Rong Li Explained

Rong Li
Birth Name:Rong Li
Birth Place:Beijing
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Yale University (B.S., M.S.)
University of California, San Francisco (Ph.D.)
University of California, Berkeley (postdoctoral fellowship)
Doctoral Advisor:Andrew W Murray
Known For:Cell biology
Cellular asymmetry
Cell dynamics
Aneuploidy
Cell morphology
Eukaryotic cells
Oogenesis
Cell migration
Awards:Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships (2015)
William Neaves Award (2010-2012)
Hoechst Marion Roussel Award (now the Aventis Award) (1999-2001)
Field:Cell biology
Evolutionary biology
Chemical engineering
Biomolecular engineering
Workplaces:Johns Hopkins University Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Rong Li is the Director of Mechanobiology Institute, a Singapore Research Center of Excellence, at the National University of Singapore. She 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 previously served as Director of 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.

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 to 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] In 2019, Rong Li was recruited by National University of Singapore to serve as Director of the Mechanobiology Institute.

In 2019, Li won the Sandra K. Masur Senior Leadership Award from The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).[12] This award recognizes individuals for scientific achievements and a record of active leadership in mentoring women and individuals from underrepresented groups in their scientific careers.[13] In 2024, she was elected as the ASCB president of Year 2026. [14]

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.[15] Li's research has entailed integrative approaches, encompassing biochemistry, genetics, quantitative imaging and fluorescence spectroscopy, mathematical modeling, quantitative genomics and proteomics.[16]

To understand the pathways that control cell motility,[17] tissue morphogenesis,[18] and neuronal development, Li monitors both physical and biochemical reactions that overlap spatially and change rapidly, but occur only locally within a complex environment.[16] 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.[19] [20] [21] 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,[22] and, when challenged with stress and roadblocks, evolve innovative solutions to main vitality and functionality.[23] 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,[24] [25] which can contribute to “advances in the treatment of infertility and the field of regenerative medicine.”[26]

Her early work with Andrew Murray at Harvard University provided the first insight into the genetic basis of the spindle assembly checkpoint.[27] [28] The paper documenting this work is one of the Nature Milestones in Cell Division.[29] Li has subsequently made a number of significant discoveries in the area of mitotic exit control[30] and cytokinesis.[31] [32] 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.[33] [34] 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.[35]

Li was 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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]

Li is one of the pioneers using state-of-the-art microscopy technologies to study aging and protein homeostasis (proteostasis), and uncovered some fundamental aspects of protein aggregation in cells. Her laboratory discovered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria-based retention of protein aggregates during aggregate formation and cell division [39] and mitochondrial import of aggregation-prone proteins.[40] Her lab also discovered that (TDP-43) protein aggregation directly occurs at ER-exit sites to impair ER-to-Golgi transport. [41]

Publications

Li has more than 140 publications, 18,000 citations in Google Scholar and an h-index of 72,[42] with many of her papers appearing in top journals such as Cell, Nature, Science, Nature Cell Biology, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Journal of Cell Biology and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Books and book chapters

source:

Highly cited articles

source:[43]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rong Li .
  2. Web site: 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. Web site: Center for Cell Dynamics Director. 2015-09-29.
  5. Web site: Rong Li Biographical Sketch. 2015-08-12.
  6. Web site: 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. Web site: Michael R. Bloomberg Commits $350 Million to Johns Hopkins for Transformational Academic Initiative 2013.
  10. Web site: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Faculty Page: Rong Li. 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. Web site: Sun. Gordon. Rong Li wins the 2019 Sandra K Masur Senior Leadership Award from ASCB Rong Li Lab. 2021-10-26. en-US.
  13. Web site: Sandra K. Masur Senior Leadership Award. 2021-10-26. ASCB. en-US.
  14. Web site: Rong Li Elected 2026 ASCB President .
  15. Spotlight: An interview with Rong Li . Senior. Kathryn. 1 April 2010. Development. 137 . 7 . 1015–1016 . 10.1242/dev.050138 . 20215341 . free .
  16. Web site: Li CV. 2015-09-30.
  17. 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. 10.1016/S0960-9822(06)00223-5. 9210376. 52837402. free.
  18. 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. 10.1016/j.devcel.2009.10.022. 20059952. 2805562.
  19. 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. 10.1016/j.ceb.2010.06.003. 20655187. 2974767.
  20. 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. 10.1007/s10555-013-9436-6. 23709119. 3825812.
  21. 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. 10.4149/neo_2015_101. 26278154. free.
  22. 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 . 10.1083/jcb.140.2.355. 9442111. 2132585.
  23. Web site: Cell Bio Faculty Webpage. 2015-08-16.
  24. Yi. Kexi. Li. Rong. 1 October 2012. Actin cytoskeleton in cell polarity and asymmetric division during mouse oocyte maturation. Cytoskeleton. 69. 10. 727–737. 10.1002/cm.21048. 22753278. free.
  25. 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. 10.1083/jcb.201211068. 23439682. 3587830.
  26. Web site: Unraveling the mysteries of the oocyte. 2015-08-12.
  27. 519–31 . 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90015-5 . Feedback control of mitosis in budding yeast . 1991 . Li . Rong . Murray . Andrew W. . Cell . 66 . 3 . 1651172. 11306198 .
  28. Li. Rong. 27 April 1999. Bifurcation of the mitotic checkpoint pathway in budding yeast. PNAS. 96. 9. 4989–4994. 10.1073/pnas.96.9.4989. 10220406. 21804. 1999PNAS...96.4989L. free.
  29. Milestones in Cell Division: Milestone 18. Nature Publishing Group. December 2001. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 1–2. Nature Publishing Group. 10.1038/nrm.2018.41. 2015-09-30. Nature Publishing Group.
  30. Bosl. William. Li. Rong. 6 May 2005. Mitotic-Exit Control as an Evolved Complex System. Cell. 121. 3. 325–333. 10.1016/j.cell.2005.04.006. 15882616. 18553706. free.
  31. 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. 10.1091/mbc.E04-12-1090. 15772160. 1087255.
  32. Li. Rong. 1 December 2007. Cytokinesis in development and disease: variations on a common theme. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 64. 23. 3044–3058. 10.1007/s00018-007-7285-6. 17882379. 8118193. 11136365.
  33. Book: Li. Rong. Bowerman. Bruce. 22 March 2010. Symmetry Breaking in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 2. 3. a003475. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 10.1101/cshperspect.a003475. 20300216. 2829966. 978-0879698898.
  34. Web site: Rong Li Lab reports protein interactions of MAP kinase signaling pathway. Stowers Institute for Medical Research. 13 December 2007. EurekaAlert!. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 2015-09-29.
  35. Web site: Cell Biology Faculty Profile: Rong Li, Ph.D.. 2015-08-12.
  36. Egile C, Rouiller I, Xu XP, Volkmann N, Li R, Hanein D . 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 . November 2005 . 16262445 . 1278936 . 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030383 . free .
  37. 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. 10.1016/j.ejcb.2014.01.003. 24552843. 4110117.
  38. 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. 10.1091/mbc.E14-07-1250. 25568333. 4342026.
  39. Zhou et al. . 2014 . Organelle-based aggregation and retention of damaged proteins in asymmetrically dividing cells . Cell . 159. 3. 530–542. 10.1016/j.cell.2014.09.026. 6726438 .
  40. Ruan et al. . 2017 . Cytosolic proteostasis through importing of misfolded proteins into mitochondria . Nature . 543. 7645. 443–446. 10.1038/nature21695. 5793917 .
  41. Wu et al. . 2024 . TDP43 aggregation at ER-exit sites impairs ER-to-Golgi transport . bioRxiv .
  42. Web site: Rong Li, PhD. 2021-05-19. scholar.google.com.
  43. Google Scholar "Author: Rong Li, PhD", Google Scholar, 12 August 2015. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.

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