Jang Laboratory
Leveraging epigenetic and metabolic vulnerabilities to improve immunotherapy
A tumor’s ability to evade immune detection and elimination is a hallmark of cancer. Tumors bypass the immune system by expressing immune checkpoints, which “exhaust” immune cells so that they can no longer recognize and kill cancer cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can block these signaling pathways to revitalize immune cell function. However, not every person or every cancer responds to immunotherapies. There is a critical need to understand the mechanisms that contribute to resistance.
The Jang Lab investigates how the crosstalk between metabolism and epigenetics contributes to cancer progression. To this end, we are searching for epigenetic and metabolic vulnerabilities that can be combined with therapeutics to improve cancer immunotherapy treatments.
Epigenetics and metabolism both play roles in cancer. They are tightly linked, with metabolites providing the basic building blocks for epigenetic marks. Unlike changes to DNA, problems with epigenetics and metabolism are reversible, which make them useful targets in cancer treatment. Targeting these vulnerabilities may help the immune system to better spot cancer cells by triggering an internal alarm system.
The Jang Lab also participates in translational research through the Van Andel Institute– Stand Up To Cancer® Epigenetics Dream Team, a multi-institutional collaboration that evaluates promising combination therapies for cancer in clinical trials.
News & Recent Publications
Learn More
Study reveals how dietary restriction helps fuel cancer-fighting immune cells
Van Andel Institute appoints cancer epigenetics expert Dr. H. Josh Jang as assistant professor
Could silencing old viruses help treat osteoarthritis?
Jang HJ*, Shah NM*, Maeng J*, Liang Y*, Basri NL, Ge J, Qu X, Mahlokozera T, Annamalai D, Chen JY, Lee HJ, DeSouza P, Li D, Xing X, Kim AH, Wang T. 2024. Epigenetic therapy potentiates transposable element transcription to create tumor-enriched antigens in glioblastoma cells. Nat Genet 56(9):1903–1913.
Jang HJ, Hostetter G, Macfarlane IV AW, Madaj Z, Ross EA, Hinoue T, Kulchycki JR, Burgos RS, Tafseer M, Alpaugh RK, Schwebel CL, Kokate R, Geynisman DM, Zibelman MR, Ghatalia P, Nichols PW, Chung W, Madzo J, Hahn NM, Quinn DI, Issa JJ, Topper MJ, Baylin SB, Shen H, Campbell KS, Jones PA, Plimack ER. 2023. A phase II trial of guadecitabine plus atezolizumab in metastatic urothelial carcinoma progressing after initial immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Clin Cancer Res 29(11):2052–2065.
Li HT*, Jang HJ*, Rohena-Rivera K*, Liu M, Gujar H, Kulchycki J, Zhao S, Billet S, Zhou X, Weisenberger DJ, Gill I, Jones PA, Bhowmick NA, Liang G. 2023. RNA mis-splicing drives viral mimicry response after DNMTi therapy in SETD2-mutant kidney cancer. Cell Rep 42(1):112016.
*Equal contribution
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- 141 peer-reviewed papers published in 2025, 74 of which were in high-impact journals
- 15 VAI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team clinical trials launched to date
- 10 clinical trials and related projects supported by VAI through the International Linked Clinical Trials Program
H. Josh Jang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Areas of Expertise
Epigenetic therapy, immunotherapy, cancer, multi-omics, transposable elements, RNA splicing
Biography
Dr. H. Josh Jang investigates combining epigenetic therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance the immune system’s ability to better fight cancer.
He earned his B.S. in health promotion and disease prevention from University of Southern California and his Ph.D. in molecular genetics and genomics from Washington University in St. Louis. During his graduate studies in the lab of Dr. Ting Wang, Dr. Jang concentrated on characterizing transposable elements’ contribution to oncogenic potential in cancer cell line models, as well as other projects that established and optimized targeted epigenetic technologies using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
In 2020, Dr. Jang joined Van Andel Institute as a VAI Fellow under Drs. Peter A. Jones and Stephen B. Baylin. He has received several prestigious awards for his research including a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence grant and a SPORE Epigenetic Therapies: Career Enhancement Program Award, both from the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Jang also serves as a reviewer for leading journals such as Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and Genome Research, among others. In 2021, he was selected as a Forbeck Scholar and, in 2023, he chaired the Gordon Research Seminar for Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics.
In 2025, Dr. Jang joined Van Andel Institute’s Department of Cell Biology as an assistant professor. He leverages innovative -omics technologies, such as single-cell, spatial and long-read sequencing methods to interrogate how the tumor microenvironment responds to therapy.
Cristina Kim
Assistant Research Technician, Department of Cell Biology
Ire Kim
Assistant Research Technician, Department of Cell Biology
Hyein Lee
Assistant Research Technician, Department of Cell Biology
Jennifer Lorenz
Senior Administrative Assistant I, Department of Cell Biology
Ahn (Audrey) Nguyen
Ph.D. Student, VAI Graduate School
Research focus to be determined.
Steve Pierce, Ph.D.
Computational Biologist III, Department of Cell Biology