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Soo Jung Yang, PhD, Named Associate Member in the Center for Translational Research at Benaroya Research Institute
Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) has named Soo Jung Yang, PhD, as a Research Assistant Member in its Center for Translational Research.
Dr. Yang, formerly a staff scientist in the research lab of Jane Buckner, MD, will lead work on engineered Tregs – regulatory T cells, known to help protect against autoimmune disease – and exploring new research questions that stem from this work.
"We are working with GentiBio to develop engineered regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases," Dr. Yang said. "In conjunction with this collaboration, I’d like to understand the biology of regulatory T cells, how they work, how they are unique from other T cells, and how we can improve their function."
"Soo Jung joined my lab four years ago to lead our work on developing antigen specific engineered Tregs," said Jane Buckner, MD, President of BRI. "She has driven this project and made remarkable strides in developing and testing these cells, broadening our understanding of how Tregs function."
Dr. Jang is from Seoul, South Korea and received her PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from Seoul National University. She did her post-doctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley and worked briefly for the biotechnology company Genentech before joining the Buckner Lab at BRI.
About Benaroya Research Institute
Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) works to advance the science that will predict, prevent, reverse and cure diseases of the immune system. BRI is committed to eliminating autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis, as well as immune system diseases such as allergies and asthma. An internationally recognized medical research institute, BRI accelerates discovery through laboratory breakthroughs in immunology that are then translated to clinical therapies.
Visit BenaroyaResearch.org or follow BRI’s Autoimmune Life Blog, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter to learn more. For more information about biorepositories or to volunteer, please visit the Benaroya Research biorepositories web page.
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Media Contact
Christi Nichols
Benaroya Research Institute
cnichols@benaroyaresearch.org
206-342-6519 / 206-713-2037
