Engineering the Language of Immune Cells

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Our research

Our research program integrates precision biomaterials, immune engineering, and systems biology to understand and control immune cell fate for therapeutic applications. We develop engineered biomaterial platforms that program T cells through precise chemical and physical control of ligand presentation, enabling mechanistic studies of immune synapse organization, trogocytosis, downstream signaling, and long-term cell fate decisions. Building on these insights, we engineer next-generation therapeutic T cells with enhanced persistence and functionality for cancer and immune diseases. In parallel, we develop strategies to reshape immune microenvironments through modulation of myeloid cell lineages. To uncover the principles governing durable immune responses, we combine transcriptomic profiling with computational network analysis to decode molecular programs controlling T-cell differentiation.

  • Another big news in the summer: our lab received our first major grant at NIH! NIGMS-MIRA R35 for 5 years to study the role of ligand display and biomolecule delivery in programming barriers and immune cells! Congratulations to us!!!

    August 2026

  • Congratulations to Qinghe Zeng and Landon Flemming for the acceptance of their manuscript “Programmable CAR-engaging particles rewire human CAR T-cell signaling for sustainable ex vivo expansion“ by Nature Communications! This is huge, an important milestone of our lab!

    July 2026

  • Congratulations to Nikolai Przybylski and Qinghe Zeng for the acceptance of the book chapter “Manufacturing as biology: how T-cell processing shapes therapeutic outcomes” in Advances in Pharmacology series established in 1962 (Elsevier). Truly fantastic work! See here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054358926000347

    May 2026

  • We are excited to receive the Margaret Q. Landenberger Foundation grant to support our work on ex vivo expansion and reprogramming of BCMA-CAR T cells for multiple myeloma!

    November 2025

  • Congratulations to us receiving the Pennsylvania CURE grant for computational analysis of CAR-T cell transcriptomic programs to enhance scalable and equitable cell manufacturing! This work is enabled by a joint effort with the Baetica laboratory at Drexel Mechanical Engineering Department.

    October 2025