Yang I. Li, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Professor of Human Genetics
Committee on Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology
Research and Scholarly Interests: Complex Traits, Genomics, Molecular Biology, RNA splicing, Statistical Genetics
Websites: Li Lab, Research Network Profile
Contact: yangili1@uchicago.edu
Graduate Programs: Genetics, Genomics & Systems Biology, Human Genetics, UChicago Biosciences

Dr. Li's research lies at the intersection of genetics, gene regulation, and disease. A major focus of the Li lab is to dissect the impact of genetic variation on gene regulation. In particular, Dr. Li and her team develop computational approaches to investigate genetic effects on gene regulatory mechanisms that have been historically underappreciated. These mechanisms include mRNA splicing, degradation, and other post-transcriptional processes. The lab studies how dysregulation of these processes contributes to complex diseases and explores how these novel regulatory pathways can be leveraged as therapeutic targets.

Stanford University
Palo Alto
- Population Genomics
2017

University of Oxford
Oxford
DPhil - Evolutionary Genomics
2014

Genetic and molecular architecture of complex traits.
Genetic and molecular architecture of complex traits. Cell. 2024 Feb 29; 187(5):1059-1075.
PMID: 38428388

Global impact of aberrant splicing on human gene expression levels.
Global impact of aberrant splicing on human gene expression levels. bioRxiv. 2023 Oct 16.
PMID: 37745605

Genetics of sexually dimorphic adipose distribution in humans.
Genetics of sexually dimorphic adipose distribution in humans. Nat Genet. 2023 03; 55(3):461-470.
PMID: 36797366

Profiling lariat intermediates reveals genetic determinants of early and late co-transcriptional splicing.
Profiling lariat intermediates reveals genetic determinants of early and late co-transcriptional splicing. Mol Cell. 2022 12 15; 82(24):4681-4699.e8.
PMID: 36435176

Predicting RNA splicing from DNA sequence using Pangolin.
Predicting RNA splicing from DNA sequence using Pangolin. Genome Biol. 2022 04 21; 23(1):103.
PMID: 35449021

Benchmarking sequencing methods and tools that facilitate the study of alternative polyadenylation.
Benchmarking sequencing methods and tools that facilitate the study of alternative polyadenylation. Genome Biol. 2021 10 14; 22(1):291.
PMID: 34649612

The impact of cell type and context-dependent regulatory variants on human immune traits.
The impact of cell type and context-dependent regulatory variants on human immune traits. Genome Biol. 2021 04 29; 22(1):122.
PMID: 33926512

Alignment of single-cell RNA-seq samples without overcorrection using kernel density matching.
Alignment of single-cell RNA-seq samples without overcorrection using kernel density matching. Genome Res. 2021 04; 31(4):698-712.
PMID: 33741686

Identification and Quantification of Splicing Quantitative Trait Loci.
Identification and Quantification of Splicing Quantitative Trait Loci. Methods Mol Biol. 2020; 2082:51-62.
PMID: 31849007

m6A mRNA Methylation Is Essential for Oligodendrocyte Maturation and CNS Myelination.
m6A mRNA Methylation Is Essential for Oligodendrocyte Maturation and CNS Myelination. Neuron. 2020 01 22; 105(2):293-309.e5.
PMID: 31901304

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Nuffield Prize Scholarship
University of Oxford
2010 - 2014