Dr. Dong is Feng Ying Chair Professor at Westlake University, where he also is Vice President and Dean of School of Medicine. Dr. Dong served as a Distinguished University Chair in Cancer Research and the Director of the Center for inflammation and Cancer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center before his move to China. He was Dean of Tsinghua University School of Medicine in 2016-2020 and Director of Institute of Immunology at Tsinghua University in 2014-2021, and Associate Vice President at Shanghai Jiao Tong University Schools in 2022-2023, and Director for the Shanghai Immune Therapy Institute from 2021.

Dr. Dong’s research is to understand the molecular mechanisms whereby immune and inflammatory responses are normally regulated, and to apply this knowledge to the understanding and treatment of infection, autoimmunity and allergy disorders as well as cancer. The work from Dr. Dong’s group has led to the definition of Th17 and T follicular helper (Tfh) cell subsets in the immune system and elucidation of their biological and pathological functions, which was rated in 2021 by Nature Reviews Immunology as two of “twenty major immunological breakthroughs” in the past twenty years. He recently investigates regulation of cytotoxic T cells, especially in the context of cancer.

Dr. Dong has over 300 publications. The honors he has received include the 2009 American Association of Immunologists-BD Bioscience Investigator Award, 2019 International Cytokine and Interferon Society Biolegend-William E. Paul Award, 2023 New Cornerstone Investigator Award, 2024 Distinguished Fellow of American Association of Immunologists, and 2024 Chinese Society of Cell Biology Outstanding Contribution Award. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the advancement of Science and the Chinese Academy of Medicine. He is currently co-editor-in-chief for hLife, Executive Associate Editor for China Sciences- Life Sciences, Associate Editor for Advances in Immunology, and an Editor/Advisor for Annual Review of Immunology, Immunity, Med, Journal of Experimental Medicine and Journal of Clinical Investigations.