People
Principal Investigator
Dr. Qiwei Wang received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the lab of Dr. Bo Liu in 2016, where he identified novel mechanisms underlying cell death and chronic inflammation in vascular diseases. Dr. Wang completed his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Jean Zhao at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. During his postdoctoral research, he focused on the intersections of immunotherapy and targeted therapy in cancer treatment. His research underscores the importance of the suppressive innate immune cells, such as macrophages, in mediating resistance to targeted therapies in breast and lung cancers. He developed novel strategies to harness the anti-tumor potential of macrophages and combined them with targeted therapy to induce tumor regression and protective immune memory. Dr. Wang received a number of fellowships and awards, including American Heart Association (AHA) Predoctoral Fellowship, Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship, Friends of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Defense (DoD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Breakthrough Award. Dr. Wang joined the faculty of the Division of Cancer Biology as an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 2023. In January 2024, Dr. Wang launched his independent laboratory at the University of Virginia as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology. He aims to build a highly collaborative, diverse, and innovation-driven research team to study oncogenic signaling and immunosurveillance.
Graduate students
Sophie O’KeefePhD Student
ugp9ke@virginia.edu
B.S., The University of Chicago
Sophie graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Biology specializing in immunology. She then worked as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Minah Kim at Columbia University studying the role of vascular immune crosstalk in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. She is now a BIMS graduate student in the lab of Dr. Qiwei Wang. Her research focuses on exploiting both tumor cell-intrinsic factors and the tumor immune micronenvironment to improve therapeutic outcomes in triple-negative breast cancer.
Research Staff
Marcus Jerryd MeadeLab Technician
mjm6mv@virginia.edu
B.S., University of Virginia’s College at Wise
Jerryd obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry. Jerryd loves to learn new laboratory techniques in microbiology and immunology and aspires to apply knowledge gained from lab technician roles toward graduate school in the future. In his spare time, Jerryd enjoys reading, cooking, and caring for his dog Muffin.
Undergraduate Researchers
Dhillon Taylor Parikshakabr3cc@virginia.edu
Dhillon is a Global Public Health & Biology double-major in the College of Arts & Sciences, class of 2026. Dhillon has been involved with cancer immunology research since high school and is particularly intrigued by the cell signaling networks responsible for tumor proliferation. In his free time, Dhillon enjoys staying active, playing sports, and exploring nature.
Hannah Elaine Harkinsfuh5gx@virginia.edu
Hannah is a biology major and psychology minor in the College of Arts and Sciences, class of 2026. She is particularly interested in cancer biology and genetics and hopes to utilize the knowledge and experience she gains as a research assistant in the Wang Lab to aid in her pursuit of a future career in cancer research. In her free time, Hannah enjoys cooking, baking, running, and spending time outdoors.