Jenny Li, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
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E-mail:
Mailing Address:
905 BRT
460 W. 10th Ave
Columbus, OH 43210
Biosketch
Dr. Li is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and a member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a pioneer in the development of primary cell cultures and clinically relevant cell models, with broad applications in innate immunity, infection, cancer biology, and tissue regeneration. Dr. Li has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in highly respected scientific journals and serves on editorial boards and as a reviewer for several journals and professional societies.
Our lab developed the Conditional Reprogramming (CR) technique—a novel cell culture method capable of establishing cell cultures from a wide range of human tissues, including normal tissues, primary and metastatic tumors, and liquid biopsies. Together, CR and organoid cultures represent the next generation of patient-derived in vitro cancer models. These platforms have been recognized by major initiatives such as the Precision Medicine Initiative and the Human Cancer Model Initiative (HCMI) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Our current research focuses on elucidating the biological mechanisms driving cancer initiation and progression in lung, breast, prostate, and other cancer types—diseases that collectively claim the lives of millions of Americans each year. In parallel, we are developing a non-invasive, cost-effective method for early detection of bladder cancer, as well as for predicting treatment response and recurrence. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Our ultimate goal is to develop an FDA-approved diagnostic and monitoring tool for use in clinical oncology settings.
Grants
Evaluation of Pre-Analytical Factors of Urine Samples for Urine Cancer Cell Cultures (UCCC) --A Developing Functional Human Cell Models to Study Initiation and Progression of Prostate Cancer between AA and EA men.(Co-I, R01, NIH, 05/01/2023 – 04/30/2028)
Non-Invasive Biomarker – in Monitoring Response and Recurrence of Bladder Cancer. (Co-I, U01,NIH, 09/06/2023 – 08/31/2028)
Academic and Medical Appointments
2024-Present Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2023-2024 Research Scientist, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Selected Publications
- Conditional Reprogramming: A Living Biomarker and Phenotypic Screening Drug Platform for Urological Cancer. Danyal Daneshdoust, Abdul Qawee Rani, Peng Wang, Shang-jui Wang, Akshay Sood, Debasish Sundi, Qi-en Wang, Zaibo Li, Anil V. Parwani, Nagireddy Putluri, Cheryl Lee, Jenny Li, Xuefeng Liu. Book: Cancer Detection and Diagnosis. Edition1st Edition First Published 2025. CRC Press, Pages13
- Epstein–Barr virus exploits desmocollin 2 as the principal epithelial cell entry receptor. H Wang, Z Mou, YY Yeo, Q Ge, X Liu, Y Narita, Z Li, C Wang, W Li, ...Nature Microbiology, 1-16
- Unveiling racial disparities in prostate cancer using an integrative genomic and transcriptomic analysis. A Elbialy, A Sood, SJ Wang, P Wang, A Fadiel, AV Parwani, S Huang, ...Cell Insight 4 (2), 100238
- The hTERT N-terminal DNA binding is necessary but not sufficient for maintaining telomere and cellular immortalization. R Chen, G Li, A Dakic, YL Zheng, J Li, X Liu. Serican Journal of Medicine 2 (2)
- Modeling respiratory tract diseases for clinical translation employing conditionally reprogrammed cells. D Daneshdoust, K He, QE Wang, J Li, X Liu. Cell Insight 3 (6), 100201
- Patient-Derived Conditionally Reprogrammed Cells in Prostate Cancer Research. A Elbialy, D Kappala, D Desai, P Wang, A Fadiel, SJ Wang, MS Makary, ...Cells 13 (12), 1005
- Noncanonical functions of telomerase and telomeres in viruses‐associated cancer. S Rasouli, A Dakic, QE Wang, D Mitchell, DM Blakaj, N Putluri, J Li, X Liu. Journal of Medical Virology 96 (5), e29665
- BRD4 as a potential target for human papillomaviruses associated cancer. AQ Rani, SR Bonam, J Zhou, J Li, H Hu, X Liu. Journal of medical virology 95 (12), e29294
- Unlocking translational potential: Conditionally reprogrammed cells in advancing breast cancer research. D Daneshdoust, M Luo, Z Li, X Mo, S Alothman, B Kallakury, R Schlegel, ...Cells 12 (19), 2388
- Identification of HPV oncogene and host cell differentiation associated cellular heterogeneity in cervical cancer via single‐cell transcriptomic analysis. Y Li, C Wang, A Ma, AQ Rani, M Luo, J Li, X Liu, Q Ma. Journal of Medical Virology 95 (8), e29060
- Conditional reprogramming modeling of bladder cancer for clinical translation. D Daneshdoust, M Yin, M Luo, D Sundi, Y Dang, C Lee, J Li, X Liu. Cells 12 (13), 1714
- Conditional cell reprogramming and air–liquid interface modeling life cycle of oncogenic viruses (HPV and EBV) in epithelial cells and virus-associated human carcinomas. AQ Rani, D Nurmemet, J Liffick, A Khan, D Mitchell, J Li, B Zhao, X Liu. Viruses 15 (6), 1388