Prof. Guan YANG

Associate Professor 
BS, MS, PhD
Office Address
Room 1B-412, 4/F, Block 1, To Yuen Building, 31 To Yuen Street, City University of Hong Kong
Office Tel
+852 3442-4952
Email
gyang25@cityu.edu.hk
Biography URL
CityUHK Scholars

Prof. Yang conducted his PhD study at the University of Florida. Following his postdoctoral training in the Luc Van Kaer lab at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he joined the City University of Hong Kong to establish his own laboratory in 2021. His research primarily focuses on how early innate immune responses - particularly neutrophil infiltration - affect T cell differentiation and function in the context of infection and CNS autoimmunity. 

Historically regarded as short-lived and functionally limited, neutrophils have been largely overlooked in the context of chronic autoimmune diseases. Our research program aims to investigate the pathogenic contribution of neutrophils in CNS autoimmunity and harness the therapeutic potential of targeting these cells. 

We are also expanding our research on neutrophils to include studies on multi-drug-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) infections. In these studies, neutrophils are acknowledged as the first line of defense; however, they have proven ineffective in containing these superbugs. We aim to understand the mechanisms and develop immune-based therapies for these superbugs.

We use a range of techniques to study this, including flow cytometry, histology, microscopy, single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing, and in vivo models using genetically-modified animals.

Selected publications (# indicates student co-authors)

  1. Jiang QL#, Zhu GC#, Si W#, Ma X#, Liu Q, Yang G*. Single-cell transcriptomics reveal tissue-specific neutrophil heterogeneity and functional reprogramming in autoimmunity. Journal of Autoimmunity. 2026 In press.

  2. Fang X#, Li W#, Zhang XY#, Mina SA#, Jiang QL#, Zhu GC#, Chen S, Yang G*. Single-Cell Atlas Reveals Neutrophil Heterogeneity in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection-Induced Sepsis. Immunology. 2026 Aug 27. doi: 10.1111/imm.70193.

  3. Li WZ#, Fang X#, Zhang XY#, Zhu GC#, Yang G*. S100A8/A9 blockade attenuates autoimmune neuroinflammation by regulating the heterogeneity and function of neutrophils. Brain Behav. Immun. 2026 Jun 1:106845. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2026.106845.

  4. Zhu GC#, Yang G*. Multikingdom microbiome-based machine learning enables multiple sclerosis diagnosis. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2026 May 30;12(1):166. doi: 10.1038/s41522-026-01030-7.

  5. Jiang QL#, Zhu GC#, Ma X#, Si W#, Yang G*. β-oxidation-mediated differentiation of effector CD4+ T cells in the lung enhances neuroinflammation. J Neuroinflammation. 2026 May 9;23(1):226. doi: 10.1186/s12974-026-03865-5

  6. Si W, Zhu GC, Jiang QL, Ma X, Yang G*. MyD88 deficiency protects mice from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by influencing both dendritic cells and T Cells. Immunology. 2026 177 (4), 784-797. doi: 10.1111/imm.70079.

  7. Ma X#, Liu Q, Yang G*. The multifaceted roles of Akkermansia muciniphila in neurological disorders. Trends Neurosci. 2025 Jun;48(6):403-415. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.04.004.

  8. Xu Q#, Liu XX#, Heng H, Wang H#, Chen KC, Chan EW-C, Yang G*, Chen S*. Myeloid-derived suppressor cell inhibits T-cell-based defense against Klebsiella pneumoniae infection via IDO1 production. PLoS Pathog. 2025 Mar 17;21(3):e1012979. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012979. 

  9. Ma X#, Zhang J, Jiang QL#, Li YX*, Yang G*. Human microbiome-derived peptide affects the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis via molecular mimicry. eBioMedicine. 2025 Jan;111:105516. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105516.

  10. Wang H#, Xu Q#, Heng H, Zhao WX, Ni HYH, Chen KC, Chan KW, Tang Y, Xie MM, Peng MX, Chan WC, Yang G*, Chen S*. High mortality of Acinetobacter baumannii infection is attributed to macrophage-mediated induction of cytokine storm but preventable by naproxen. eBioMedicine. 2024 Oct;108:105340. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105340.

  11. Jiang QL#, Ma X#, Zhu GC#, Si W#, He LY, Yang G*. Altered T cell development in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Exp Neurol. 2024 Jan:371:114579.

  12. Mina SA#, Zhu GC#, Fanian M, Chen S*, Yang G*. Exploring reduced macrophage cell toxicity of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae compared to classical Klebsiella pneumoniae. Microbiol Res. 2024 Jan:278:127515