Faculty Research
Alphabetical · By research area

Dr. Li's research is in the area of analytical mass spectrometry (MS). The major objectives of the research are to develop advanced methods and strategies, primarily based on MS, for the detection and characterization of biological molecules including peptides, proteins, and metabolites, and to apply these methods to study real-world biological systems. The latter is being accomplished through active collaboration with researchers at the forefront of their disciplines.

For students who are interested in Analytical Chemistry, Dr. Li's lab provides a good learning environment for state-of-the-art analytical techniques and methods, including biological and pharmaceutical sample handling methods, chemical separation techniques (e.g., multi-dimensional liquid chromatography), mass spectrometers (e.g., TOF MS, Ion trap MS, FT-MS, and tandem MS), and data processing/bioinformatics tools.

For students with strong biology background (e.g., an undergraduate degree in biological sciences or biochemistry) who are interested in Chemical Biology, Dr. Li's group offers the unique opportunity for training in both chemistry and biology, with the assistance of collaborators in biosciences such as faculty members in Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Oncology, and Computational Biology. Joint supervision of a chemical biology research project can also be arranged. We are particularly interested in applying analytical techniques and methods in solving biological problems. These include investigation of protein complexes and their functions, characterization of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, and study of post-translational modifications of proteins and their roles in determining biological functions.

The current research activities in Dr. Li's group include the following major projects:

• Development of analytical methods based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) MS for proteome and metabolome analysis. The goals of this work are 1) to generate accurate and comprehensive proteome and metabolome maps, 2) to quantify the proteome and metabolome changes with high speed, and 3) to carry out in-depth analysis of a sub-proteome such as characterization of protein posttranslational modifications.
• Development of nanoscale biological macromolecule manipulation and preparation methods for MS. The aim of this work is to improve mass spectrometric detection sensitivity and specificity for characterizing low abundance proteome and analyzing very small sizes of samples such as the primary cells procured from a tissue or a single cell.
• Development and applications of proteomics and metabolomics approaches in cancer biology, cancer biomarker discovery, and pharmaceutical drug development.
• Development of mass spectrometric techniques for rapid and accurate bacteria identification.

Selected Publications

in Analytical Chemistry:

Mingguo Xu and Liang Li, "Validation of peptide MS/MS spectra using metabolic isotope labeling for spectral matching-based shotgun proteome analysis", J. Proteome Res. 2011, 10, 3632-3641.

Nan Wang and Liang Li, "Reproducible Microwave-assisted Acid Hydrolysis of Proteins Using a Household Microwave Oven and Its Combination with LC-ESI MS/MS for Mapping Protein Sequences and Modifications", J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 2010, 21, 1573-1587.

Nan Wang, Mingguo Xu, Peng Wang and Liang Li, "Development of Mass Spectrometry-Based Shotgun Method for Proteome Analysis of 500 to 5000 Cancer Cells", Anal. Chem. 2010, 82, 2262-2271.

Avalyn E. Lewis-Stanislaus and Liang Li, "A Method for Comprehensive Analysis of Urinary Acylglycines by Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry", J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.2010, 21, 2105-2116.

Kevin Guo, Fiona Bamforth and Liang Li, "Qualitative Metabolome Analysis of Human Cerebrospinal Fluid by 13C-/12C-Isotope Dansylation Labeling Combined with Liquid Chromatography Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry", J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 2011, 22, 339-347.

in Chemical Biology:

Peng Wang, Fang Wu, Jingdong Zhang, Todd McMullen, Leah C. Young, Robert J. Ingham, Liang Li, Raymond Lai, 2011, "Serine Phosphorylation of NPM-ALK, which is Dependent on the Auto-activation of the Kinase Activation Loop, Contributes to its Oncogenic Potential", Carcinogenesis. 2011, 32, 146-153.

Fang Wu, Peng Wang, Jingdong Zhang, Leah C. Young, Raymond Lai and Liang Li,"Studies of Phosphoproteomic Changes Induced by NPM-ALK Highlight Deregulation of TNF/Fas/TRAIL Signaling Pathway in ALK-Positive Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma", Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 2010, 9, 1616-1632.