Adjunct Faculty
LI Yi
Title：Principle Investigator
Subject：
Email：li_yi@gibh.ac.cn
Address：
Study/Work Experience
 

2012–now

GuangZhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences/ Principal Investigator

2011–2012

Protein Technology, Immunocore Ltd, Oxford, UK/Director

2003–2011

Protein Engineering, Avidex/Immunocore Ltd, Oxford, UK/Head

2002 – 2003

Phage Display, Avidex Ltd, Oxford, UK/Senior Scientist

2000 – 2002

Biovation Ltd,Merck KgaA/Research Manager

2000 – 2000

ADAS Ltd, Hereford, UK/ Senior Research Scientist

1996 – 2000

ADAS Ltd, Hereford , UK/Research Scientist

1995 – 1996

ADAS Ltd, Hereford , UK/Postdoctoral

1992 – 1995  

Department of Biology, University of Leicester, UK./Ph. D

1991 – 1992

Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, University of Manchester, and Department of Immunology, St. Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, UK/Research Assistant

1987–1991

China Leprosy/Physician,Research Assistant

1982–1987

Faculty of Medicine,Hunan Medical University, China./B.S

Research Areas

To establish the fundamental understanding of new biologics and cellular therapy for cancer, viral infection and autoimmune disease. Paid attention on how to harness immune system to deal unmet medical needs. To develop biologics of a bi-functional protein fusion as a High Affinity T-cell activation core (HATac) and the third-generation TCR-T with High Affinity T-cell-receptor (HAT) for exploiting the power of patient’s CTLs for reversing immune suppression of tumour microenvironment. Particularly interested in the mechanisms of immune-check point and T cell related combinational therapy. The structure and function relation of TCR and related immune molecules.

Academic Performance

Dr. Li has set up a team to study tumour, viral immunotherapy and related fields. It mainly includes:

1) investigating the third-generation TCR-T cell treatment of tumours and tumour immune escaping mechanisms;

2) exploring new strategies for controlling immune checkpoint and new mechanisms in tumour immunosuppressive environment;

3) studying combinational immunotherapy;

4) new immune bifunctional molecules for immunotherapy;

5) a new structural mechanism of viral immune-escape.

The main achievements include:

    1. By collaboration with industry, Dr Li has lead a team that is able to develop a clinic stage TCR-T cell therapy. Preliminary results of the study in nine end-stage cancer patients who failed all standard treatments showed satisfactory efficacies. In the first three patients, all subjects showed an acceptable safety profile. Two of the patients showed stable disease with survival of 6 and 10 months, respectively. One patient with lung cancer showed a small tumour reduction and a reduction in pain and softening of the subcutaneous metastasis following the treatment. Lymphodepletion was added to the protocol in patients 4 through 9. The treatment was well tolerated. Two patients (one breast cancer, one synovial sarcoma) had more than 40% reduction in tumour size, as measured by CT scans. The team is now preparing an IND application.

   2. In the past five years, he was the first inventor for more than 70 patent applications, including 13 items in the PCT stage covering various TCRs and antigen targets;

   3. He has published more than 20 scientific papers in journals, such as NAT BIOTECHNOL, NAT MED, JGV, CANCER SCI, IMMUNOLOGY.

Representative Papers
 

1. Huanling Zhang,Yanyan Li,……, Cassian Yee, Yi Li*. ImmTAC/Anti-PD-1 antibody combination to enhance killing of cancer cells by reversing regulatory T-cell-mediated immune suppression.Immunology. 2018 Oct; 155(2): 238–250

2. Yanyan Li,……, Chunhua Bei, Yi Li*.High-affinity PD-1 molecules deliver improved interaction with PD-L1 and PD-L2. Cancer Sci. 2018 Aug; 109(8): 2435–2445

3. Lin Chen, Ye Tian,……, Yi Li*. A humanized TCR retaining authentic specificity and affinity conferred potent anti-tumour cytotoxicity. Immunology. 2018Apr;155:123-136.

4. Zhaoduan Liang, Ye Tian,……, Yi Li*. High-affinity human PD-L1 variants attenuate the suppression of T cell activation. Oncotarget. 2017Oct;8(51):88360-88375.

5. Li Yi, Ruth Moysey,……, Bent K Jakobsen, Jonathan M Boulter. Directed evolution of human T-cell receptors with picomolar affinities by phage display. Nature Biotechnol.2005 Mar;23(3):349-54