About Xiaolei Tang, MD, PhD

Dr. Tang holds an MD degree from the Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China; a Master degree in Immunology from Shanghai Medical College Fudan University; and a PhD degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arizona.

Following medical school, Dr. Tang practiced medicine as a radiologist for 2 years in Huangshan City People’s Hospital, Huangshan, Anhui province, China. After receiving his Master degree, he was appointed as a lecturer for 4 years in the Department of Immunology at Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University. After obtaining his PhD degree from the University of Arizona, Dr. Tang joined as a postdoctoral fellow Dr. Vipin Kumar’s research laboratory at Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in San Diego, California, where he remained for 4 years. Later he accepted a Research Associate position in the laboratory of Dr. Harvey Cantor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. After 3.5 years at Harvard, he became a faculty member at the University of Texas, El Paso, Texas where he stayed for 3 years before joining as an Associate Research Professor, for a total of 6 years, the Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine at Loma Linda University in California. Dr. Tang joined the Long Island University College of Veterinary Medicine in September 2019.

Dr. Tang has considerable teaching experience. He has taught undergraduate and graduate students, medical students, and other professional students. He has developed syllabi and directed courses mainly in immunology. During his interactions with students, Dr. Tang strives to convey his passion for the discipline and to promote a learning environment that fosters student participation and small group discussion. Dr. Tang often emphasizes essential basic science concepts into clinically relevant scenarios that can be easily understood by students with different levels of knowledge.

Dr. Tang’s research interests include regulatory T (Treg) cells and the role of immune system in tissue repair. In the area of Treg cells, he is interested in the roles of 1,25(OH)2D (i.e. the active vitamin D metabolite) and retinoic acid (RA, i.e. the active vitamin A metabolite) in the induction of Treg cells and in the treatment of immune-mediated diseases through tissue-specific delivery of these two molecules. In addition, he is interested in the immune regulatory mechanisms of Qa-1(HLA-E in human)-restricted CD8 T cells. In the area of tissue repair, he is interested in the role of the immune system in stem cells. Such role may include stem cell recruitment, priming, and differentiation. The ultimate goals of the above studies are to develop novel therapies for diseases with improved safety and efficacy. Dr. Tang has consistently received extramural funding for his research from National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS).