Roberto Tinoco
Biography
Roberto Tinoco, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on immune checkpoint regulation and T cell exhaustion, particularly examining how molecules like PSGL-1, CD38, and HMGB2 control T cell responses during chronic viral infections and cancer. Prior to joining UC Irvine in 2018, Tinoco served as Research Assistant Professor at the Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Center at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
Tinoco's laboratory has made contributions to understanding immune checkpoint mechanisms beyond the PD-1 pathway. His work identified PSGL-1 as an immune checkpoint regulator that promotes T cell exhaustion, published in Immunity in 2016, and has since explored combination immunotherapy approaches targeting multiple checkpoints in melanoma. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Melanoma Research Alliance, with current funding including an R01 from NIAID examining metabolic regulation of virus-specific T cell immunity.
Tinoco received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego in 2010, followed by postdoctoral training through the IRACDA fellowship program at UC San Diego and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He has authored book chapters on immunostimulants and vaccines for Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics and holds multiple patents related to immune modulation and cancer treatment. Tinoco serves as Review Editor for Frontiers in Immunology and is a member of the UC Irvine Institute for Immunology, Center for Virus Research, and Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, 2005
- Ph.D. in Biology, University of California, San Diego, 2010
Distinctions
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Bridge to the Doctorate fellowship, 2005-2007
- NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) fellow, 2005
- AAI Early Career Faculty Travel Grant, 2017, 2019
- AAI Young Investigator Award at The La Jolla Immunology Conference for best oral presentation, 2015-2016
- UC San Diego Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) fellowship, 2011-2014
- UCSD Center for Molecular Genetics (CMG) Training Fellowship, 2008-2010
- UC Irvine-Minority Biomedical Research Support Program (MBRS) fellow, 2003-2005
- UC Irvine-California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP) Edison Scholar, 2002-2004
- UCSD Chancellor's Diversity Fellowship, 2014-2016
- UC Irvine Dean's Honor Award for Excellence in Research, 2005
Areas of Expertise
- Tumor Immunology
- T Cell Exhaustion Mechanisms
- Immune Checkpoint Regulation
- Chronic Viral Infection Immunity
- PSGL-1 Signaling Pathways
- Metabolic Control of Lymphocytes
- Chromatin Dynamics in Immunity
Recent Publications
- Gu Y., De La Torre J.-J., Fazeli Y., Valenzuela J.M., Guzman F., Tinoco R., Benavente C.A., “UHRF1 drives subtype-independent aggressiveness and immune evasion in small cell lung cancer through PRC2 interactions” (opens in new tab), Iscience, vol. 29, 2026.
- Viramontes K.M., Thone M.N., De La Torre J-J., Neubert E.N., DeRogatis J.M., Garcia C., Henriquez M.L., Tinoco R., “Contrasting roles of PSGL-1 and PD-1 in regulating T-cell exhaustion and function during chronic viral infection” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 99, no. 3, 2025.
- Viramontes K.M., Thone M.N., DeRogatis J.M., Neubert E.N., Henriquez M.L., De La Torre J-J., Tinoco R., “Prion protein modulation of virus-specific T cell differentiation and function during acute viral infection” (opens in new tab), Immunohorizons, vol. 9, no. 1, 2025.
- Sun, P., Kraus, C., Zhao, W., Xu, J., Suh, S., Nguyen, Q., Jia, Y., Nair, A., Oakes, M., Tinoco, R., Shiu, J., Sun, B.K., Elsensohn, A., Atwood, S.X., Nie, Q., Dai, X., “Spatial and single-cell transcriptomics reveal keratinocytes as key players in vulvar lichen sclerosus pathogenesis” (opens in new tab), Journal of Investigative Dermatology, vol. 146, pp. 678-698.e5, 2025.
- Yang Y., Kang D.E., Fan Q., Hanse E.A., Bae H., Barahona R.A., Shen X., Ruiz B.I., Lee S.H., Pasterczyk K.R., Babbar N., Waldvogel K.G., Tinoco R., Green K.N., Yang Q., Jang C., Kong M., “The protein phosphatase 6 subunit SAPS3 modulates lifespan by regulating metabolism” (opens in new tab), Science Advances, vol. 11, pp. 1-14, 2025.
- DeRogatis J.M., Neubert E.N., Viramontes, K.M, Henriquez M.L., Nicholas D., Tinoco, R., “Cell-intrinsic CD38 expression sustains exhausted CD8+ T cells by regulating their survival and metabolism during chronic viral infection” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 97, no. 4, pp. e0022523, 2023.
- Hope J.L., Otero D.C., Bae E.A., Stairiker C.J., Palete A.B., Faso H.A., Lin M., Henriquez M.L., Roy S., Seo H., Lei X., Wang E.S., Chow S., Tinoco R., Daniels G.A., Yip K., Campos A.R., Yin J., Adams P.D., Rao A., et al., “PSGL-1 attenuates early TCR signaling to suppress CD8+ T cell progenitor differentiation and elicit terminal CD8+ T cell exhaustion” (opens in new tab), Cell Reports, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 112436, 2023.
- Neubert E.N., DeRogatis J.M., Lewis S.A., Viramontes K.M., Henriquez M.L., Buisson R., Messaoudi I., Tinoco R., “HMGB2 Regulates the Differentiation and Stemness of Exhausted CD8+ T Cells During Chronic Viral Infection and Cancer” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 14, 2023.
- DeRogatis J.M., Viramontes K.M., Neubert E.N., Guerrero-Juarez, C.F., Tinoco, R., “Targeting the PSGL-1 Immune Checkpoint Promotes Immunity to PD-1 Resistant Melanoma” (opens in new tab), Cancer Immunology Research, vol. 10, pp. 612-625, 2022.
- Viramontes K.M., Neubert E.N., DeRogatis J.M., Tinoco, R., “PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Blockade and PSGL-1 Inhibition Synergize to Reinvigorate Exhausted T cells” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 13, 2022.
- Kumar P., Brazel D., DeRogatis J.M., Valerin J.B.G., Whiteson K., Chow W.A., Tinoco R., Moyers J.T., “The cure from within? A review of the microbiome and diet in melanoma” (opens in new tab), Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 261-280, 2022.
- Tinoco R., Crowe J.E., “Immune Globulins and Vaccines”, Goodman & Gilman's. The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 2022.
- DeRogatis J.M., Viramontes K.M., Neubert E.N., Tinoco, R., “PSGL-1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibition for CD4+ T Cell Cancer Immunotherapy” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 12, pp. 636238, 2021.
- Tinoco R., Neubert E.N., Stairiker C.J., Henriquez M.L., Bradley L.M., “PSGL-1 is a T Cell Intrinsic Inhibitor that Regulates Effector and Memory Differentiation and Responses During Viral Infection”, Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 12, pp. 677824, 2021.
- Li Y., Tinoco R., Elmén L., Segota I., Xian Y., Fujita Y., Sahu A., Zarecki R., Marie K., Feng Y., Khateb A., Frederick D.T., Ashkenazi S.K., Kim H., Perez E.G., Day C.P., Segura Muñoz R.S., Schmaltz R., Yooseph S., Tam M.A., et al., “Regulation of gut microbiota and anti-tumor immunity by host ER-stress in RNF5-/- mice restricts melanoma growth”, Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1492, 2020.
- Scortegagna M., Hockemeyer K., Dolgalev I., Pozniak J., Rambow F., Li Y., Feng Y., Tinoco R., Otero D.C., Zhang T., Brown K., Bosenberg M., Bradley L.M., Marine J., Aifantis I., Ronai Z.A., “Siah2 control of T-regulatory cells limits anti-tumor immunity” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 99, 2020.
- Li Y, Elmén L, Segota I, Xian Y, Tinoco R, Feng Y, Fujita Y, Segura Muñoz RR, Schmaltz R, Bradley LM, Ramer-Tait A, Zarecki R, Long T, Peterson SN, Ronai ZA, “Prebiotic-induced Anti-tumor Immunity Attenuates Tumor Growth” (opens in new tab), Cell Reports, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 1753-1766.e6, 2020.
- Yu, F., Tinoco, R., Li, Y., Senft, D., Ronai Z.A., “Ubiquitin ligases in cancer immunotherapy. Balancing antitumor and autoimmunity” (opens in new tab), Trends in Molecular Medicine, vol. 25, pp. 428-443, 2019.
- Borlido, J., Sakuma, S., Raices, M., Carrette, F., Tinoco, R., Bradley, L.M., D'Angelo, M.A., “Nuclear pore complex-mediated modulation of TCR signaling is required for naïve CD4+ T cell homeostasis” (opens in new tab), Nature Immunology, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 594-605, 2018.
- Tinoco, R., Carrette, F., Henriquez, M.L., Bradley, L.M., “Fucosyltransferase induction during influenza virus infection is required for the generation of functional memory CD4+ T cells” (opens in new tab), Journal of Immunology, vol. 200, no. 8, pp. 2690-2702, 2018.
Contact Information
Email: rtinoco@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-4926
Address: 3244 McGaugh Hall
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Last updated on 5/14/2026.