Ran Jing, PhD

Ran Jing, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry

Short Bio:

Dr. Ran Jing is a stem cell biologist whose research focuses on human pluripotent stem cell–based models of hematopoiesis and immune cell development, with the goal of advancing cellular immunotherapies.

He received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina, where he trained under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen A. Duncan and investigated the molecular mechanisms governing human liver development. Following his Ph.D., Dr. Jing pursued postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. George Q. Daley at Harvard Medical School, where he later transitioned to a faculty position.

In 2026, Dr. Jing joined the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. His research focuses on harnessing the potential of human pluripotent stem cells to generate lymphoid cells and to develop next-generation, off-the-shelf cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune-related diseases.

Research in Lay Terms:

Our laboratory studies how human stem cells can be guided to become functional immune cells for research and therapeutic applications. We use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to generate diverse immune cell types and investigate the mechanisms underlying their development and function.

We engineer these cells to enhance their ability to recognize and respond to disease-related targets, including through chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology. By integrating stem cell biology and immunology, our work aims to establish reliable human immune cell models and advance innovative approaches for cellular immunotherapy and immune-based treatments.

Recent Publications:

Mout R, Jing R, Tanaka-Yano M, Egan ED, Eisenach H, Kononov MA, Windisch R, Najia MAT, Tompkins A, Hensch L, Bingham T, Gunage R, Zhao Y, Edman NI, Li C, Wang D, Schlaeger TM, Zon LI, North TE, Lendahl U, Rowe RG, Baker D, Blacklow SC, Daley GQ. Design of soluble Notch agonists that drive T cell development and boost immunity. Cell. 2025. Epub 20250729. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.07.009 . PMID: 40752493.

Jing R, Falchetti M, Han T, Najia M, Hensch L, Meader E, Lummertz da Rocha E, Kononov M, Bingham T, Wang S, Li Z, Zhao Y, Frenis K, Kubaczka C, Yang S, Jha D, Rowe R, Schlaeger TM, Maus MV, North TE, Zon LI, Daley GQ. Maturation and Persistence of CAR T Cells Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells via Chemical Inhibition of G9a/GLP. Cell Stem Cell, 2025 Jan 2, 32(1) 71-85 e5. PMID: 39504968. DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.10.004

Munera JO, Kechele DO, Bouffi C, Qu N, Jing R, Maity P, Enriquez JR, Han L, Campbell I, Mahe MM, McCauley HA, Zhang X, Sundaram N, Hudson JR, Zarsozo-Lacoste A, Pradhan S, Tominaga K, Sanchez JG, Weiss AA, Chatuvedi P, Spence JR, Hachimi M, North T, Daley GQ, Mayhew CN, Hu YC, Takebe T, Helmrath MA and Wells JM. Development of Functional Resident Macrophages in Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Colonic Organoids and Human Fetal Colon. Cell Stem Cell 2023 Nov 2 30(11): 1434-51 e9. PMID: 37922878. DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.10.002 

Jing R, Scarfo I, Najia MA,  Lummertz da Rocha E, Han A, Sanborn M, Bingham T, Kubaczka C, Jha D, Falchetti M, Schlaeger TM, North TE, Maus MV, Daley GQ. EZH1 Repression Generates Mature iPSC-derived CAR T Cells with Enhanced Antitumor Activity. Cell Stem Cell, 2022 Aug 4, 29(8):1181-1196 PMID: 35931029. DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2022.06.014 

Lummertz da Rocha E, Kubaczka C, Sugden WW, Najia MA, Jing R, Markel A, LeBlanc, ZC, Dos Santos Peixoto R, Falchetti M, Collins, JJ, North TE, Daley GQ. CellComm Infers Cellular Crosstalk that Drives Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Development. Nat Cell Biol, 2022 Apr 24, 579–589. PMID: 35414020. DOI: 10.1038/s41556-022-00884-1 

Frame JM, Kubaczka C, Long TL, Esain V, Soto RA, Hachimi, M, Jing R, Shwartz A, Goessling W, Daley GQ, North TE. Metabolic Regulation of Inflammasome Activity Controls Embryonic Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Production. Developmental Cell, 2020 Aug 10;S1534-5807(20)30589; PMID: 32810442. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.07.015