Immunology Program
The Joseph Sun Lab
Research

Professor
The immune system responds to viral infections by introducing a complex interplay of immune cells and factors, whose goal is to eliminate the intruding pathogen. One such effector cell in the antiviral response is the Natural Killer (NK) cell, which secretes inflammatory cytokines and directly kills infected cells. The focus of our research is aimed at defining the signals that NK cells require to mount an effective immune response against pathogens. We are also exploring the regulatory mechanisms keeping NK cells in check, thereby safeguarding against potential autoimmunity.

Featured News



Publications Highlights
Delconte RB, Owyong M, Santosa EK, Srpan K, Sheppard S, McGuire TJ, Abbasi A, Diaz-Salazar C, Chun J, Rogatsky I, Hsu KC, Jordan S, Merad M, Sun JC. 2024. Fasting reshapes tissue-specific niches to improve NK cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. Immunity. 57(8):1923-1938.e7.
Santosa EK, Kim H, Rückert T, Le Luduec JB, Abbasi AJ, Wingert CK, Peters L, Frost JN, Hsu KC, Romagnani C, Sun JC. 2023. Control of nutrient uptake by IRF4 orchestrates innate immune memory. Nat Immunol. 24(10):1685-1697.
People

Joseph Sun, PhD
Professor
- Immunologist Joseph Sun investigates the natural killer cell response against infection and cancer.
- PhD, University of Washington
- [email protected]
- Email Address
- 646-888-3228
- Office Phone
Members

- BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Cancer Biology
- 646-888-3237
- Lab Phone

- AB, Washington University in St. Louis
- Cancer Biology

Administrative Assistant

Research Technician

Graduate Student

Research Fellow

Graduate Student

Research Fellow

Graduate Student

Graduate Student

Research Fellow

Graduate Student

Research Technician

Member

Clinical Fellow

Research Technician

- Tufts University

- California Institute of Technology


- Yale University


- 646-888-3237
- Lab Phone






- 646-888-3237
- Lab Phone

- 646-888-3237
- Lab Phone

- 646-888-3237
- Office Phone






- 646-888-3237
- Lab Phone



Lab Alumni

Graduate Student; Current Position: Healthcare Investor- Counterpoint Global at Morgan Stanley, New York, NY

MD/PhD Student; Current Position: Resident, UCSF

Graduate Student; Current Position: Principal Scientist, Capstan Therapeutics, Hayward, CA

Graduate Student; Current Position: Science Policy Fellowship, National Academy of Sciences

Tri-I MD-PhD Student; Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY

Graduate Student; Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University, New York, NY

Graduate Student; Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Genentech, San Francisco, CA

Research Fellow; Current Position: Assistant Professor, Rutgers Medical School

Research Fellow; Current Position: Research Scientist, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

Research Fellow; Current Position: Assistant Professor, UCLA

Research Fellow; Current Position: Research Scientist, Roche

Research Fellow; Current Position: Assistant Professor, Technical University of Munich

Research Fellow; Current Position: Assistant Professor, Cornell University

Research Fellow; Current Position: Scientific Consulting

Research Fellow; Current Position: Lecturer, Imperial College London

Research Technician; Current Position: Residency, MD Anderson

Research Technician; Current Position: Graduate Student, U Penn

Research Technician; Current Position: Graduate Student, Yale

Research Technician; Current: Biotech company

Research Technician; Current Position: Graduate Student, Weill Cornell

Research Technician; Current Position: Graduate Student, Duke

Research Technician; Current Position: Graduate Student, Weill Cornell
2012 SURP Student; Current Position: Graduate school, Ohio State University
2019 SURP student; Current Position: MD-PhD student, University of North Carolina

Student Researcher; Current Position: Medical School, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Student Researcher; Current Position: Medical Student, Rutgers Medical School

Student Researcher; Current Position: Medical School, UC Davis
Achievements
- Weill Cornell Graduate School Outstanding Teaching & Mentoring Award (2022)
- American Cancer Society Research Scholar (2017)
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Infectious Disease (2016)
- Boyer Young Investigator Award for Basic Research (2015)
- Geoffrey Beene Junior Faculty Chair (2014)
Read more
- AAI Pfizer-Showell Early Career Investigator Award (2012)
- Searle Scholar Award (2011)
- Cancer Research Institute Investigator Award (2011)
Lab News & Events
Upcoming event
Genome Organization of T Cells
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Zuckerman Research Center
417 East 68th Street
Room ZRC - Auditorium
New York, NY 10065
Open Positions
To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center
To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs
Career Opportunities
Get in Touch
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Lab Head Email
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Office Phone
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Office Fax
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Lab Phone
Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Joseph Sun discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
No disclosures meeting criteria for time period
The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].