Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Bioinformatic methods and tools for functional and evolutionary genomics

    First, we are developing methods and computer software packages for inferring regulatory modules from gene expression data. Regulatory modules are sets of genes co-regulated to respond to different conditions. Our aim is to be able to infer the genes on each specific module, the regulators of the module, and the conditions under which the regulation occurs. Second, we are also developing methods for studying the evolution of gene regulation and regulatory modules. Third, we shall apply the new and existing methods to analyze data to address the above two issues.

Organization and evolution of the yeast regulatory network

    We are using yeast as a model organism to pursue the following broad issues. First, we want to infer important regulatory modules in the yeast genome, including the genes in each specific module, its regulators, and the conditions under which the regulation occurs. Second, we shall study the relative importance (roles) of cis- and trans-acting elements in regulatory evolution. Third, we shall construct a database that contains our own results and the results synthesized from public domains.

EDUCATION AND POSITIONS HELD

  • Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, RI, 1972
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 1972–1973
  • Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 1973
  • Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 1978
  • Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 1984
  • Betty Wheless Trotter Professor in Medical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 1996–1998
  • George Beadle Professor, University of Chicago, 1999–2004
  • James D. Watson Professor, University of Chicago, 2004-present

 

HONORS

  • Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2003
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1999
  • Academician, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 1998
  • Balzan Prize 2003 for Genetics and Evolution
  • President, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2000
  • Horace Mann Medal, 2004
  • Cockerham Lecture, 2007