Ya-Ting (Emma) Wang, PhD Parker Senior Fellow Biography Emma Wang, PhD, has a strong background in multiple disciplines and technical approaches, including molecular biology, functional genomics and proteomics, tumor immunology and complex in vivo animal models. In her PhD studies, she leveraged multiple animal models combined with mechanistic studies to demonstrate that the degradation of promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) tumor suppressors fosters an immunosuppressive and pro-metastatic tumor microenvironment (TME). Her team discovered that targeting CD73 and PD-1 is a potential immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Emma joined the laboratory of Justin Perry, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) as a postdoctoral fellow in 2019, where she works to discover novel therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. The overarching goal of her project is to identify chronic hypoxia-specific efferocytotic signatures. She discovered macrophages rewire their metabolism to pentose phosphate pathway and gluconeogenesis, which not only ameliorates the oxidative and nutrient stresses while living in the harsh TME but also makes them “better” phagocytes. Emma is currently working to cross-reference MSKCC breast cancer cohort datasets with the other data to uncover triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) biomarkers. She is a 2022 Parker Senior Fellow and a postdoctoral fellow at MSKCC, where she is working with macrophage pathways to develop novel therapeutic approaches for cancer patients. Education & Training 2021-present: Research Associate, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 2019-21: Research Fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 2018-19: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, City of Hope 2017-18: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Academia Sinica 2017: National Taiwan University, PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyDoctor of Philosophy 2010: National Taiwan University, MS, Microbiology and Immunology Awards & Honors 2022: Parker Senior Fellow 2018: Outstanding Paper Award (Distinguished Thesis), Tien Te Lee Biomedical Foundation 2017: Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (for 2018 Postdoctoral Research Abroad Program), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan 2017: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award (1st Session, 2018), Academia Sinica, Taiwan 2017: Outstanding Post-Doctor Researchers Conference Travel Grant, Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship