Wei Li Lab of Computational Biomedicine
Our research is focused on the design and application of bioinformatics algorithms to elucidate global regulatory mechanisms in normal development and diseases such as cancer. We have a solid track record in large-scale genomics data analysis and the development of widely used open-source bioinformatics software, such as MACS (>10,000 citations) for ChIP-seq and BSMAP (>1,200 citations) for DNA methylation. In collaboration with experimental biologists, we have used bioinformatics to gain novel biological insights into development, aging, stem cell, neurologic disorders, and various cancers. Our major contributions to science include the following: (1) We uncovered several novel links between chromatin modifications and cancer driver gene regulation; (2) Our work on alternative polyadenylation (APA) is the first of its kind to connect APA regulation to many human complex traits and diseases. (3) Our work regarding cell heterogeneity in DNA methylation has now been quickly adopted in clinical trials for early cancer detection by liquid biopsy. Since establishing my own bioinformatics lab in early 2008, we have (as of 03/2021)
- Published ~200 peer-reviewed papers through solid methodology development and extensive collaboration research, including 30 senior-author papers in Nature, Cell and Science series, with an H-index of 92.
- Been well-funded with 3 PI grants from NIH: R01CA193466 (2015-2025), R01CA228140 (2019-2024) and U54CA217297 (2017-2022).
- Mentored the first 8 postdoc trainees to start their independent faculty positions in prestigious research institutions in the US (6) and China (2), such as Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinics.
- Filed several patent applications: PCT/US2020/041840 3’UTR crispr-dcas 13 engineering system
Latest News
- 04/2024: UC Irvine-led research team builds first biobank-scale tandem repeat expansions genetic reference maps and our publication in Cell.
- 04/2024: UC Irvine team develops innovative MESA liquid biopsy technologies for early disease detection and prognosis
- 11/2023: NIH awards $4.4 million to UCI Diabetes Center to study the epigenetic mechanisms for diabetes
- 10/2022: Xueyi and Zhuoxing have been awarded the prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Hewitt Foundation for Medical Research.
- 01/2022: Allen has been awarded a highly prestigious American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Fellowship on APA genes in cardiometabolic diseases.
- 11/2021: Wei Li received the Inaugural UCI School of Medicine Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Research Award