Quen J. Cheng, MD, PhD

• As an infectious diseases physician-scientist, my research is motivated by the mysteries I encounter in my medical practice. One such conundrum is how the same infection can cause highly variable outcomes in different patients. One of the factors that determines infection severity is the "context" in which the immune system is operating. This context can include age, sex, chronic diseases, and importantly, also the recent exposure history of an immune cell. When innate immune cells such as macrophages are exposed to cytokines and pathogen-associated molecules their signaling networks and epigenetic states get re-wired. This reprogramming affects their response to a subsequent infection and may also lead to post-infectious immune dysfunction. Our research examines the molecular mechanisms of immune reprogramming and how this relates to the variable outcomes of human infections.

1. Sequential conditioning-stimulation reveals distinct gene- and stimulus-specific effects of Type I and II IFN on human macrophage functions. Q Cheng, F Behzadi, S Sen, S Ohta, R Spreafico, R Teles, R Modlin, A Hoffmann. Scientific Reports, 2019 Mar 27. PMC6437173.
2. Type I and type II interferon modulate NFκB signaling via distinct mechanisms. EL Mercado, S Mitchell, J Ho, K Fortmann, A Adelaja, QJ Cheng, G Ghosh, A Hoffmann. Frontiers in Immunology, 2019 Jun 25. PMC6604663.
3. High dose IFNb activates GAF to enhance expression of ISGF3 target genes in MLE12 epithelial cells. K Kishimoto, CL Wilder, J Buchanan, M Nguyen, C Okeke, A Hoffmann, QJ Cheng. 2020. Frontiers in Immunology 12:651254, DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.651254
4. NFκB dynamics determine the stimulus-specificity of epigenomic reprogramming in macrophages. QJ Cheng, S Ohta, KS Sheu, R Spreafico, A Adelaja, B Taylor, A Hoffmann. 2021 Science, Jun 18. PMID 34140389.

Link to Dr. Cheng's bibliography

• UCLA coverage of 2021 publication
• NBC News coverage of 2021 publication

• chenglab.dgsom.ucla.edu