A surgeon AND a scientist
Dr. Jacky Yeung was the recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship. As a tumor immunologist, he identified the presence of specific antigens in childhood and adult ependymomas, which led to a NIH-funded clinical trial utilizing a peptide vaccine. He focused on mechanisms of immune escape in adult gliomas, specifically the relationship between LOH of HLA Class I and decreased survival in GBM patients. During residency, he was the recipient of the prestigious AANS Tumor Section Research Award and focused on identifying novel immune check-point molecules under the mentorship of Lieping Chen, MD, PhD. To date, he has characterized the tumor immune microenvironment in malignant meningiomas and identified a major mechanism by which these tumors evades anti-tumor immunity. He has published widely in prestigious journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Neuro-oncology, Neuro-Oncology, and Science Immunology.
In addition, Dr. Yeung is an expert in the study of human brain connectome. He published widely on the use of machine learning to study the human functional connectome and was the first neurosurgeon to publish on the use of personalized pre-operative brain mapping during intracerebral surgeries. Moreover, Dr. Yeung's breadth of expertise is further highlighted by his authorship in the book "Connectomic Medicine," which dives into advancing understanding in connectomics, a field integral to his research endeavors, particularly in the study of the human functional connectome.
An expert in applied immunology
Characterization of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and identification of potential treatment strategies in brain tumors: In his early career, Dr. Yeung made the important discovery by identifying, for the first time, that the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the HLA Class I gene is associated with shorter overall survival (OS) in newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. This finding shed new light on the allelic status of these well-characterized genes and their crucial role in GBM immunosurveillance. Around the same time, Dr. Yeung also identified specific tumor-associated antigens (EphA2, Survivin, IL13Ra) in both childhood and adult ependymomas, leading to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical trial utilizing a peptide vaccine (#NCT01795313). During his neurosurgery residency, Dr. Yeung leveraged immunogenetics to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) in pituitary tumors and meningiomas. Using immunogenetics and quantitative immunofluorescence, he demonstrated how human meningiomas are predominated by M2 immunosuppressive macrophages and exhibit poor T cell infiltration. His work has prompted a reconsideration of applying solely T cell-focused therapies, highlighting the importance of addressing other mechanisms of T cell exclusion in these malignant brain tumors.
Pioneering Expert in Brain Connectomics and Personalized neurocognitive Care
Dr. Jacky Yeung has applied human functional connectomics to clinical neuroscience, using machine-learning methods to characterize critical brain network hubs that hold unexpected importance in a subset of individuals. This work has underscored the significance of studying parcellation network eloquence on a personalized level, leading to a shift in how neurosurgeons define eloquent areas of the brain. Dr. Yeung's research has challenged the field to adopt individualized approaches to understanding functional brain networks using refined Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and resting-state fMRI methods.
Notably, Dr. Yeung became the first neurosurgeon in the world to apply real-time visualization of functional networks during brain tumor surgeries. By understanding and quantifying brain connections among 360 parcellations of an individual brain, and comparing them to "normal" brain patterns, he has been able to identify targets for non-invasive brain modulation. This pioneering approach continues to influence personalized neurosurgical strategies and treatments.
Currently, he serves as the Chief Research Officer at Cingulum Health, a first-in-the-world personalized brain care institution.
