Neutrophils, long recognized as first responders in the immune system, are now emerging as critical players in cancer progression. Recent findings reveal that immature neutrophils not only accumulate in primary and metastatic tumors but also actively suppress anti-tumor immunity, undermining the efficacy of immunotherapies.

In this webinar, Dr. Yan Li, Professor and Director of Nanjing University's Model Animal Research Center, will share groundbreaking research uncovering how distinct immature neutrophil subsets fuel tumor growth and metastasis, while also highlighting novel therapeutic strategies that restore immunity and enhance checkpoint inhibitor response.

This session is designed for oncology researchers, immunologists, and translational scientists who are seeking deeper insights into tumor immunology and the development of next-generation cancer therapies.

Key Highlights:

• Neutrophil Developmental Heterogeneity in Cancer: How immature subsets dominate across primary and metastatic tumors.

• Mechanisms of Immune Suppression: CD63/Galectin-3+ neutrophils in primary tumors and Ckap4+ subsets in bone metastases.

• Therapeutic Interventions: Flt3L-induced trans-differentiation (Primary) and DKK1 blockade (Bone metastasis) restoring T cell function and enhancing checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

• Novel human immune system (HIS) mouse models with peripheral human neutrophil engraftment.

Speaker:

Yan Li, Professor/Director

Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, China

The National Resource Center for Mutant Mice, China

Dr. Yan Li acquired his Ph.D from Singapore-MIT alliance program, completed post-doctoral training and worked as an assistant researcher in Institut Pasteur, Paris. He joined Nanjing University as a professor and a principal investigator at the National Resource Center for Mutant Mice (NRCMM) in 2018, and was appointed as the Director of Model Animal Research Center (MARC) in 2023. He has been awarded as Outstanding Young Investigator by International Humanized Mice Society, NSFC Excellent Young Scholar, etc. His research interests lie primarily in the development of human-animal chimeric models for translational medicine. His works have been published in Cell, Nat Methods, Cancer Cell, Nat Cancer, Cell Research etc., and have been filed as international patents. Dr. Yan Li is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Workshops on Humanized Mice and a committee member of the Immune Cell Branch of the Chinese Society of Cell Biology.

Date:

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

8:00 AM PDT | 10:00 AM CDT | 11:00 AM EDT | 5:00 PM CEST