Qing Chen
Lab Manager
About Qing
Qing Chen grew up in China. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Nanjing Agricultural University where she discovered her passion for Biology. In 2016, she traveled to the US and attended the Illinois Institute of Technology. While she was pursuing a master‘s degree, she contributed to the NLRP3 inflammasome Project.
After this, she joined a company where she is responsible for the culture of primary cells. Motivated by her interest in Immunology, she joined Esser-Kahn Lab in 2020 as a research analyst, and became the lab manager in 2022.
Education
BS, Ecology, Nanjing Agriculture University
MS, Biology, ITT 2018
Favorite Quote
"Be curious, not judgmental."
-Walt Whitman
Scientific Hero
Ada Lovelace
If you could be a piece of lab equipment, what would you be?
"-80 freezer: Always messy but functions well."
Qing's Research
Cell and molecular biology; Immunology
Lab Publications
Zvi, U., Mundhra, S., Ovetsky, D., Chen, Q., Jones, A. R., Wang, S., … Maurer, P. C. (2025). Probing cellular activity via charge-sensitive quantum nanoprobes. Preprint at arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.20816
Ajit, J., Chen, Q., Ung, T., Rosenberger, M., Kim, J., Solanki, A., … Esser Kahn, A. P. (2025). β-glucan induced trained immunity enhances antibody levels in a vaccination model in mice. PloS One, 20(5), e0323376. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323376
Weiss, A. M., Lopez, M. A., Rosenberger, M. G., Kim, J. Y., Shen, J., Chen, Q., … Esser-Kahn, A. P. (2024). Identification of CDK4/6 Inhibitors as Small Molecule NLRP3 Inflammasome Activators that Facilitate IL-1β Secretion and T Cell Adjuvanticity. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67(17), 14974–14985. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00516
Knight, H. R., Ketter, E., Ung, T., Weiss, A., Jainu Ajit, Chen, Q., … Esser-Kahn, A. (2024). High-throughput screen identifies non inflammatory small molecule inducers of trained immunity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(29). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2400413121
Cassaidy, B. J., Moser, B. A., Solanki, A., Chen, Q., Shen, J., Gotsis, K., … Esser, A. P. (2024). Immune Potentiation of PLGA Controlled-Release Vaccines for Improved Immunological Outcomes. ACS Omega, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c06552
Ajit, J., Chen, Q., Ung, T., Rosenberger, M., Kim, J., Solanki, A., … Esser, A. P. (2024). β-glucan induced trained immunity enhances antibody levels in a vaccination model in mice. Preprint at BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.11.588932
Ajit, J., Knight, H. R., Chen, Q., Solanki, A., Shen, J., & Esser, A. P. (2024). Novel non-immunogenic trained immunity inducing small molecule with improved anti-tumor properties. Preprint at BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.22.585780
Weiss, A. M., Lopez, M. A., Rawe, B. W., Manna, S., Chen, Q., Mulder, E. J., … Esser-Kahn, A. P. (2023). Understanding How Cationic Polymers’ Properties Inform Toxic or Immunogenic Responses via Parametric Analysis. Macromolecules, 56(18), 7286–7299. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.3c01223
Tang, Y., Kim, J., IP, C. K., Azadeh Bahmani, Chen, Q., Rosenberger, M. G., … Ferguson, A. L. (2023). Data-driven discovery of innate immunomodulators via machine learning-guided high throughput screening. Chemical Science, 14(44). https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc03613h
Kim, J. Y., Rosenberger, M. G., Chen, S., Ip, C. K., Bahmani, A., Chen, Q., ... & Esser-Kahn, A. P. (2023). Discovery of New States of Immunomodulation for Vaccine Adjuvants via High Throughput Screening: Expanding Innate Responses to PRRs. ACS Central Science, 9(3), 427-439. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscentsci.2c01351
Ajit, J.; Cassaidy, B.; Tang, S.; Solanik, A.; Chen, Q.; Shen, J.; Esser-Kahn, A.P. Temporal control of trained immunity via encapsulated release of β-glucan improves therapeutic applications, Advanced Healthcare Materials, https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202200819