Rong Li is the Director of Mechanobiology Institute, a Singapore Research Center of Excellence, at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

. She is a Distinguished Professor at the

's Department of Biological Sciences and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

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.Brooks, Kell
"Four new Bloomberg Distinguished Professors named at Johns Hopkins "
''JHU Hub'', Baltimore, 08 July 2015. Retrieved on 11 August 2015. She is a leader in understanding cellular asymmetry, division and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, and specifically, in how

eukaryotic cells Eukaryotes () are organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the ...

establish their distinct

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

and

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

in order to carry out their specialized functions.

Biography

Rong Li was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China in 1967. She was the first high school graduate from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

admitted to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. She went on to graduate in four years from

''Summa Cum Laude'' and with Distinction in Major with a combined B.S. and M.S. in Biophysics &

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. She then earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in Cell Biology through the Herbert W. Boyer Program in Biological Sciences (PIBS) at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

, and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Molecular Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

. In 1994, she accepted an assistant professorship in

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, rising to the associate level in 2000. From 2005 to 2015, she was an Investigator at the

Stowers Institute for Medical Research The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a biomedical research organization that conducts basic research on genes and proteins that control fundamental processes in living cells to analyze diseases and find keys to their causes, treatment, ...

and an affiliated Professor in the Department of

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

and Integrative Physiology at the

University of Kansas School of Medicine The University of Kansas School of Medicine is a public medical school located on the University of Kansas Medical Center campuses in Kansas City, Kansas, and also Salina, Kansas, and Wichita, Kansas. The Kansas City campus is co-located with t ...

. In July 2015, Li was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

for her accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and excellence in teaching.Anderson, Nick
"Bloomberg pledges $350 million to Johns Hopkins University"
''The Washington Post'', Washington, D.C., 23 January 2013. Retrieved on 12 March 2015. The Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship program was established in 2013 by a gift from

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

. 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. 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). 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. In 2024, she was elected as the ASCB president of Year 2026.

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. Li's research has entailed integrative approaches, encompassing

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

, quantitative imaging and fluorescence spectroscopy, mathematical modeling, quantitative genomics and

proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replication of DNA. In ...

. To understand the pathways that control

cell motility Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. Definitions Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...

, tissue morphogenesis, and neuronal development, Li monitors both physical and biochemical reactions that overlap spatially and change rapidly, but occur only locally within a complex environment. Her broad goal is to understand how

establish their distinct

and

in order to carry out their specialized functions with applications in development and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Specifically, how

generate pattern through self-organization with or without environmental cues, accomplish division or

motility Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. Definitions Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...

through coordinated structural rearrangements and force production, and, when challenged with stress and roadblocks, evolve innovative solutions to main vitality and functionality. 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 Aneuploidy is the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, for example a human cell having 45 or 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It does not include a difference of one or more complete sets of chromosomes. A cell with any ...

on cellular fitness,

gene expression Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, protein or non-coding RNA, and ultimately affect a phenotype, as the final effect. The ...

, stress adaptation, and

genome instability Genome instability (also genetic instability or genomic instability) refers to a high frequency of mutations within the genome of a cellular lineage. These mutations can include changes in nucleic acid sequences, chromosomal rearrangements or aneup ...

. As

and

chromosome instability Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a type of genomic instability in which chromosomes are unstable, such that either whole chromosomes or parts of chromosomes are duplicated or deleted. More specifically, CIN refers to the increase in rate of additio ...

are hallmarks of

, her results on how

fuels the

cellular adaptation In cell biology and pathophysiology, cellular adaptation refers to changes made by a cell in response to adverse or varying environmental changes. The adaptation may be physiologic (normal) or pathologic (abnormal). Four types of morphological ada ...

and drug resistance have direct relevance to the understanding of

evolution and disease progression. Li has also studied the molecular mechanisms that lead to

oocyte maturation Oogenesis, ovogenesis, or oögenesis is the differentiation of the ovum (egg cell) into a cell competent to further develop when fertilized. It is developed from the primary oocyte by maturation. Oogenesis is initiated in the embryonic stage. O ...

, which can contribute to “advances in the treatment of infertility and the field of regenerative medicine.” Her early work wit
Andrew Murray
at

provided the first insight into the genetic basis of the spindle assembly checkpoint. The paper documenting this work is one of the ''Nature'' Milestones in Cell Division. Li has subsequently made a number of significant discoveries in the area of mitotic exit control and cytokinesis. She is recognized as a leader in the study of

cell polarity Cell polarity refers to spatial differences in shape, structure, and function within a cell. Almost all cell types exhibit some form of polarity, which enables them to carry out specialized functions. Classical examples of polarized cells are desc ...

in the context of morphogenesis and asymmetric cell division, and has been at the forefront of using mathematical and biophysical approaches to understand

as a self-organizing, dynamical system. This advancement of

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

and predictive understanding of cellular behavior relates to

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, to

learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machine learning, machines ...

and to human individuality, especially her research on topics such as

, asymmetric cell division, polycystic kidney disease, and

adaptive evolution In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

. 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 Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over ...

filament assembly, and to show through ''in vitro''

that the Arp2/3 complex is an actin nucleator activated by WASP family members. 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

branch junctions. Li's recent work has revealed insights into the ''in vivo'' function of

Arp2/3 Arp2/3 complex (Actin Related Protein 2/3 complex) is a seven-subunit protein complex that plays a major role in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. It is a major component of the actin cytoskeleton and is found in most actin cytoskeleton- ...

-nucleated

dendritic Dendrite derives from the Greek word "dendron" meaning ( "tree-like"), and may refer to: Biology *Dendrite, a branched projection of a neuron *Dendrite (non-neuronal), branching projections of certain skin cells and immune cells Physical * Dendr ...

network in

mammalian Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class (biology), class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in Female#Mammalian female, females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a ...

asymmetric cell division and

. 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 molecular biology, protein aggregation is a phenomenon in which intrinsically-disordered or mis-folded proteins aggregate (i.e., accumulate and clump together) either intra- or extracellularly. Protein aggregates have been implicated in a wi ...

in cells. Her laboratory discovered

endoplasmic reticulum The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ( ...

(ER) and

mitochondria A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and Fungus, fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosi ...

-based retention of protein aggregates during aggregate formation and cell division and mitochondrial import of aggregation-prone proteins. Her lab also discovered that ( TDP-43) protein aggregation directly occurs at ER-exit sites to impair ER-to-Golgi transport.

Publications

Li has more than 140 publications, 18,000 citations in Google Scholar and an h-index of 72, with many of her papers appearing in top journals such as '' Cell'', ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'', ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

'', ''

Nature Cell Biology ''Nature Cell Biology'' is a monthly peer review, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 1999. The founding editor was Annette Thomas. The current editor-in-chief is Christina Kary. According to the ' ...

'', ''

Molecular Biology of the Cell ''Molecular Biology of the Cell'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Cell Biology The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.

'', '' Journal of Cell Biology'' and the ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...

''.
Pubmed citations

Google Scholar citations

Books and book chapters

* 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. source:

Highly cited articles

* 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: ''

''. 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 ''Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed review journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in October 2000 and covers all aspects of molecular and cell biology. The editor-in-chief is Kim Baumann. Accord ...

''. 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: ''

''. 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: ''

''. 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: ''

''. 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. source:Google Schola
"Author: Rong Li, PhD"
''

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes p ...

'', 12 August 2015. Retrieved on 12 August 2015.

References

External links

Department of Cell Biology: Faculty PageDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Page

Center for Cell Dynamics Director
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Rong Johns Hopkins University faculty Living people 1967 births Yale University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, San Francisco alumni American scientists Stowers Institute for Medical Research people

Biography

Research

Publications

Books and book chapters

Highly cited articles

See also

References

External links