Coco Chu, Ph.D.

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The Laboratory of Coco Chu

Coco Chu, Ph.D.

The Chu Laboratory strives to understand the interactions between the microbiota, the immune system, and the nervous system. We are tremendously excited to discover previously unrecognized crosstalk, to unveil the underlying molecular mechanisms, and to help develop the next generation of preventative, therapeutic, or curative treatment strategies.

We define our own success by the personal and career development of team members, the promotion of diversity and equity, and ultimately by the outcomes of patients suffering worldwide from inflammatory (including allergic, infectious, and autoimmune) diseases.

Students

Ruichao Liu

Ph.D candidate in Lab of Neuroimmunology, Institute for Immunology, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University.

He received his B.M. degree in Clinical Medicine from Shanxi Medical University in 2019.

Currently, his research area is related to enteric neuron-immune cell crosstalk in health and disease contexts.

Zirun Tang

Ph.D. candidate (since 2020) in Institute for Immunology of Tsinghua University.

Research focuses on the functions of group 3 innate lymphoid cells.

Xiaoyu Zhang

Xiaoyu Zhang is a PhD student (2021) in Chu lab. He obtained bachelor’s degree in Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University and Master’s degree in Shanghai Jiaotong University. Currently, his research focuses on the interaction of ILC2 with intrinsic enteric neurons during anti-helminth immunity.

Yifan Qu

Yifan Qu started his PhD training and joined Chu's lab in the School of Medicine in 2022. His research focuses on the pleiotropic effects of neurons in mucosal tissues, with a specific focus on modulating the innate lymphoid cell family in both homeostasis and disease conditions.

Zhijie Gu

Ph.D. student (since 2022) in School of Life Science, Bachelor’s degree from Jilin University.

Research focus: Neuro-immune interaction in mucosal immunity.

Yi Wang

Yi joined the Chu Laboratory in 2023. She received her Master's degree from the University of Melbourne, specialized in the development of the enteric nervous system. Currently, Yi is interested in the neuro-immune interaction in the gut.

Wenxuan Xu

Wenxuan Xu, a Ph. D student in the School of Medicine, received her bachelor's degree from Sun Yat-sen University. Her research focuses on the interaction between neurons and innate lymphoid cells.

Tianqi Shi

Ph.D. candidate, Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua University, 2024—Present.B.S., ShanghaiTech University, 2023.
Research interest: Mucosal immunology and Neuro-immune crosstalk.

Neuroimmunology, Mucosal Immunology

1. Chu C, Parkhurst CN, Zhang W, Zhou L, Yano H, Arifuzzaman M, Artis D. The ChAT-acetylcholine pathway promotes group 2 innate lymphoid cell responses and anti-helminth immunity. Sci Immunol 2021 Mar 5; 6 (57).
2. Chu C, Artis D^#, Chiu IM^#. Neuro-immune interactions in the tissues. Immunity 2020 Mar 17; 52 (3). ^#Co-correspondence authors.
3. Chu C, Murdock MH, Jing D, Won TH, Chung H, Kressel AM, Tsaava T, Addorisio ME, Putzel GG, Zhou L, Bessman NJ, Yang R, Moriyama S, Parkhurst CN, Li A, Meyer HC, Teng F, Chavan SS, Tracey KJ, Regev A, Schroeder FC, Lee FS, Liston C^#, Artis D^#. The intestinal microbiota regulate neuronal function and fear extinction learning. Nature 2019 Oct; 574 (7779). ^#Co-correspondence authors.
4. Teng F, Goc J, Zhou L, Chu C, Shah MA, Eberl G, Sonnenberg GF. A circadian clock is essential for homeostasis of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in the gut. Sci Immunol 2019 Oct 4; 4 (40).
5. Zhou L, Chu C, Teng F, Bessman NJ, Goc J, Santosa EK, Putzel GG, Kabata H, Kelsen JR, Baldassano RN, Shah MA, Sockolow RE, Vivier E, Eberl G, Smith KA, Sonnenberg GF. Innate lymphoid cells support regulatory T cells in the intestine through interleukin-2. Nature 2019 Apr; 568 (7752).
6. Chu C^*, Moriyama S^*, Li Z, Zhou L, Flamar AL, Klose CSN, Moeller JB, Putzel GG, Withers DR, Sonnenberg GF, Artis D. Anti-microbial functions of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissues are regulated by G-protein-coupled receptor 183. Cell Rep 2018 June 26; 23 (13). ^*Co-first authors.
7. Chu C, Wang Y, Zhang X, Ni X, Cao J, Xu W, Dong Z, Yuan P, Wei W, Ma Y, Zhang L, Wu L, Qi H. SAP-regulated T Cell-APC adhesion and ligation-dependent and -independent Ly108-CD3ζ interactions. J Immunol 2014 Oct 15; 193 (8).