Giuseppe Teng

Giuseppe Teng demonstrated that Group 1 ILCs including tissue-resident NK cells and ILC1s provide critical early anti-tumor immune surveillance through IFN-gamma and perforin-dependent mechanisms that limit tumor establishment before adaptive immunity is engaged. His research showed that ILC1-to-NK cell plasticity within tumors is regulated by TGF-beta, which converts cytotoxic NK cells into less effective ILC1-like cells, representing a novel immune evasion mechanism. He has identified strategies to block TGF-beta-driven ILC conversion and restore NK cell-mediated tumor killing in the tumor microenvironment.