Lili Yang, PhD

Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Dr. Lili Yang received her Ph.D. degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2004, studying with Dr. David Baltimore. She then stayed at Caltech and led a multi-institutional Engineering Immunity Program from 2004 to 2012, developing gene- and cell-based immunotherapies for cancer and HIV/AIDS. She joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an Assistant Professor in 2013. Her laboratory at UCLA studies tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy, with a special focus on stem cell-engineered immunotherapy for cancer. So far her work has resulted in over 60 publications, 20 patents, 2 clinical trials, and 2 biotech startups.

In recognition of her scientific achievements, Dr. Lili Yang has received multiple prestigious awards, including a TR35 (Innovators Under 35) Award from the MIT Technology Review Magazine , a Forbeck Scholar Award, a Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institute of Health (NIH), a Translational Research Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a Young Investigator Award from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), and an Outstanding New Investigator Award from the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). In year 2021, Dr. Lili Yang was recognized as Women in Biopharma (20 of the Top women leaders in Biopharma R&D).