Dr. Bao is a member of the Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) Cancer Biology Program and Co-Director of the UPMC HCC Cancer Bioinformatics. Using a combination of multi-omics data integration, machine learning, and computer vision-assisted pathology image recognition, Dr. Bao’s work bridges methodological advances and biomedical applications with a direct impact on accelerating the knowledge discovery to new clinical trials that could benefit patients. Her lab focuses on the data-driven discovery of resistance mechanisms to cancer immunotherapy, with major contributions to the identification of WNT/ß-catenin activation as the first tumor-intrinsic mechanism that drives immune exclusion, commensal microbiome as the modulator of anti-PD1 efficacy, and systemic discovery of oncogenic pathways that contribute to the absence of immune infiltration across human solid tumors. Those findings are of particular importance because they provide the scientific rationale to new trials that combine therapeutic targets, such as IDH1 inhibitors, with anti-PD1. Dr. Bao is Co-Leader of Bioinformatics/Biostatistics in the Melanoma and Skin Cancer SPORE and Head and Neck Cancer SPORE programs. She also serves as the the UPMC HCC Informatics Committee, providing critical advice on data accessibility, analysis, integration, and infrastructure for translational research across the Cancer Center. Dr. Bao is a member of The American Association of Immunologists, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention.
- BS, University of Science and Technology of China, 2004
- PhD, Wayne State University, 2012
Education & Training
Riyue Bao, Stefani Spranger, Kyle M Hernandez, Yuanyuan Zha, Peter Pytel, Jason J Luke, Thomas Gajewski, Samuel L Volchenboum, Susan L Cohn, Ami V Desai. Immunogenomic determinants of tumor microenvironment correlate with survival in high-risk neuroblastoma. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. 2021; 9(7): e002417.
Riyue Bao, Lauren A Hesser, Ziyuan He, Xiaoying Zhou, Kari C Nadeau, Cathryn R Nagler. Fecal microbiome and metabolome differ in healthy and food-allergic twins. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2021; 131(2): e141935.
Riyue Bao, Anita Ng, Mark Sasaki, Myvizhi Esai Selvan, Alyna Katti, Hyesan Lee, Lei Huang, Andrew D Skol, Cinzia Lavarino, Hector Salvador, Robert J Klein, Zeynep H Gümüs, Jaume Mora, Kenan Onel. Functional Common and Rare ERBB2 Germline Variants Cooperate in Familial and Sporadic Cancer Susceptibility. Cancer Prevention Research. 2021; 14(4): 441-454.
Riyue Bao, Oliver Surriga, Daniel J Olson, Jacob B Allred, Carrie A Strand, Yuanyuan Zha, Timothy Carll, Brian W Labadie, Bruno R Bastos, Marcus Butler, David Hogg, Elgilda Musi, Grazia Ambrosini, Pamela Munster, Gary K Schwartz, Jason J Luke. Transcriptional analysis of metastatic uveal melanoma survival nominates NRP1 as a therapeutic target. Melanoma research. 2021; 31(1): 27.
Riyue Bao, Daniel Stapor, Jason J Luke. Molecular correlates and therapeutic targets in T cell-inflamed versus non-T cell-inflamed tumors across cancer types. Genome medicine. 2020; 12(1): 1-19.
Riyue Bao, Kyle Hernandez, Lei Huang, Jason J Luke. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression by clinical, HLA, immune, and microbial correlates across 34 human cancers and matched normal tissues: implications for SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 2020; 8: e001020.
Taylor Feehley*, Catherine H Plunkett*, Riyue Bao*, Sung Min Choi Hong, Elliot Culleen, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Evelyn Campbell, Rosita Aitoro, Rita Nocerino, Lorella Paparo, Jorge Andrade, Dionysios A Antonopoulos, Roberto Berni Canani, Cathryn R Nagler. Healthy infants harbor intestinal bacteria that protect against food allergy. Nature Medicine. 2019; 25(3): 448-53.[*]Equalcontribution.
Riyue Bao, Kenneth G Onishi, Elisabetta Tolla, Fran JP Ebling, Jo E Lewis, Richard L Anderson, Perry Barrett, Brian J Prendergast, Tyler J Stevenson. Genome sequencing and transcriptome analyses of the Siberian hamster hypothalamus identify mechanisms for seasonal energy balance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019; 116(26): 13116-21.
Vyara Matson*, Jessica Fessler*, Riyue Bao*, Tara Chongsuwat, Yuanyuan Zha, Maria-Luisa Alegre, Jason J Luke, Thomas F Gajewski. The commensal microbiome is associated with anti–PD-1 efficacy in metastatic melanoma patients. Science. 2018; 359(6371): 104-8.[*]Equalcontribution.
Stefani Spranger, Riyue Bao, Thomas F Gajewski. Melanoma-intrinsic ß-catenin signalling prevents anti-tumour immunity. Nature. 2015; 523(7559): 231-235.
- Thomas C. Competitive Rumble University Graduate Fellow, Wayne State University, 2005 & 2008
- Enhancement GRA Scholarship, Wayne State University, 2009
- Exceptional Research Assistant Award, Wayne State University, 2009
- PCF Challenge Award, Prostate Cancer Foundation, 2016
- Lerner Family Foundation Early Career Travel Award, ADvances in Neuroblastoma Research Conference, 2018
- Team Science Award, Melanoma Research Alliance, 2018
- Duchossois Family Institute Pilot Fund, University of Chicago, 2018
