Jian Xena Huang
M.D./Ph.D. Student
Xena Huang is a graduate student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program) studying cancer immunology under the mentorship of Manjeet Rao, PhD. On a basic science level, her research focuses on elucidating the mechanism by which FOXM1 regulates the tumor microenvironment and anti-tumor immune response in various cancer models, including triple negative breast cancer. On the translational front, Xena is developing anti-cancer vaccines and identifying small molecule inhibitors to potentiate immunotherapy. Her long-term goal is to become an independent physician-scientist with special interest in oncology and gastroenterology.
About Me
I am a second generation Chinese American born and raised in sunny Southern California. I completed my undergraduate at the University of California, San Diego majoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. I love watching sunsets, and collecting photographs of sunsets from all over the world. When I was younger my family had many bunnies (15 to be exact!), so I plan to have my own bunny here soon!
Hobbies/Interests
I believe food is one of the most important things that help build the cultural fabric of a community. On the weekends, you can either find me on a food crawl trying foods from different restaurants or in the kitchen recreating my favorite dishes from my foodie adventures. I love watersports , and used to kayak weekly in the ocean. Recently, I picked up an interest in powerlifting.
Research Topic
Cancer Immunology
Why I chose MD/PhD
I chose MD/PhD because it allows me to pursue my passion for creating meaningful physician-patient relationships to deliver personalized and improved therapeutics through scientific research and discovery.
Why I chose MD/PhD at UT Health San Antonio
My research interest is in obesity and liver cancer. The high incidence of obesity and liver cancer in San Antonio in combination with robust clinical centers and research in this area at UT Health San Antonio provides the perfect MD/PhD training environment for me to further explore my research interest in liver disease and make a meaningful impact in the community.
Education
B.S., Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, 2020
Publications
Gu, L., Zhu, Y., Lee, M., Nguyen, A., Ryujin, N. T., Huang, J. Y., et al. (2023). Angiotensin II receptor inhibition ameliorates liver fibrosis and enhances hepatocellular carcinoma infiltration by effector T cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 120(19) e2300706120. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2300706120
Khan, M. T. A., Patnaik, R., Huang, J. Y., Campi, H. D., Montorfano, L., De Stefano, F., Rosenthal, R. J., & Wexner, S. D. (2022). Leukopenia is an independent risk factor for early postoperative complications following incision and drainage of anorectal abscess. Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, 10.1111/codi.16447. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.16447
Zhou, Y., Bastian, I. N., Long, M. D., Dow, M., Li, W., Liu, T., Ngu, R. K., Antonucci, L., Huang, J. Y., Phung, Q. T., Zhao, X. H., Banerjee, S., Lin, X. J., Wang, H., Dang, B., Choi, S., Karin, D., Su, H., Ellisman, M. H., Jamieson, C., … Shalapour, S. (2021). Activation of NF-κB and p300/CBP potentiates cancer chemoimmunotherapy through induction of MHC-I antigen presentation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(8), e2025840118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2025840118