Xiaolei Su

Xiaolei Su is an Associate Professor of Cell Biology at Yale School of Medicine, with additional appointments in Biochemistry, Quantitative Biology, Biophysics and Structural Biology (BQBS), Cancer Immunology, and Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development. He is affiliated with Yale Cancer Center, Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology, and Yale Center for Systems and Engineering Immunology (CSEI).

Dr. Su received his BS in Biological Sciences from Peking University (2006), PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University (2012), and completed his postdoctoral training at UCSF under Ron Vale (2017).

The Su Lab investigates the role of biomolecular condensation in immune response and leverages this knowledge for the development of novel cell therapies. Their research focuses on membrane remodeling and membrane receptor signaling during T cell and mast cell-mediated immune responses. They combine biochemical reconstitution with live cell imaging and animal models to understand how biomolecular condensation regulates immune signaling, with particular emphasis on CAR-T cell activation mechanisms. The lab has made significant contributions to understanding the size-dependent mechanism of CAR activation and how phase separation affects immune signaling.

The lab has published extensively in high-impact journals including Nature Chemical Biology, Science Immunology, Journal of Cell Biology, and Nature Cancer. Their research shows a strong trend toward understanding the biophysical principles of immune cell signaling and applying these insights to improve cancer immunotherapies, particularly CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumors.

Dr. Su has received numerous prestigious awards including:

• NIH Director's Transformative Award (2024)
• Lion Heart Pilot Award (2024)
• Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research (2023)
• Gabrielle's Angel Foundation Medical Research Award (2023)
• American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant (2022)

Dr. Su's research program is well-funded through multiple NIH and foundation grants. His work bridges fundamental discoveries in immune cell signaling with translational applications, particularly in designing new CARs and engineering immune cells to improve antitumor responses against blood, skin, colon, breast, ovarian, and brain cancers.

The Su Lab maintains state-of-the-art facilities for live cell imaging, biochemical reconstitution, and animal modeling of cancer immunotherapies. The lab is part of Yale's vibrant immunology and cancer research ecosystem, with strong connections to Yale Cancer Center and multiple collaborative initiatives focused on advancing cancer immunotherapy.