Dr. Chang, Ya-Jen 's orcid link picture Dr. Chang, Ya-Jen 's publons link picture

Dr. Chang, Ya-Jen

Associate Research Fellow
  • 02-27899050 (Lab) (Room No: N527)
  • 02-27898594 (Fax)
Specialty:
  1. Allergy and asthma
  2. Innate immunity and mucosal immunology
  3. Immunopharmacology
Education and Positions:

  • Ph.D., Pharmacology, National Taiwan University; 

    Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; 

    Research Associate in Immunology, Boston Children's Hospital

The goal of our laboratory is to determine how the newly defined innate immune cell subsets (ILC and NKT) regulate the development of asthma, autoimmune diseases, and microbial infections. Innate lymphoid cells (ILC), a type of non-T non-B lymphoid cells, represent an emerging family of cell types that seem to have crucial roles in the development of autoimmune diseases and in regulating the innate immunity towards pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms. Another innate immune cell subset, Natural Killer T cells (NKT), which express both NK and T cell markers, are activated by glycolipid antigens, particularly from certain bacteria. They have been found to modulate the process of immune response and participate in the development of several diseases. Despite the importance of these innate immune cell subsets in immunology and in human health, the mechanisms on how these cells activate and regulate disease processes are not well understood. Our research projects take advantage of our mouse models for asthma, as well as being well versed in characterizing ILCs in the lungs. We are interested in studying the mechanistic interactions between respiratory pathogens and lung functional disorders, as well as the mechanisms of how ILCs interplay with other innate or adaptive immune cells in the pathogenesis of asthma and infectious diseases. We are particularly interested in the development of therapeutic agents targeting the innate immune cell subsets in asthma, autoimmune and infectious diseases.

Our Team
Team photo

  1. Thio CL, (Chang YJ*) Modulation of pulmonary group 2 innate lymphoid cell function in asthma: From inflammatory mediators to environmental and metabolic factors Experimental and Molecular Medicine 10.1038, 1-13 (2023-09) [JCR] [WOS]
  2. Tsai CH, Lai AC, Lin YC, Chi PY, Chen YC, Yang YH, Chen CH, Shen SY, Hwang TL, Su MW, Hsu IL, Maitland-van der Zee AH, McGeachie MJ, Tantisira KG, (Chang YJ*), Lee YL* Neutrophil extracellular trap production and CCL4L2 expression influence corticosteroid response in asthma Science Translational Medicine 15, eadf3843 (2023-06) [JCR] [WOS]
  3. Luo CH, Lai AC*, (Chang YJ*) Butyrate inhibits Staphylococcus aureus aggravated dermal IL-33 expression and skin inflammation through histone deacetylase inhibition. Frontiers in Immunology 14, 1114699 (2023-05) [JCR] [WOS]
  4. González-Cuesta M, Lai AC, Chi PY, Hsu IL, Liu NT, Wu KC, García Fernández M, (Chang YJ*), Ortiz Mellet C* Serine-/Cysteine-Based sp2‑Iminoglycolipids as Novel TLR4 Agonists: Evaluation of Their Adjuvancy and Immunotherapeutic Properties in a Murine Model of Asthma Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2023-03) [JCR] [WOS]
  5. Thio CL, Lai AC, Wang JC, Chi PY, Chang YL, Ting YT, Chen SY, (Chang YJ*) Identification of a PD-L1+Tim-1+ iNKT subset that protects against fine particulate matter–induced airway inflammation JCI Insight 7(23), e164157 (2022-12) [JCR] [WOS]
  6. Thio CL, Lai AC, Ting YT, Chi PY, (Chang YJ*) The ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate mitigates ILC2-driven airway inflammation by regulating mast cell function Cell Reports 40, 111437 (2022-09) [JCR] [WOS]
  7. Chung EJ, Luo CH, Thio CL, (Chang YJ*) Immunomodulatory Role of Staphylococcus aureus in Atopic Dermatitis Pathogens 11, 422-432 (2022-03) [JCR] [WOS]
  8. Li LC, Chen WY, Chen JB, Lee WC, Chang CC, Tzeng HT, Huang CC, (Chang YJ), Yang JL The AST-120 Recovers Uremic Toxin-Induced Cognitive Deficit via NLRP3 Inflammasome Pathway in Astrocytes and Microglia Biomedicines 9, 1252 (2021-09) [JCR] [WOS]
  9. He YH, Yeh MH, Chen HF, Wang TS, Wong RH, Wei YL, Huynh TK, Hu DW, Cheng FJ, Chen JY, Hu SW, Huang CC, Chen Y, Yu J, Cheng WC, Shen PC, Liu LC, Huang CH, (Chang YJ), Huang WC. ERα determines the chemoresistant function of mutant p53 involving the switch between lincRNA-p21 and DDB2 expressions. Molecular Therapy-Nucleic Acids 25, 536-553 (2021-08) [JCR] [WOS]
  10. Chen WY*, Wu YH, Tsai TH, Li RF, Lai AC, Li LC, Yang JL, (Chang YJ*) Group 2 innate lymphoid cells contribute to IL-33-mediated alleviation of cardiac fibrosis. Theranostics 11(6), 2594-2611 (2021-01) [JCR] [WOS]
- More Publications-

POSTDOC
Thio, Christina
Thio, Christina
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Chi, Po-Yu
Chi, Po-Yu
Wu, Ko-Chien
Wu, Ko-Chien
Liu, Nien-Tzu
Liu, Nien-Tzu
Ho, Chieh-Hsin
Ho, Chieh-Hsin
STUDENTS
Lo, Chia-Hui
Lo, Chia-Hui
Hsueh, Chia-Yi
Hsueh, Chia-Yi
Shao, Jheng-Syuan
Shao, Jheng-Syuan
Huang, Ting-Chieh
Huang, Ting-Chieh
ALUMNI
Wu, Yi-Hsiu
Wu, Yi-Hsiu
Wang, Jo-Chiao
Wang, Jo-Chiao
Ting, Yu-Tes
Ting, Yu-Tes
member
Chung, Ethan-Jachen
member
Chen, Yun-Chi