Fei Li

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (July 1 - July 26) :

Professor Li’s research focuses on the new field of epigenetics, which has transformed how people think about genomes. Epigenetics is the study of how heritable changes in organisms can be caused by the modification of gene expression, rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Epigenetics can explain, for example, why all of the body’s cells contain the same DNA sequence, but bodies contain many different cell types. Indeed, epigenetic mechanisms play essential roles in many biological functions, including genome organization, development, and disease. Professor Li’s studies of epigenetics in a model organism, fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), have enabled them to use genetics to identify the proteins involved in establishing epigenetic states of DNA in chromosomes and maintaining them after DNA replication. As these proteins and processes are conserved across fission yeast and man, our studies have translational relevance to medicine. He has published a number of papers in peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature, Cell, PNAS, Molecular Cell, etc. He was also named a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences in 2013, given by the Pew Charitable Trusts to the promising young investigators with potential to significantly impact biomedical research. Professor Li has a strong research connection with NYU Shanghai, and established collaboration with Professor Jungseog Kang at NYU Shanghai. He also served on the NYU-Shanghai Faculty Search Committee in 2014 and 2015.