Understanding and enhancing the distinction between self and non/altered self
Dissecting and rewiring (multi)cellular circuits to uncover and develop immune-based/like mechanisms for disease treatment and prevention

The immune system has a remarkable ability to distinguish between healthy (self) and unhealthy (non/altered self) cells and eliminate only the latter. This process can depend on a single cell or millions of cells that transmit information to one another.
Using and developing genetic and genomic tools we aim to augment, redirect, and generate new types of immune responses to eliminate and reprogram “altered self” cells, including cancer, senescent, virally infected, and other types of dysfunctional disease driving cells.
How? By decoding and integrating mechanisms that have evolved for millions of years and are imprinted in immune and non-immune cells with mechanisms that we “evolve” and rationally design in the lab through synthetic biology and directed evolution.

Selected Publications
Redirecting cytotoxic lymphocytes to breast cancer tumors via metabolite-sensing receptors
Kim et al., bioRxiv (2025)
Mapping spatial organization and genetic cell-state regulators to target immune evasion in ovarian cancer Yeh*, Aguirre*, Laveroni*, et al., Nature Immunology (2024)
Mapping multicellular programs from single-cell profiles
Jerby and Regev, Nature Biotechnology (2022); Seminar and Voices on Cancer CellOpposing immune and genetic mechanisms shape oncogenic programs in synovial sarcoma.
Jerby et al., Nature Medicine (2021)A cancer cell program promotes T cell exclusion and resistance to checkpoint blockade.
Jerby et al., Cell (2018) SeminarPerturb-Seq: Dissecting molecular circuits with scalable single-cell RNA profiling of pooled genetic screens.
Dixit et al., Cell (2016)Predicting cancer-specific vulnerability via data-driven detection of synthetic lethality.
Jerby et al., Cell (2014)
Pan-cancer mapping of single CD8+ T cell profiles reveals a TCF1:CXCR6 axis regulating CD28 costimulation and anti-tumor immunity
Tooley*, Jerby*, et al. Cell Reports Medicine (2024)
Preprint Watch, Nature Reviews Immunology
Livnat Jerby
Assistant Professor
Jeehyun Yoe, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Reece Villarin Akana
PhD Student, Cancer Biology
Young-Min Kim, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dixian Zhu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Olivia Laveroni
Research Assistant
Chang Sun, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mike Tsai
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Yuxin Cai, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Christine Yiwen Yeh
MD/ PhD Student, BMI; co-advised by Sylvia Plevritis
Kristen Frombach
PhD student, Cancer Biology
Celeste Zesati Diaz
PhD student, Cancer Biology; co-advised by Jennifer Cochran
Karmen Aguirre
PhD Student, Cancer Biology
Soua Lee
Administrative Associate
Selected Videos
From Natural to engineered immune responses seminar (March 2025)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjWelIePVls (requires YouTube log in with a Stanford email)
High level overview of our approach and cell engineering efforts.

Contact
Department of Genetics
Stanford University
Biomedical Innovation (BMI) Building
240 Pasteur Dr, Palo Alto, CA 94304
ljerby@stanford.edu | Office phone: (650) 497-0294
Open Positions
Job openings are available for outstanding researchers, graduate students, and future postdocs, who are highly motivated and have relevant research experience. To apply email your CV and a brief synopsis of your research experience and interests.