Xingxing Zang

Dr. Xingxing Zang at Einstein College of Medicine characterized HHLA2 (B7-H7) as a novel B7 family immune checkpoint expressed on tumor cells and antigen-presenting cells. He identified its receptors KIR3DL3 and TMIGD2 and demonstrated that HHLA2 suppresses T cell and NK cell activity, representing a distinct co-inhibitory pathway from PD-L1. His work has established HHLA2 as a clinical target particularly for tumors lacking PD-L1 expression.