Rong Li

Rong Li is a Distinguished Professor[1] at the National University of Singapore's Department of Biological Sciences and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor[2] of Cell Biology and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Whiting School of Engineering. She is also the Director of the Mechanobiology Institute at the National University of Singapore and Center for Cell Dynamics in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences.[3][4] She is a leader in understanding cellular asymmetry, division and evolution, and specifically, in how eukaryotic cells establish their distinct morphology and organization in order to carry out their specialized functions.

Rong Li
Born
Rong Li

1967
Beijing
NationalityUnited States
Alma materYale University (B.S., M.S.)
University of California, San Francisco(Ph.D.)
University of California, Berkeley(Postdoctoral Fellowship)
Known forCell biology
Cellular asymmetry
Cell dynamics
Aneuploidy
Cell morphology
Eukaryotic cells
Oogenesis
Cell migration
AwardsBloomberg Distinguished Professorships (2015)
William Neaves Award (2010-2012)
Hoechst Marion Roussel Award (now the Aventis Award) (1999-2001)
Scientific career
FieldsCell biology
Evolutionary biology
Chemical engineering
Biomolecular engineering
Doctoral advisorAndrew W Murray
WebsiteRong Li Lab Webpage

Rong Li Faculty Webpage

Rong Li Lab Webpage

Center for Cell Dynamics Webpage

Biography

Rong Li was born in Beijing, China in 1967. She was the first high school graduate from the People's Republic of China admitted to Yale University.[3] She went on to graduate in four years from Yale University Summa Cum Laude and with Distinction in Major with a combined B.S. and M.S. in Biophysics & Biochemistry. She then earned a Ph.D. in Cell Biology through the Herbert W. Boyer Program in Biological Sciences (PIBS) at the University of California, San Francisco, and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular Cell Biology.[5] In 1994, she accepted an assistant professorship in cell biology at Harvard University, rising to the associate level in 2000. From 2005–2015, she was an Investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and an affiliated Professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

In July 2015, Li was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University for her accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and excellence in teaching.[6][7] The Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship program was established in 2013 by a gift from Michael Bloomberg.[8][9] Li holds appointments in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Department of Cell Biology and the Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.[10][11] She also serves as the Director of the Center for Cell Dynamics[12] in the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, which is led by molecular biologist and geneticist Dr. Stephen Desiderio.[13] As director, she will deepen the existing collaboration between the Schools and Engineering and Medicine and provide new tools and approaches to examine the dynamic processes that underlie the lives of cells, moving beyond the parts list that the human genome provides to a mechanistic understanding of the molecular events underlying complex behaviors. As part of the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship, Li will be teaching an undergraduate course in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Research

Rong Li is an accomplished investigator in the area of cell dynamics – the interrogation of biological function at the highest possible resolution in space and time.[14] Li's research has entailed integrative approaches, encompassing biochemistry, genetics, quantitative imaging and fluorescence spectroscopy, mathematical modeling, quantitative genomics and proteomics.[15]

To understand the pathways that control cell motility,[16] tissue morphogenesis,[17] and neuronal development, Li monitors both physical and biochemical reactions that overlap spatially and change rapidly, but occur only locally within a complex environment.[15] Her broad goal is to understand how eukaryotic cells establish their distinct morphology and organization in order to carry out their specialized functions with applications in development and cancer.[18][19][20] Specifically, how eukaryotic cells generate pattern through self-organization with or without environmental cues, accomplish division or motility through coordinated structural rearrangements and force production,[21] and, when challenged with stress and roadblocks, evolve innovative solutions to main vitality and functionality.[22] A key part of her research is exploring how the ability to evolve is built into cellular systems and how that ability gives rise to a cell's properties. Li has published several seminal papers on the impact of aneuploidy on cellular fitness, gene expression, stress adaptation, and genome instability. As aneuploidy and chromosome instability are hallmarks of cancer, her results on how aneuploidy fuels the evolution of cellular adaptation and drug resistance have direct relevance to the understanding of cancer evolution and disease progression. Li has also studied the molecular mechanisms that lead to oocyte maturation,[23][24] which can contribute to “advances in the treatment of infertility and the field of regenerative medicine.”[25]

Her early work with Andrew Murray at Harvard University provided the first insight into the genetic basis of the spindle assembly checkpoint.[26][27] The paper documenting this work is one of the Nature Milestones in Cell Division.[28] Li has subsequently made a number of significant discoveries in the area of mitotic exit control[29] and cytokinesis.[30][31] She is recognized as a leader in the study of cell polarity in the context of morphogenesis and asymmetric cell division, and has been at the forefront of using mathematical and biophysical approaches to understand cell polarity as a self-organizing, dynamical system.[32][33] This advancement of quantitative and predictive understanding of cellular behavior relates to health, to learning and to human individuality, especially her research on topics such as cell polarity, asymmetric cell division, polycystic kidney disease, and adaptive evolution.[12]

Li was also one of the first to demonstrate the critical in vivo role for the Arp2/3 complex and WASP family proteins in the control of actin filament assembly, and to show through in vitro biochemistry that the Arp2/3 complex is an actin nucleator activated by WASP family members.[34] In collaboration with Drs. Dorit Hanein, Niels Volkmann and Thomas D. Pollard, her laboratory helped determine the three-dimensional structure of the Arp2/3 complex in actin branch junctions.[35] Li's recent work has revealed insights into the in vivo function of Arp2/3-nucleated dendritic actin network in mammalian asymmetric cell division and cell motility.[36]

A more recent area of research has been the examination of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Li's lab was the first to propose, based on both experimental evidence and computational modeling, that the autosomal dominancy of this disease can be a result of positive feedback loops in inflammatory cytokine signaling and polycystin regulation, as opposed to obligatory second-hit mutations.[37] They have also identified a tissue hypertrophy pathway as the direct downstream target for the mechanosensory activity of polycystins.[38]

Publications

Li has more than 140 publications, 10,000 citations in Google Scholar and an h-index of 54,[39] with many of her papers appearing in top journals such as Cell, Nature, Cell Biology International, Nature Communications, Journal of Cell Biology and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Books and book chapters.[15]
  • Li, R. "Actin-based chromosome movement in cell division." In Actin-based motility, Springer-London, Edited by Mary France-Carlier. In press.
  • Slaughter BD, Unruh JR, Li R. "Examination of dynamic protein interactions in yeast using live-cell fluorescence fluctuation microscopy and spectroscopy." In Methods in Molecular Biology, Springer-London. In press.
  • 2010, Symmetry Breaking in Biology. 1st Edition. with co-author B. Bowerman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
  • 2010, R. Li and B. Bowerman. "Symmetry breaking in biology." In Symmetry Breaking in Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. April 1, 2010.
  • 2010, Slaughter BD, Smith SE, Li R. "Cell polarity in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae." In Symmetry Breaking in Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. April 1, 2010.
Highly Cited Articles[39]
  • 2010, N. Pavelka, G. Rancati, J. Zhu, WD. Bradford, A. Saraf, L. Florens, B.W. Sanderson, G.L. Hattem, R. Li. Aneuploidy confers quantitative proteome changes and phenotypic variation in budding yeast, in: Nature. Vol. 468, nº 7321; 321–325.
  • 2008, R. Li, G.G. Gundersen. Beyond polymer polarity: how the cytoskeleton builds a polarized cell, in: Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. Vol. 9, nº 11; 860–873.
  • 2005, O. Brandman, J.E. Ferrell, R. Li, T. Meyer. Interlinked fast and slow positive feedback loops drive reliable cell decisions, in: Science. Vol. 310, nº 5747; 496–498.
  • 2003, R. Wedlich-Soldner, S. Altschuler, L. Wu, R. Li. Spontaneous cell polarization through actomyosin-based delivery of the Cdc42 GTPase, in: Science. Vol. 299, nº 5610; 1231–1235.
  • 2001, T. Uruno, J. Liu, P. Zhang, Y. Fan, C. Egile, R. Li, S.C. Mueller, and X. Zhan. Activation of Arp2/3 complex-mediated actin polymerization by cortactin, in: Nature Cell Biology. Vol. 3, nº 3; 259–266.
  • 1999, C. Egile, T.P. Loisel, V. Laurent, R. Li, D. Pantaloni, P.J. Sansonetti, M.F. Carlier. Activation of the CDC42 effector N-WASP by the Shigella flexneri IcsA protein promotes actin nucleation by Arp2/3 complex and bacterial actin-based motility, in: The Journal of Cell Biology. Vol. 146, nº 6; 1319–1332.
  • 1998, with J. Lippincott. Sequential assembly of myosin II, an IQGAP-like protein, and filamentous actin to a ring structure involved in budding yeast cytokinesis, in: The Journal of Cell Biology. Vol. 140, nº 2; 355–366.
  • 1991, R. Li, A.W. Murray. Feedback control of mitosis in budding yeast, in: Cell. Vol. 66, nº 3; 519–531.

See also

References
  1. https://mbi.nus.edu.sg/rong-li/
  2. "Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships".
  3. Brooks, Kelly "Four new Bloomberg Distinguished Professors named at Johns Hopkins ", JHU Hub, Baltimore, 08 July 2015. Retrieved on 11 August 2015.
  4. "Center for Cell Dynamics Director". Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  5. "Rong Li Biographical Sketch" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  6. "Michael R. Bloomberg commits $350 million to Johns Hopkins for transformational academic initiative". 2013-01-26.
  7. Anderson, Nick. "Bloomberg pledges $350 million to Johns Hopkins University", The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., 23 January 2013. Retrieved on 12 March 2015.
  8. Barbaro, Michael. "$1.1 Billion in Thanks From Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins", The New York Times, New York, 26 January 2013. Retrieved on 1 March 2015.
  9. "Michael R. Bloomberg Commits $350 Million to Johns Hopkins for Transformational Academic Initiative 2013".
  10. "Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Faculty Page: Rong Li". Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  11. Brooks, Kelly. "Four new Bloomberg Distinguished Professors named at Johns Hopkins", The Hub, Baltimore, 8 July 2015. Retrieved on 11 July 2015.
  12. "Cell Biology Faculty Profile: Rong Li, Ph.D." Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  13. "Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences: About IBBS". Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  14. Senior, Kathryn (1 April 2010). "Spotlight: An interview with Rong Li". Development. 137 (7): 1015–1016. doi:10.1242/dev.050138. PMID 20215341.
  15. "Li CV" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  16. Winter, Dirk; Podtelejnikov, Alexandre; Mann, Matthias; Li, Rong (1 July 1997). "The complex containing actin-related proteins Arp2 and Arp3 is required for the motility and integrity of yeast actin patches". Current Biology. 7 (7): 519–529. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(06)00223-5. PMID 9210376. S2CID 52837402.
  17. Slaughter, Brian; Das, Arupratan; Schwartz, Joel; Rubinstein, Boris; Li, Rong (15 December 2009). "Dual Modes of Cdc42 Recycling Fine-Tune Polarized Morphogenesis". Developmental Cell. 17 (6): 823–835. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2009.10.022. PMC 2805562. PMID 20059952.
  18. Pavelka, Norman; Rancati, Giulia; Li, Rong (1 December 2010). "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: role of aneuploidy in cellular adaptation and cancer". Current Opinion in Cell Biology. 22 (6): 809–815. doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2010.06.003. PMC 2974767. PMID 20655187.
  19. Potopova, Tamara; Zhu, Jin; Li, Rong (1 December 2013). "Aneuploidy and chromosomal instability: a vicious cycle driving cellular evolution and cancer genome chaos". Cancer and Metastasis Reviews. 32 (3): 377–389. doi:10.1007/s10555-013-9436-6. PMC 3825812. PMID 23709119.
  20. Ye, J; Chu, T; Li, Rong; Niu, Y; Xia, J; Shao, M; Han, B (1 August 2015). "Pol ζ polymorphisms are associated with platinum based chemotherapy response and side effects among non-small cell lung cancer patients". Neoplasma. 62 (5): 833–839. doi:10.4149/neo_2015_101. PMID 26278154.
  21. Lippincott, John; Li, Rong (26 January 1998). "Sequential Assembly of Myosin II, an IQGAP-like Protein, and Filamentous Actin to a Ring Structure Involved in Budding Yeast Cytokinesis". Journal of Cell Biology. 140 (2): 355–366. doi:10.1083/jcb.140.2.355. PMC 2132585. PMID 9442111.
  22. "Cell Bio Faculty Webpage". Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  23. Yi, Kexi; Li, Rong (1 October 2012). "Actin cytoskeleton in cell polarity and asymmetric division during mouse oocyte maturation". Cytoskeleton. 69 (10): 727–737. doi:10.1002/cm.21048. PMID 22753278.
  24. Yi, Kexi; Rubinstein, Boris; Unruh, Jay; Guo, Fengli; Slaughter, Brian; Li, Rong (25 September 2013). "Sequential actin-based pushing forces drive meiosis I chromosome migration and symmetry breaking in oocytes". Journal of Cell Biology. 200 (5): 567–576. doi:10.1083/jcb.201211068. PMC 3587830. PMID 23439682.
  25. "Unraveling the mysteries of the oocyte" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  26. Li, Rong; Murray, Andrew W. (1991). "Feedback control of mitosis in budding yeast". Cell. 66 (3): 519–31. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(81)90015-5. PMID 1651172. S2CID 11306198.
  27. Li, Rong (27 April 1999). "Bifurcation of the mitotic checkpoint pathway in budding yeast". PNAS. 96 (9): 4989–4994. Bibcode:1999PNAS...96.4989L. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.9.4989. PMC 21804. PMID 10220406.
  28. Nature Publishing Group. "Milestones in Cell Division: Milestone 18". Nature Web Focus on Cell Division. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  29. Bosl, William; Li, Rong (6 May 2005). "Mitotic-Exit Control as an Evolved Complex System". Cell. 121 (3): 325–333. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.04.006. PMID 15882616. S2CID 18553706.
  30. VerPlank, Lynn; Li, Rong (1 May 2005). "Cell Cycle-regulated Trafficking of Chs2 Controls Actomyosin Ring Stability during Cytokinesis". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 16 (5): 2529–2543. doi:10.1091/mbc.E04-12-1090. PMC 1087255. PMID 15772160.
  31. Li, Rong (1 December 2007). "Cytokinesis in development and disease: variations on a common theme". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 64 (23): 3044–3058. doi:10.1007/s00018-007-7285-6. PMID 17882379. S2CID 8118193.
  32. Li, Rong; Bowerman, Bruce (22 March 2010). Symmetry Breaking in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 2. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. pp. a003475. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a003475. ISBN 978-0879698898. PMC 2829966. PMID 20300216.
  33. Stowers Institute for Medical Research (13 December 2007). "Rong Li Lab reports protein interactions of MAP kinase signaling pathway". EurekaAlert!. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  34. Egile C, Rouiller I, Xu XP, Volkmann N, Li R, Hanein D (November 2005). "Mechanism of filament nucleation and branch stability revealed by the structure of the Arp2/3 complex at actin branch junctions". PLOS Biol. 3 (11): e383. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030383. PMC 1278936. PMID 16262445.
  35. Volkmann, Niels; Page, Christopher; Li, Rong; Hanein, Dorit (1 June 2014). "Three-dimensional reconstructions of actin filaments capped by Arp2/3 complex". European Journal of Cell Biology. 93 (5–6): 179–183. doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2014.01.003. PMC 4110117. PMID 24552843.
  36. Suraneni, Praveen; Fogelson, Ben; Rubinstein, Boris; Noguera, Philippe; Volkmann, Niels; Hanein, Dorit; Mogilner, Alex; Li, Rong (1 March 2015). "A mechanism of leading-edge protrusion in the absence of Arp2/3 complex". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 26 (5): 901–912. doi:10.1091/mbc.E14-07-1250. PMC 4342026. PMID 25568333.
  37. Xia, Sheng; Li, Xiaogang; Johnson, Teri; Seidel, Chris; Wallace, Darren; Li, Rong (1 April 2010). "Polycystin-dependent fluid flow sensing targets histone deacetylase 5 to prevent the development of renal cysts". Development. 137 (7): 1075–1084. doi:10.1242/dev.049437. PMC 2835323. PMID 20181743.
  38. Li, Xiaogang; Magenheimer, Brenda; Xia, Sheng; Johnson, Teri; Wallace, Darren; Calvet, James; Li, Rong (15 June 2008). "A tumor necrosis factor-α–mediated pathway promoting autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease". Nature Medicine. 14 (8): 863–868. doi:10.1038/nm1783. PMC 3359869. PMID 18552856.
  39. Google Scholar "Author: Rong Li, PhD", Google Scholar, 12 August 2015. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.
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