Jie Sun, PhD
Email: js6re@virginia.edu
Principal Investigator, Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medicine.

Jie obtained his BA and MS degree in China and Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. He did his postdoc training in viral immunology at UVA and started his independent lab at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He was a professor and consultant in the Department of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester before joining UVA in 2022. Jie’s research interest focuses on host immunity, immunopathology and tissue repair post respiratory viral infection including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2.

Min (Michelle) Xiang, BA
Email: qqu9th@virginia.edu
Lab Manager

Chaofan Li, PhD
Email: djp5yp@virginia.edu
Assistant Professor

Chaofan received his Ph.D. degree in Pathogenic Organisms from the Fudan University, China. Then he joined the Sun lab at the Mayo Clinic as a research fellow/research associate before moving to the UVA. Chaofan is interested in understanding the transcriptional and metabolic regulation of T cell responses. He hopes to develop therapeutic targets for anti-viral infection and anti-tumor treatment based on the discoveries in basic mechanisms.

In Su Cheon, PhD
Email: auq2aj@virginia.edu
Assistant Professor

I completed my PhD in South Korea. After joining the Sun lab, I have focused on the underlying mechanisms by which tissue immune cells cause chronic disease following respiratory viral infection including respiratory syncytial virus, influenza or SARS-CoV-2. I am interested in the regulatory networks between memory T cells and alveolar macrophages, and the downstream consequences on memory T cell maintenance, protective immunity and chronic tissue sequelae.

Wei Qian, PhD
Email: rnq6pn@virginia.edu
Research Scientist

Wei completed his undergraduate and Ph.D. training at Huazhong Agricultural University. He then pursued his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Miner at Washington University school of Medicine where he studies autoimmune diseases. He recently joined the laboratory as a Research Scientist. He is working on influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 to elaborate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic lung sequelae after viral pneumonia (such as long COVID), especially in the elderly, which we hope will lead to the discovery of therapeutic targets.

Xiaoqin Wei, PhD
Email: hqt8dz@virginia.edu
Twitter: @xiaoqin_wei
Research Associate

Xiaoqin received her Ph.D. in Virology from the Wuhan University in June 2020, focusing on KSHV pathogenesis. She then worked at Tsinghua University for three months studying how salt regulates Th17 function. She joined the Sun Lab in January 2021 as a Research Associate. Her current focus is to reveal the underlying mechanisms by which innate immune cells, particularly alveolar macrophages, regulate lung inflammation and tissue repair during the acute and convalescent phases of respiratory viral (SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza) infection, which we hope to aid for development of novel therapeutic targets.

Mohammad Arish, PhD
Email: kgm7mz@virginia.edu
Research Associate

I joined the Sun lab in late 2020. My main goal in the lab is to elucidate the role of subcellular organelles such as peroxisomes in the regulation of innate immune response following respiratory virus infection, including Influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Jinyi Tang, PhD
Email: Tang.Jinyi@virginia.edu; tmn3fb@virginia.edu
Twitter: @ImmunologyTang
Research Associate

Jinyi received his PhD degree in Cell Biology at Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, where he was trained in Follicular helper T (Tfh) cell immunology, especially in viral infection models. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he joined the Sun Lab in early 2021. His current research interest focuses on the lung-resident T cell and B cell development and function following respiratory virus (such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2) infection and mucosal vaccine immunization. Uncovering the mechanism of lung-resident T cell and B cell regulation would benefit the understanding of basic lung biology, mucosal vaccine development, as well as recovery from chronic lung sequelae. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching movies, playing games and hanging out.

Gislane Santos, PhD
Email: yqv6ae@virginia.edu
Research Associate

Gislane received her PhD degree in Immunology at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil in March 2022. Before receiving her PhD degree, Gislane received a degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Biosciences and Biotechnology from State University of Noth Fluminense, Brazil. She recently joined Dr. Sun's Lab as a Research Associate in July 2022. Since her undergraduate reseach, her interests have focused on understanding the mechanisms associated with the induction of exacerbated immune response to pathogens and its impact in disease progression. During her postdoctoral she aims to understand the immune mechanisms underlying prolonged inflammation in the lung and its impact in disease sequelae and tissue regeneration following SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza infection. Outside of the lab, she enjoys outdoor activities, playing sports, exploring restaurants, and traveling.

Jane Yu
Email: qy4m@virginia.edu
Lab Specialist

I have a background in Nursing as well as Computer Science. With more than 20 years of experience in biomedical research, I am very passionate about designing and executing experiments to address scientific questions. I like to accept new challenges, discover and solve problems, and love to work with a diverse group of people. A wide spectrum of experiences, including nursing, computer science, and lab research, allow me to contribute to scientific endeavors with a unique perspective.
I love cooking, gardening, and hiking. I have a son and a daughter and live with my husband in beautiful Crozet, Virginia.

Harish Narasimhan
Email: uhx7jc@virginia.edu
Twitter: @hnarasim23
Graduate Student

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the prevalence of chronic sequelae (long COVID), characterized by persistent pulmonary pathology and impaired lung function following recovery from acute illness, particularly in aged individuals. My thesis work aims to explore the role of the immune system in regulating lung repair following acute respiratory viral infections. Specifically, I'm interested in the interplay between resident memory CD8+ T-cells and epithelial progenitor cells within the aged lung. With insight into these molecular interactions, we ultimately aim to manipulate this immune-epithelial crosstalk to promote functional repair of the aged lung following viral pneumonia. Prior to my graduate work at UVA, I received a master's degree in biochemistry & molecular biology at Johns Hopkins University and completed my undergraduate studies at Manipal University.

Outside of the lab, I enjoy watching European soccer (Visca Barca!), working out, playing the piano and hiking.

Yue Wu
Email: Wu.Yue@mayo.edu
Twitter: @Yue_Wu_IMM
Graduate Student

Yue decided to pursue advanced research training after graduating from medical school in Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University in China. Her current research interest lies in understanding the innate immune system in aging under the context of homeostasis and acute respiratory virus infections, such as influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Utilizing bioinformatics tools and in combination with wet lab experiments, Yue thrives to characterize aging-induced phenotypical changes in immune cells, as well as how immune cells interact with the lung environment. Such knowledge could not only promote the understanding of healthy aging, but also inspire novel therapies to shield the elderly from morbidity and mortality associated with acute virus-induced pneumonia and its long-term complications.

Sam Young
Email: uvc9jp@virginia.edu
Graduate Student

My graduate work aims to establish the role of mucosal immunity in the context of lung cancer and MHC Class I deficient tumors. More specifically, I’m interested in profiling how the respiratory mucosa and other features of the lung immune system interact to understand how they respond to cancer and MHC I loss, with a specific focus on CD4+ T cells and their ability to drive tumor regression even in the absence of MHC I. Uncovering the role of the respiratory mucosa in tumor regression could provide a new therapeutic vaccination strategy by which lung cancers are targeted both systemically and mucosally to drive tumor regression. Before starting graduate school at UVA, I received a B.S. in Microbiology at North Carolina State University.

Abby Cannon
Undergrad Student

Abby is a second-year accelerated undergraduate student at UVA on the pre-med track, majoring in chemistry and minoring in mathematics. She is currently working alongside In Su Cheon to gain research experience in the field of viral immunology and knowledge of various methods of enhancing antiviral immunity and controlling further acute or chronic disease after viral infection.

Elizabeth Fink
Undergrad Student

Elizabeth is a first-year undergraduate student at UVA planning to major in chemistry on a pre-med track. She is excited to be involved in the Sun Lab and to better understand mechanisms behind long-term respiratory infection.

Vicky Kim
Undergrad Student

Vicky is a fourth year undergraduate cognitive science major on a pre-med track. She is interested in better understanding the long-term effects of respiratory infection and immune functions as well as gaining research experience in the Sun Lab.