Computational Biology Seminar - Dr. Jiyang Yu

Targeting Hidden Drivers for Precision Medicine

Speaker: Jiyang Yu, Ph.D.

Interim Chair, Department of Computational Biology at St. Jude Hospital, Memphis, TN.

Abstract:

Precision medicine requires understanding not only which genes are altered, but also how molecular networks are rewired within and between cells. “Hidden drivers” are genes or factors that lack mutations or differential RNA expression yet have functional effects: perturbing them changes the phenotype. Some act primarily in the tumor microenvironment (TME), with little or no activity in tumor cells themselves. This seminar will highlight how we integrate bulk, single-cell, and spatial omics with computational tools, including NetBID, scMINER, and Spotiphy, to infer context-specific hidden drivers, particularly those underlying tumor–TME interactions. Examples from cancer and immunology, including the dynamic LCK–BCL2 switch in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), will illustrate how these discoveries inform activity-based biomarkers, combination therapies, and clinical trials. I will also introduce PETRAL project, which will use patients’ molecular and functional profiles to guide therapy in a biomarker-based adaptive clinical trial for relapsed ALL. Together, this work advances precision medicine beyond genomics by targeting the functional networks underlying disease.

Speaker Bio:

Jiyang Yu, PhD, is a Member and Interim Chair of the Department of Computational Biology. He received his BS in Computer Science from Zhejiang University (2006) and his PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University (2012), where he trained in Dr. Andrea Califano’s laboratory. Following his PhD, Dr. Yu worked as a senior scientist in Pfizer Oncology focusing on cancer precision medicine. He joined St. Jude in 2016 as an Assistant Member, was promoted to Associate Member in 2021, and became a Member in 2025. Dr. Yu’s laboratory integrates computational and experimental biology to elucidate intracellular and intercellular networks that drive complex biological systems and diseases, particularly cancer. Leveraging multi-omics approaches—including single-cell and spatial omics—his team uncovers “hidden” drivers and develops therapeutic strategies that advance toward patient care. Several of the lab’s discoveries have led to clinical trials across multiple cancer types. Dr. Yu has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Nature, Cell, Cancer Cell, Cancer Discovery, Nature Cancer, and Nature Methods. Learn more: https://www.stjude.org/research/labs/yu-lab.html.

Host: Chao Xing, Ph.D.