Dr. Yu brings more than 20 years of combined experience in immunology and immune-oncology, drug discovery & development, as well as precision medicine. As the head of R&D operations, Dr. Yu currently leads target identification and validation, drug discovery and development across the company’s portfolio.
With a passion for innovation and a strength in cross-functional communication, Dr. Yu joined Novasenta as a founding employee where she built a diverse, high-performing team, leading the establishment of both computational target discovery and experimental target validation platforms. She has a proven record of discovering novel drug targets and leading clinical drug discovery programs.
Previously, Dr. Yu spent 3 years with NewLink Genetics focusing on IDO inhibitor clinical program development. Working in the discovery/cross-disciplinary team, she managed a diverse set of functionalities including new pipeline development, proof of concept assay design and development, preclinical IND enabling studies, biomarker analysis for ongoing clinical trials. Prior to NewLink Genetics, Dr. Yu led several projects to decipher immune system regulation at molecular level to explore the possible treatment of immune diseases in MD Anderson Cancer Center. She has authored multiple, high-impact articles in Nature immunology, Nature Communications, and PNAS.
Dr. Yu received her Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from Wayne State University and BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Nankai University, China.