Chengcheng Jin, Ph.D.

Research

The Jin lab will determine how the nervous system regulates immune responses to lung cancer. Various types of solid tumors are threaded with neurons, which sense and respond to stimuli around the tumor. The lung also harbors a diverse community of airborne microbes, along with important immune cells to provide defense against pathogens. However, little is known about how these two essential systems are integrated during lung cancer development. My lab will investigate how sensory neurons—the same nerve cells that control cough and pain—communicate with the tumor microenvironment and vice versa. Using a genetically engineered mouse model of human non-small cell lung cancer, my lab will integrate techniques from immunology, genetics, neuroscience, and microbiology to determine the role of sensory neurons in initiating tumor growth and progression. My lab will also determine how key immune cells and lung microbes influence the communication and activity of nerve cells and the immune system, work that has the potential for identifying novel strategies for controlling lung cancer and improving responses to immunotherapy.