• COBRE Rising Star Award (2024)
• LSU Vet Med Distinguished Scholar Award (2023)
• LSU Alumni Association Rising Faculty Research Award (2022)
• Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence (2021)

Dr. Huang mentors students including Michael McGee, who received the LSU Vet Med Distinguished Dissertation Award in 2023. She has secured significant grant funding as Principal Investigator from NIH, Hevolution/AFAR, and other sources for projects on immune memory, ITK signaling, and viral infection. As a Standing Member of the NIH Study Section for Immunity and Host Defense and Associate Editor for Journal of Medical Virology and Frontiers in Immunology, she plays an active role in the scientific community.

The Huang Lab, composed of biologists, statisticians, mathematicians, and artists, aims to understand how the mammalian immune system balances effector and regulatory immune responses to develop innovative strategies for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.