ICIS is my favorite Society I am involved in, and I am very honored to have received the Amanda Proudfoot Tribute Award for Advances in Chemokine Biology during Cytokines 2023 Conference. This award provides valuable support for my job hunting and encourages me to continue working on cytokines in the future. Thus, now my research interests are to decipher the roles and mechanisms of the signaling crosstalk between cytokines and their receptors in infection, autoimmune disorders and in tumor growth.
Please tell us your name, degree, where you currently work, and position.
Chao Yang (Max), PhD, Associate Professor, The MED-X institute, Center for Immunological and Metabolic Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Where did you do your training?
Postdoctoral researcher – Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University (Aug.2018- Aug.2022)
PhD – The Peter Doherty Institute for Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne (Dec.2014- Dec.2018)
Master of Science – Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Science (Sept.2011- Jul.2014)
Bachelor of Medicine – Dalian University (2006-2011)
Briefly, what is your research about?
I recently started my career as group leader, and I run a small research group mainly focused on the roles and mechanisms of the signaling crosstalk between cytokines and Toll-like receptors in infection and autoimmune disorders. Besides, we also start to decipher the roles and mechanisms of cytokines and their receptors in pro- or anti-tumor growth.
Tell us your thoughts about ICIS: how has being involved in the Cytokine Society helped your career?
So far, ICIS is my favorite Society I am involved in. ICIS is a great and very diverse Society attracting scientists to share their stories globally. The high qualities of the conferences will never let you down. I have met a lot of great scientists and learnt a lot about cytokines in advance every time in the conference. Moreover, I am very grateful and honored for receiving the Amanda Proudfoot Tribute Award for Advances in Chemokine Biology by a Trainee during the Cytokines 2023 conference. This award provides valuable support for my job hunting and encourages me to continue working on cytokines in future.
Are there any particular friendships or collaborations that came specifically out of Cytokines meetings?
Even though I don’t have any particular collaborations that came specifically from Cytokine meetings, I met two Chinese students during the 5th annual meeting (2017) that we have been friends since then.
What Cytokines meeting(s) have been your favorites? Tell us about any special memories or anecdotes.
I should say the one hold last year in Athens, Greece because I received the Amanda Proudfoot Tribute Award for Advances in Chemokine Biology by a Trainee. However, unfortunately, I did not attend the conference caused by the failure to get the traveling visa. However, the 5th Annual Meeting hold in Kanazawa, Japan, in 2017 was the first Cytokine conference I’ve been to, for which I received the Milstein Travel Award from ICIS. That trip was my first time to visit Japan as well, it was such a great opportunity.
What do you like to do when not in the lab?
I play basketball and I am a big fan of NBA. I also enjoy meeting my family and friends and enjoying delicious food and drinks.
What is the best life/career advice you’ve ever received?
Working smart is better than just working hard. Also, making the work/life balance is very important.
What book or TV show are you reading/watching right now that you recommend?
My favorite TV show is Friends.
What is your favorite cytokine?
No doubt, IFNs and CXCL4.