Vivian Li

Last updated
Vivian Li
Alma materChinese University of Hong Kong
Known forDevelopmental biology, Organoids
SpouseWilliam Berry
AwardsFuture Leaders in Cancer Research Prize, Cancer Research UK;

Women in Cell Biology Early Career Medal Winner, British Society for Cell Biology;

BACR/AstraZeneca Young Scientist Frank Rose Award, British Association for Cancer Research

Contents

Scientific career
Fields Bowel cancer development, Organoids
Institutions
Thesis  (2008)

Vivian Li is a Hong Kong-born cell and developmental biologist working in cancer research at London's Francis Crick Institute. She has been researching how stem cells in the human bowel are programmed to ensure a healthy organ and what goes wrong when cancer develops. [1] She is known for her work on the Wnt signalling pathway, discovering a new way that a molecule called Wnt is activated in bowel cancer. [2] She won a Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prize in part for this discovery. [3]

Education and early career

Li studied molecular biotechnology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 2000 to 2003, focusing on plant biotech in her final year. She then pursued a PhD in pathology at the University of Hong Kong, awarded in 2008. [4] After her PhD Li spent a few years working under Hans Clevers' at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands.

Li became a group leader in 2013, setting up her laboratory at the MRC's National Institute for Medical Research (now part of the Francis Crick Institute). She was appointed a group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in April 2015. [1]

Research

Li's research team has used the bowel as a model to study how stem cells help maintain a healthy organ, and what goes wrong when cancer develops. She's focused her career on a particular signalling pathway that helps stem cells grow and multiply properly, called Wnt. Overactive Wnt signalling is associated with many bowel cancers by causing stem cells to divide too quickly.

Li's lab have used a variety of models, including an innovative organoid system, to reveal a new way that a molecule called Wnt is activated in bowel cancer. [2] [5] Li's work has offered the prospect of targeted treatment of tumour cells without toxic effects on healthy cells. [6] [7] This discovery was one of the reasons that she won a Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prize in 2018. [3] Research like this could help scientists to develop more targeted treatments for bowel cancer in the future.

Li's work in growing intestinal cells in a laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute has benefited from the Institute's proximity to hospitals such as Great Ormond Street Hospital. [8] Li was listed as a ‘scientist to watch’ in an article on the rising stars of culture, science and food in 2019 in The Observer . [9]

Li aims to use her expertise in growing intestines in the lab to improve organ transplantation in the future. [8] In September 2020, Li's lab revealed they had grown tissue grafts using stem cells and tissue taken from patients' intestines, publishing their findings in the journal Nature Medicine . [10] This technique could one day be used to personalised transplants for children with intestinal failure.

Events

Li was part of New Scientist's Live Talks in 2019, with a talk entitled 'Fighting cancer: How growing mini organs could create better treatment. [11]

Awards and honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organoid</span> Miniaturized and simplified version of an organ

An organoid is a miniaturized and simplified version of an organ produced in vitro in three dimensions that shows realistic micro-anatomy. They are derived from one or a few cells from a tissue, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, which can self-organize in three-dimensional culture owing to their self-renewal and differentiation capacities. The technique for growing organoids has rapidly improved since the early 2010s, and it was named by The Scientist as one of the biggest scientific advancements of 2013. Organoids are used by scientists to study disease and treatments in a laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intestinal gland</span> Gland between the intestinal villi that produces new cells

In histology, an intestinal gland is a gland found in between villi in the intestinal epithelium lining of the small intestine and large intestine. The glands and intestinal villi are covered by epithelium, which contains multiple types of cells: enterocytes, goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, cup cells, tuft cells, and at the base of the gland, Paneth cells and stem cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Research Institute</span>

The Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (LRI) was a biological research facility which conducted research into the basic biology of cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiona Watt</span> British scientist

Fiona Watt, is a British scientist who is internationally known for her contributions to the field of stem cell biology. In the 1980s, when the field was in its infancy, she highlighted key characteristics of stem cells and their environment that laid the foundation for much present day research. She is currently director of the Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King's College London, and Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council (MRC), the first woman to lead the MRC since its foundation in 1913. On 13 July 2021 she was appointed as the new Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Rossant</span> Biologist

Janet Rossant, is a developmental biologist well known for her contributions to the understanding of the role of genes in embryo development. She is a world renowned leader in developmental biology. Her current research interests focus on stem cells, molecular genetics, and developmental biology. Specifically, she uses cellular and genetic manipulation techniques to study how genes control both normal and abnormal development of early mouse embryos. Rossant has discovered information on embryo development, how multiple types of stem cells are established, and the mechanisms by which genes control development. In 1998, her work helped lead to the discovery of the trophoblast stem cell, which has assisted in showing how congenital anomalies in the heart, blood vessels, and placenta can occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Molecular Biotechnology</span>

The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) is an independent biomedical research organisation founded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The institute employs around 250 people from over 40 countries, who perform basic research. IMBA is located at the Vienna BioCenter (VBC) and shares facilities and scientific training programs with the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), the basic research center of Boehringer Ingelheim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangeeta N. Bhatia</span> American nanotechnologist

Sangeeta N. Bhatia is an American biological engineer and the John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Bhatia's research investigates applications of micro- and nano-technology for tissue repair and regeneration. She applies ideas from computer technology and engineering to the design of miniaturized biomedical tools for the study and treatment of diseases, in particular liver disease, hepatitis, malaria and cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Clevers</span> Dutch molecular genetics and stem cell researcher

Johannes (Hans) Carolus Clevers is a Dutch molecular geneticist, cell biologist and stem cell researcher. He became the Head of Pharma, Research and Early Development, and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee, of the Swiss healthcare company Roche in 2022. Previously, he headed a research group at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research and at the Princess Máxima Center; he remained as an advisor and guest scientist or visiting researcher to both groups. He is also a Professor in Molecular Genetics at the University of Utrecht.

Roeland "Roel" Nusse is a professor at Stanford University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His research was seminal in the discovery of Wnt signaling, a family of pleiotropic regulators involved in development and disease.


STEMCELL Technologies Inc., often abbreviated to STEMCELL, is a Canadian biotechnology company that develops, manufactures, and sells scientific instruments, reagents, and consumables. The company also markets education, custom manufacturing, and contract assay services for academic and industrial scientists.

Gordon M. Keller is a Canadian scientist recognized for his research on applying developmental biology findings to in vitro pluripotent stem cell differentiation. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, a Professor at the University of Toronto and the director of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

Kathy Niakan is a developmental biologist, working in human developmental and stem cell biology. In 2016 she became the first scientist in the world to gain regulatory approval to edit the genomes of human embryos for research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Little</span> Australian scientist and academic (born 1963)

Professor Melissa Little is an Australian scientist and academic, currently Theme Director of Cell Biology, heading up the Kidney Regeneration laboratory at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She is also a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, and Program Leader of Stem Cells Australia. In January 2022, she became CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine reNEW, an international stem cell research center based at University of Copenhagen, and a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia, and Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.

Owen Sansom, FRSE., FMedSci is the Director of the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute. He is known for his work determining the molecular hallmarks of colorectal cancer (CRC), including demonstrating the roles of the tumour suppressor protein APC and the WNT signalling pathway, as well as the involvement of intestinal stem cells in tumourigenesis

Inke Näthke is a German-British cell biologist. She is Professor of Epithelial Biology at the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Professional Culture at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee in Scotland. She is known for her work on the role of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein in colorectal cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jürgen Knoblich</span> German molecular biologist

Jürgen Knoblich is a German molecular biologist. Since 2018, he is Scientific Director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.  

Professor Jason Carroll is a British medical researcher serving as a Senior Group Leader at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge and Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Azeria Therapeutics. He is a Professor of Molecular Oncology assigned to the Department of Oncology and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.

Axel Behrens is a German-British molecular biologist and an expert in cancer stem cell biology. He is the Scientific Director of the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre in London, a senior group leader at the Institute of Cancer Research and a professor at Imperial College London.

Samira Musah is an American biomedical engineer and professor at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering. She is known for her work in biomimetic systems, in particular for her work in developing an organ-on-a-chip model of the kidney glomerulus during her postdoctoral fellowship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisca Liberali</span> Italian chemist

Prisca Liberali is an Italian chemist who is a senior group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research. Her research takes a systems biology approach to understand the behaviour of multi-cellular systems. She was awarded the European Molecular Biology Organization gold medal in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Vivian Li". Crick. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  2. 1 2 Novellasdemunt, Laura; Foglizzo, Valentina; Cuadrado, Laura; Antas, Pedro; Kucharska, Anna; Encheva, Vesela; Snijders, Ambrosius P.; Li, Vivian S. W. (2017-10-17). "USP7 Is a Tumor-Specific WNT Activator for APC-Mutated Colorectal Cancer by Mediating β-Catenin Deubiquitination". Cell Reports. 21 (3): 612–627. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.072. ISSN   2211-1247. PMC   5656747 . PMID   29045831.
  3. 1 2 3 "Celebrating a lifetime in cancer biology, an early diagnosis champion, and our leaders of tomorrow: the 2018 CRUK Research Prizes". Cancer Research UK. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  4. 1 2 "Award for Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student", The University of Hong Kong
  5. ↑ "Leading the future of cancer research". Crick. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  6. ↑ Lansdowne, Laura Elizabeth (17 December 2018). "Cell Signaling in Cancer". Technology Networks. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  7. ↑ Atherton, Matt (18 October 2017). "Bowel cancer BREAKTHROUGH: New treatment is first non-toxic therapy". Express. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  8. 1 2 Davis, Nicola (17 February 2016). "Meet the researchers at London's £700m altar to biomedical science". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Guardian Staff (2019-01-06). "New talent: the rising stars of culture, science and food 2019". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  10. ↑ Meran, Laween; Massie, Isobel; Campinoti, Sara; Weston, Anne E.; Gaifulina, Riana; Tullie, Lucinda; Faull, Peter; Orford, Michael; Kucharska, Anna; Baulies, Anna; Novellasdemunt, Laura; Angelis, Nikolaos; Hirst, Elizabeth; König, Julia; Tedeschi, Alfonso Maria; Pellegata, Alessandro Filippo; Eli, Susanna; Snijders, Ambrosius P.; Collinson, Lucy; Thapar, Nikhil; Thomas, Geraint M. H.; Eaton, Simon; Bonfanti, Paola; De Coppi, Paolo; Li, Vivian S. W. (2020). "Engineering transplantable jejunal mucosal grafts using patient-derived organoids from children with intestinal failure". Nature Medicine. 26 (10): 1593–1601. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-1024-z. PMC   7116539 . PMID   32895569.
  11. ↑ "Fighting cancer: How growing mini organs could create better treatment". New Scientist. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  12. ↑ "Dr Vivian Li on contributing her piece to the puzzle of science | Croucher Foundation". 18 December 2014. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  13. ↑ "Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prize", Cancer Research UK
  14. ↑ "WICB Early Career Medal Winner 2021: Vivian Li | British Society for Cell Biology" . Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  15. ↑ "Cell scientist to watch – Vivian Li". Journal of Cell Science. 134 (16). 2021-08-25. doi:10.1242/jcs.259245. ISSN   0021-9533. S2CID   241526918.
  16. ↑ "Women in Cell Biology Early Career Award Medal | British Society for Cell Biology" . Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  17. ↑ "BACR/AstraZeneca Young Scientist Frank Rose Award | BACR - The British Association for Cancer Research". www.bacr.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.