Xiao Li, PhD

Precise regulation of gene expression programs underlies homeostasis of various types of cardiac and immune cells in the human heart. Disruption of such intricate programs often imbalances the fibrotic and immune microenvironment in heart failure. My lab utilizes cutting-edge technologies including single-cell genomics and genome editing to explore novel mechanisms that control these programs. By understanding the diverse genomic and cellular responses to heart injury in individual patients, we aim to improve the prevention of heart failure and develop personalized treatments to enhance recovery.

See Publications

Texas Heart Institute Positions

Current Projects

  • Integration of large-scale single-cell transcriptomics and genomics data
  • Immune microenvironment that regulates cardiac function and the pathology of heart failure
  • Application of computational genomics and machine learning and in cardiac biology
  • Chromatin-associated RNA and chromatin organization in the heart

Interests

  • Cardiovascular biology
  • Molecular immunology
  • Functional genomics
  • Computational biology
  • Pediatric cardiomyopathy and graft dysfunction

Education

  • Undergraduate:

    East China Normal University (Shanghai, China)

  • Graduate:

    University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

  • Postgraduate:

    Postdoctoral training, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla CA)

Honors, Awards and Memberships

Publications

Zhu, R., Liu, X., Li, X. et al. (2023). Response to identifying the epidermal dendritic cell landscape. Immunity 56, 461–462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.006.
Eliason, S., Su, D., Pinho, F. et al. (2022). HMGN2 represses gene transcription via interaction with transcription factors Lef-1 and Pitx2 during amelogenesis. J Biol Chem 298, 102295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102295.
Liu, X., Zhu, R., Luo, Y. et al. (2021). Distinct human Langerhans cell subsets orchestrate reciprocal functions and require different developmental regulation. Immunity 54, 2305-2320.e11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2021.08.012.
Hao, Y., Wang, D., Wu, S. et al. (2020). Active retrotransposons help maintain pericentromeric heterochromatin required for faithful cell division. Genome Res 30, 1570–1582. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.256131.119.
Li, X. and Fu, X.-D. (2019). Chromatin-associated RNAs as facilitators of functional genomic interactions. Nat Rev Genet 20, 503–519. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-019-0135-1.
Zhou, B., Li, X., Luo, D. et al. (2019). GRID-seq for comprehensive analysis of global RNA-chromatin interactions. Nat Protoc 14, 2036–2068. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-019-0172-4.
Kousa, Y. A., Zhu, H., Fakhouri, W. D. et al. (2019). The TFAP2A-IRF6-GRHL3 genetic pathway is conserved in neurulation. Hum Mol Genet 28, 1726–1737. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddz010.
Zhao, Y., Li, X., Zhao, W. et al. (2019). Single-cell transcriptomic landscape of nucleated cells in umbilical cord blood. Gigascience 8, giz047. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz047.
Wang, L., Zhang, W., Lin, L. et al. (2018). A comprehensive analysis of the T and B lymphocytes repertoire shaped by HIV vaccines. Front Immunol 9, 2194. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02194.
Li, X., Zhou, B., Chen, L. et al. (2017). GRID-seq reveals the global RNA-chromatin interactome. Nat Biotechnol 35, 940–950. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3968.