Prof Heidi GS Ling has joined the University of Hong Kong as Assistant Professor in November 2019. She obtained her Bsc and PhD at HKU and did her postdoctoral training at Imperial College London. Prof Ling’s research focuses on the metabolic reprogramming of exhausted CD8+T cells in chronic inflammatory diseases. Her laboratory employs the emerging technologies from the field of immunometabolism to assess the effects of sustained inflammation on exhausted T cell differentiation, as well as the implications of tumor-immune coevolution on the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Her team’s goal is to develop metabolism-targeting drugs to regulate T cell immunity in infection, cancer and autoimmunity. 

1. Chen WX, Teo JMN, Yau SW, Wong WMM, Lok CN, Che CM, Javed A, Huang Y, Ma S, Ling GS. Chronic Type I interferons signaling promotes lipid peroxidation-driven terminal CD8+T cell exhaustion and curtails anti-PD-1 treatment efficacy. Cell Reports 2022 Vol 41:111647 
2. Lee CH#, Gray V#, Teo JMN, Tam AR, Fong CHY, Lui DTW, Chan KH, Hung IFN*, Tan KCB*, Ling GS*. Comparing the B and T Cell-mediated Immune Responses in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Receiving mRNA or Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines. Frontiers in Immunology 2022 13:1018393 #Joint first author;  *Joint corresponding author 
3. Ye ZW, Ong CP, Tang K, Fan Y, Luo C, Zhou R, Luo P, Cheng Y, Gray V, Wang P, Chu H, Chan JFW, To KKW, Chen H, Chen Z, Yuen KY, Ling GS*, Yuan S*, Jin DY*. Intranasal administration of a single dose of a candidate live attenuated vaccine derived from an NSP16-deficient SARS-CoV-2 confers sterilizing immunity in animals. Cellular & Molecular Immunology 2022 Vol 19:588-601 *Joint corresponding author
4. Buang N, Tapeng L, Gray V, Sardini A, Chad W, Lightstone L, Cairns T, Pickering M, Behmoaras J, Ling GS*. Botto M* Type I interferons affect the metabolic fitness of CD8+T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Nature Communications 2021 12:1980 doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22312-y *Joint corresponding author
5. Ling GS, Crawford G, Buang N, Bartok I, Tian K, Thielens NM, Bally I, Harker JA, Ashton-Rickardt PG, Rutschmann S, Strid J, Botto M. C1q restrains autoimmunity and viral infection by regulating CD8+T cell metabolism. Science 2018 Vol 360:558-563.
6. Bulla R*, Tripodo C*, Rami D*, Ling GS*,Agostinis C, Guarnotta C, Zorzet S, Durigutto P, Botto M, Tedesco F. C1q acts in the tumour microenvironment as a cancer-promoting factor independently of complement activation. Nature Communications 2016 Feb 1;7:10346. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10346. *Joint first author
7. Ling GS, Bennett J, Woollard KJ, Szajna M, Fossati-Jimack L, Taylor PR, Scott D, Franzoso G, Cook HT, Botto M. Integrin CD11b positively regulates TLR4-induced signalling pathways in dendritic cells but not in macrophages. Nature Communications 2014;5:3039. doi: 10.1038/ncomms4039
8. Sattler S*, Ling GS*, Xu D, Hussaarts L, Romaine A, Zhao H, Fossati-Jimack L, Malik T, Cook HT, Botto M, Lau YL, Smits HH, Liew FY, Huang FP. IL-10-producing regulatory B cells induced by IL-33 (BregIL-33) effectively attenuate mucosal inflammatory responses in the gut. Journal of Autoimmunity 2014 Vol 50:107-22. *Joint first author
9. Bossi F, Tripodo C, Rizzi L, Bulla R, Agostinis C, Guarnotta C, Munaut C, Baldassarre G, Papa G, Zorzet S, Ghebrehiwet B, Ling GS, Botto M, Tedesco F. C1q as a novel player in angiogenesis with therapeutic implication in wound healing. Proceedings of National Academy of Science of the United States of America 2014 Vol 111(11):4209-14.
10. Ling GS, Cook HT, Botto M, Lau YL, Huang FP. An Essential Protective Role Of IL-10 In The Immunological Mechanism Underlying Resistance Versus Susceptibility To Lupus Induction By Dendritic Cells. Rheumatology 2011 Vol 50: 1773-84.

Review articles:

•  Lou Hantao, Ling GS, Cao Xuetao. Autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus: From immunopathology to therapeutic target. Journal of Autoimmunity 2022 21:102861
  
   

Grants as PI: 

• RGC ECS 2020/2021:  The effects of chronic type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling on CD8+T cell metabolism and exhaustion 
• RGC GRF 2021/2021 : Structural insight into inhibition of influenza virus NS1 protein on human CPSF complex  
• RGC GRF 2022/2023 : The role of Type I interferon- induced lipid peroxidation in T cell exhaustion and cancer immunotherapy resistance 
• HMRF 2019 : Developing ACE2 Variants with Increased Stability and Higher Affinity Targeting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Protein