Li Lab

Willis X. Li

Ph.D. 1995 Columbia University

Primary Appointment: Associate Professor of Genetics, Department of Biomedical Genetics (BMG)

Secondary Appointment: Associate Professor of Oncology, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center (JPWCC)

Research Overview

My laboratory has been studying signal transduction and epigenetic regulation in the context of both normal development and cancer formation. We use Drosophila genetics and cultured cells to conduct research. Our studies of signal transduction have led us to investigate the role of heterochromatin dysregulation as an epigenetic mechanism leading to tumorigenesis. Currently, our research is focused on the roles of heterochromatin formation and nuclear architecture in important biological processes such as tumor suppression, longevity, and stem cell maintenance.

Projects

	Epigenetic mechanisms of tumorigenesis
	Canonical vs. noncanonical JAK/STAT signaling
	Molecular mechanisms of tumor suppression, aging, and stem cell maintenance

Recent Publications

Li, W.X. (2008) Canonical and noncanonical JAK/STAT signaling. Trends in Cell Biology. 18, 545-51. Epub 2008 Oct 9. (review).
Xia, F., Li, J., Hickey, G.W., Tsurumi, A., Larson, K., Guo, D, Yan, S.-J., Silver-Morse, L, and Li, W.X. (2008) Drosophila Raf activation is regulated by tyrosine 510 phosphorylation. PLoS Biology 6(5): e128. View article in PubMed.
Shi, S., Larson, K., Guo, D., Dutta, P., Lim, S., Yan, S.-J., and Li, W.X. (2008) Drosophila STAT is directly required for maintaining HP1 localization and heterochromatin stability. Nature Cell Biology 10, 489-96; Epub 2008 Mar 16. View article in PubMed .

More publications

Graduate Cluster Affiliations

Contact

Willis X. Li
University of Rochester
Box 633
601 Elmwood Ave.
Rochester, NY 14642
Office: MRB 2-9641
+1-585-273-2408
willis_li@urmc.
rochester.edu

Lab Members

	Shian Jang (John) Yan, Ph.D.
	Louise Silver-Morse, Ph.D.
	Yalan Xing
	Kriti Gaur
	Amy Tsurumi
	Su Jun Lim
	Xiaoyu Hu
	Pranabanda (Pranab) Dutta
	Kimberly Larson
	Dongdong Guo
Lab alumni