Welcome to the Li lab

We combine chemistry, biochemistry, immunology, and physiology to uncover basic mechanisms in innate immunity and, in parallel, develop therapeutic hypotheses and lead molecules.

Innate immune pathways are a rich source of novel chemistry: they involve diverse molecular patterns in pathogens, little-explored second messengers, and drugs with poorly understood mechanism. Activation of innate immunity is a proven therapeutic strategy for vaccination, viral infection, and cancer, while inhibition is a strategy for treating autoimmune diseases and neurodegeneration. To date, however, most modulators of innate immunity are broad, non-specific, and poorly characterized. We seek to improve understanding of these pathways and facilitate the development of more precise drugs for preventing or treating specific diseases.

We are affiliated with Stanford Biochemistry, Sarafan ChEM-H and Arc Institute.