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Li Li PhD

Assistant Professor, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Research Focus - RNA-Based Therapeutics

  • Chemical biology of synthetic mRNA
  • Mechanisms of translational control
  • In vitro evolution

Representative Publications

  • Duplication of leucyl-tRNA synthetase in an archaeal extremophile may play a role in adaptation to variable environmental conditions. Weitzel CS, Li L, Zhang C, Eilts KK, Bretz NM, Gatten AL, Whitaker RJ, Martinis SA.J Biol Chem. 2020 Apr 3;295(14):4563-4576. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.006481. Epub 2020 Feb 26.PMID: 32102848 Read Publication

In the News

  • UMass Chan BRIDGE Fund commits $2M in six faculty projects

    UMass Chan BRIDGE Fund commits $2M in six faculty projects

    BRIDGE Innovation and Business Development at UMass Chan Medical School has set aside nearly $2 million in funding for six faculty-led research projects that hold promise for translation to clinical application and commercialization.  

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  • PhD candidate engineers new RNA sequences to enable mRNA-based therapeutics

    PhD candidate engineers new RNA sequences to enable mRNA-based therapeutics

    PhD candidate Seden Bedir moved from Turkey to the U.S. to study at UMass Chan Medical School. She aims to engineer RNA sequences that don’t exist in nature in order to enable mRNA-based therapeutics beyond vaccines. In her free time, she mentors students from Turkey.  

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  • Drugs of the future will be easier and faster to make, thanks to mRNA

    Drugs of the future will be easier and faster to make, thanks to mRNA

    UMass Chan researcher Li Li, PhD, writes for The Conversation about how mRNA drug development, which led to the first COVID-19 vaccine, offers significant advantages over traditional drug development.

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  • Sharing of knowledge, ideas celebrated during Qualifying Exam Recognition Ceremony

    Sharing of knowledge, ideas celebrated during Qualifying Exam Recognition Ceremony

    The UMass Chan community gathered to celebrate 53 PhD candidates and MD/PhD students who transitioned from student to candidate for a doctoral degree during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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