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Faculty & research

Hao Yuan Kueh

Faculty Photo

Assistant Professor
Bioengineering

  • kueh@uw.edu
  • BIOE N210E

Biography

We lay foundations for engineering immune cells to fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Our lab studies how immune cells make fate decisions, both as they develop from stem cells, and as they respond to antigens. To understand the molecular circuitry controlling immune cell fate choice, we follow its dynamic behavior at the single-cell level using live imaging, uncover its molecular components using modern genetic, biochemical and high-throughput approaches, and elucidate underlying design principles using mathematical modeling. We then use this understanding to engineer molecular circuits for precise control of immune cell function. Through this work, we aim to lay foundations for programming immune cells to fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Education

  • Ph.D., Biophysics, Harvard University
  • A.B., Physics, Princeton University

Previous appointments

  • Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology

Select publications

  1. Kueh H.Y., Yui M.A., Ng K., Pease S., Siu S., Bernstein I.D., Elowitz M.B., Rothenberg E.V. (2016). Asynchronous combinatorial action of four regulatory factors activates Bcl11b for T cell commitment. Nature Immunology, 17:956-65.
  2. Rothenberg E.V., Kueh H.Y., Yui M.A., Zhang J. (2016). Hematopoiesis and T-cell specification as a model developmental system. Immunol Rev. 271(1)72-97.
  3. Kueh H.Y., Champhekar A., Nutt S.L., Elowitz M.B., Rothenberg E.V. (2013) Positive feedback between PU.1 and the cell cycle controls myeloid differentiation. Science, 341(6146):670-3
  4. Kueh H.Y., Rothenberg E.V. (2012) Regulatory gene network circuits underlying T-cell development from multipotent progenitors. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Biol Med, 4(1):79-102
  5. Kueh H.Y., Brieher W.M., Mitchison T.J. (2010) Quantitative analysis of actin turnover in Listeria comet tails: evidence for catastrophic filament turnover. Biophys J, 99(7): 2153-62
  6. Kueh H.Y., Mitchison T.J., Brieher W.M. (2008) Actin disassembly by cofilin, coronin, and Aip1 occurs in bursts and is inhibited by barbed-end cappers. Journal of Cell Biology, 182(2):341.
  7. Levine J., Kueh H.Y., Mirny L (2007). Intrinsic fluctuations, robustness, and tunability in signaling cycles. Biophysical Journal, 92(12):4473-81.
  8. Vilar J.M., Kueh H.Y., Barkai N., Leibler S. (2002). Mechanisms of noise-resistance in genetic oscillators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(9):5988-92.

Honors & awards

  • 2014 K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, NIH
  • 2011 Postdoctoral fellowship, Irvington / Cancer Research Institute
  • 2006 Award for Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University
  • 2002 Predoctoral fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute