Yukai He

Yukai He, MD, PhD, is a Professor at Augusta University's Medical College of Georgia. He holds dual appointments in the Department of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and the Georgia Cancer Center, with additional affiliations in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and The Graduate School. His research focuses on tumor immunology, adoptive cell therapy, and T cell engineering for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and head and neck cancers.

• Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from University of Heidelberg (1995)
• MS in Biomedical Sciences from First Military Medical University (1988)
• MD from First Military Medical University (1985)

His laboratory has developed TCR and CAR-T cell therapies for HCC, including an AFP-specific TCR gene licensed for clinical trials (NCT03971747). Current research projects include optimizing CAR-T antigen-binding domain affinity (funded by NCI R01 CA235159 and Paceline Cancer Research Award) to enhance solid tumor immunotherapy efficacy.

• Editorial Board, Cancer Immunology Research
• Committee Chair, Molecular Medicine Graduate Program (2019-present)
• NIH Study Section Committee Member (2019-present)