Tao Dong
Co-Director CAMS Oxford Institute
- Ita Askonas Professor of Translational Immunology
- Founding Director (Oxford), CAMS-Oxford joint International Centre for Translational Immunology
- Founding Director (Oxford), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute (COI)
Biography
Tao Dong is the founding director of the CAMS-Oxford Institute based in Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University since 2019. She has held the post of Professor of Immunology in the MRC Human Immunology Unit at Oxford University since 2014 and is a Senior Fellow at University College Oxford. In May 2023, Tao was appointed the Ita Askonas Professorship of Translational Immunology.
Tao moved to Oxford University in 1993 where she received a DPhil degree in Immunology in 1998. In 2010 she became the Head of the human anti-viral and anti-cancer cytotoxic T cell laboratory and subsequently Program Leader in the MRC Human Immunology Unit at Oxford University. She has served as a panel member in varies international funding organisations, and SAB members for several pharmaceutical companies.
Research Interests
The aim of Tao Dong’s research group is to investigate the functional aspects of antigen specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) with a focus on the factors affecting CTL in controlling virus infection and cancer progression. While a robust and appropriate T cell response is typically beneficial to the host during human infections, a weak or inappropriate response can be ineffective or even have a detrimental effect. Over the past two decades, they have been working to understand the key factors required for efficient viral control by T cells in a number of different viral infections and cancer. Establishing both ex-vivo and in-vitro T cell functional evaluation platforms for antigen-specific T cells isolated from tissue and blood. By linking functional data with multi-omic single cell and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire analysis, they continue to identify potential targets and pathways to augment and control the immune response as a way of improving the outcome of several important human diseases including SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and cancer.
Key Publications
Peng Y. et al, (2022), Nature Immunology
The impact of viral mutations on recognition by SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells
de Silva TI. et al, (2021), iScience
Peng Y. et al, (2020), Nature Immunology
Abd Hamid M. et al, (2020), Cancer Immunology Research
Abd Hamid M. et al, (2019), Cancer Immunology Research
Zhang Y-H. et al (2013), Nature Communications
Recent publications
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Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infections in inactivated COVID-19 vaccine recipients induced distinct pattern of antibody and T cell responses to different Omicron sublineages.
Journal article
Guo L. et al, (2023), Emerging microbes & infections, 12
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HLA-E–restricted SARS-CoV-2–specific T cells from convalescent COVID-19 patients suppress virus replication despite HLA class Ia down-regulation
Journal article
Yang H. et al, (2023), Science Immunology, 8
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A comprehensive analysis of the Bencao (herbal) small RNA Atlas reveals novel RNA therapeutics for treating human diseases.
Journal article
Cao Y. et al, (2023), Science China. Life sciences
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Determinants of recovery from post-COVID-19 dyspnoea: analysis of UK prospective cohorts of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and community-based controls
Journal article
Zheng B. et al, (2023), The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 29, 100635 - 100635
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Group A Streptococcus induces CD1a-autoreactive T cells and promotes psoriatic inflammation.
Journal article
Chen Y-L. et al, (2023), Science immunology, 8