Positions
- Associate Professor
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Huffington Center on Aging
- Associate Professor
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Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
- Member
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ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ of Medicine
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Graduate Program Faculty
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Genetics & Genomics, DDMT, Neuroscience, Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCB)
Addresses
- Alkek N910 (Lab)
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1 Baylor Plaza
Houston, TX, 77030
United States
Education
- Postdoctoral Training at Stanford University
- 12/2020 - Stanford (Liqun Luo lab), California, United States
- PhD from University of Rochester & Buck Institute for Research on Aging
- 03/2016 - Rochester (Henri Jasper lab), United States
Professional Statement
Technology development of multi-omics: We have developed the first single-cell RNA sequencing platform in Drosophila neurons and glia for studying neural development (Cell 2017; Curr Biol. 2020). Recently, we developed a single-nucleus RNA-seq method in flies (eLife 2021) and applied it to the Fly Cell Atlas (Science 2022) and Aging Fly Cell Atlas (Science 2023), a large collaborative project aiming to get the transcriptomic map of the entire fly. We will continue developing and applying multi-omics technologies (transcriptomics, epigenomics and proteomics) and combine them with powerful fly genetic tools to study development, aging and diseases.
Anti-brain aging to increase healthy lifespan: Our long-term goal is to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to brain aging, including glia-neuron interactions, systemic inflammatory signals and gut-brain interactions. We will apply single-cell sequencing and cell surface proteomics (Li J, Han S, Li H, et al. Cell 2020) to study glia-neuron interactions and inter-organ communications to understand brain aging. We will employ single-bacterium genomics to explore gut microbiota changes during aging and study how they contribute to brain aging.
Limiting age-triggered tumor initiation and growth: Age is the biggest risk factor for many types of cancers, including breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers (Dis Model Mech. 2016). A central goal of this project is to discover how aging triggers tumor onset in the regenerating intestine. We will use fly intestine as a discovery model to generate hypotheses that we will then test in mouse cancer models and human colon cancers, aiming to develop effective strategies for limiting age-related tumor initiation and growth.
Anti-brain aging to increase healthy lifespan: Our long-term goal is to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to brain aging, including glia-neuron interactions, systemic inflammatory signals and gut-brain interactions. We will apply single-cell sequencing and cell surface proteomics (Li J, Han S, Li H, et al. Cell 2020) to study glia-neuron interactions and inter-organ communications to understand brain aging. We will employ single-bacterium genomics to explore gut microbiota changes during aging and study how they contribute to brain aging.
Limiting age-triggered tumor initiation and growth: Age is the biggest risk factor for many types of cancers, including breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers (Dis Model Mech. 2016). A central goal of this project is to discover how aging triggers tumor onset in the regenerating intestine. We will use fly intestine as a discovery model to generate hypotheses that we will then test in mouse cancer models and human colon cancers, aiming to develop effective strategies for limiting age-related tumor initiation and growth.
Websites
Selected Publications
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Park YJ, Lu TC, Jackson T, Goodman LD, Ran L, Chen J, Liang CY, Harrison E, Ko C, Chen X, Wang B, Hsu AL, Ochoa E, Bieniek KF, Yamamoto S, Zhu Y, Zheng H, Qi Y, Bellen HJ, Li H. " " Neuron. 2025 Jul ; 113 : 2065-2082.e8.
Pubmed PMID: . -
Gao SM, Qi Y, Zhang Q, Guan Y, Lee YT, Ding L, Wang L, Mohammed AS, Li H, Fu Y, Wang MC. " " Nat Aging. 2024 Jul ; 4 : 998-1013.
Pubmed PMID: . -
TC Lu*, M Brbić*, YJ Park, T Jackson, J Chen, SS Kolluru, Y Qi, NS Katheder, XT Cai, S Lee, YC Chen, N Auld, CY Liang, S Ding, D Welsch, S D’Souza, AO Pisco, RC Jones, J Leskovec, EC Lai, HJ Bellen, L Luo, H Jasper, SR Quake, H Li. " " Science. 2023 Jun ; 380 : eadg0934.
Pubmed PMID: . -
Xie Q, Brbic M, Horns F, Kolluru SS, Jones RJ, Li J, Reddy A, Xie A, Kohani S, Li Z, McLaughlin CN, Li T, Xu C, Vacek D, Luginbuhl DJ, Leskovec J, Quake SR, Luo L, Li H. " " eLife. 2021 Feb ; 10 : e63450.
Pubmed PMID: .
Funding
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DP2 (NIH Director's New Innovator Award)
- NIH
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U01AG086143
- NIH
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Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
- CPRIT
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Welch Foundation Award
- Welch Foundation
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Longevity Research Grant
- Impetus Grants
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Ted Nash Long Life Foundation
- Ted Nash Foundation
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R00 - Pathway to Independence Award
- NIH
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Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award
- Hevolution/AFAR
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