Cassian Yee

Dr. Yee is an oncologist, immunologist and endowed Professor in the Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center where he is also Director of the Solid Tumor Cell Therapy Program. His lab pioneered a cell therapy modality known as Endogenous T Cell therapy that provided first clinical proof-of-concept of T cell memory, antigen-spreading, checkpoint inhibitor synergy, and years-long persistence of transferred T cells mediating durable complete responses without a requirement for lymphodepletion or high-dose IL-2. As a physician-scientist, his research converges multidisciplinary approaches in bioengineering, metabolism, epigenetics and molecular immunology into enabling technologies that render adoptive cell therapy more effective and accessible as a treatment modality for patients with common and rare cancers. He is founder of an AI startup and TCR-T cell therapy company (Mongoose Bio) with assets developed in Yee Lab focused on solid tumors, leveraging one of the largest immunopeptidomes established from MS-defined datasets. His latest project is a NASA-funded initiative to take T cells to the International Space Station.