Dr. Yan Li obtained her M.D. degree at Hubei University of Medicine and Ph.D. degree at Sun Yat-sen Medical University in 1995 and 2001, respectively. She had post-doctoral training in School of Medicine, Yale University from 2004-2005. Dr. Yan Li has acquired many funds from NSFC (82473272, 82072604, 81871903, 81672357, 81472255, 81172338 and 30700820), and The Key R&D Program of the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. She was awarded as Outstanding Young Medical Talents in Guangdong Province in 2018. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including Gastroenterology, Cancer Research, Advanced Science, Nature Communications, and Oncogene.

Tumorigenesis; Tumor microenvironment; and Tumor metastasis.

M.D. School of Medicine, Hubei University of Medicine, China 1990-1995

Ph.D. Sun Yat-sen Medical University, China 1996-2001

1. Ma YZ#, Su XD#, Zeng TT, Zhou CL, Yang GZ, Xia ZF, Zeng CF, Zhan JR, Guan XY, Zhang X*, Li Y*. CCL5hi macrophages interact with CD8+ T cells and potentiate responsiveness to PD-1 blockade plus chemotherapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Advanced Science 2025. Adv. Sci. 2025 Dec;12(45):e09187. doi: 10.1002/advs.202409187. Epub 2025 Sep 25.

2. Suo D#, Liang L#, Xia Z, Zhang Y, Zeng T, Li S, Guan XY, Li Y*. Fibroblast-derived PI16 enhances tumor immune-suppressive microenvironment via inducing Tregs differentiation. Cell Oncol (Dordr). 2025 Jul 22. doi: 10.1007/s13402-025-01090-5.

3. Tan L# , Su X#, Ma Y, Zeng C, Yue H, Zeng T, Li K, Guo Q, Li Y*, Zhang X*. Cholesterol metabolism-related characteristics predict response and survival in esophageal cancer. J Adv Res. 2025 Jun 12:S2090-1232(25)00434-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2025.06.025. Online ahead of print.

4. Li G, Suo D, Ma Y, Zeng T, Zhan J, Yuan Y, Guan XY, Li Y*. Overexpression of PDSS2-Del2 in HCC promotes tumor metastasis by interacting with macrophages. Cell Death Discov. 2024 Dec 18;10(1):506. doi: 10.1038/s41420-024-02274-y.

5. Suo D#, Gao X#, Chen Q, Zeng T, Zhan J, Li G, Zheng Y, Zhu S, Yun J, Guan XY, Li Y*. HSPA4 upregulation induces immune evasion via ALKBH5/CD58 axis in gastric cancer. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Apr 8;43(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s13046-024-03029-4.

6. Liang L#, Zhang X#, Su XD, Zeng TT, Suo DQ, Yun JP, Wang X, Guan XY, Li Y*. Fibroblasts in metastatic lymph nodes confer cisplatin resistance to ESCC tumor cells via PI16. Oncogenesis. 2023 Nov 1;12(1):50. doi: 10.1038/s41389-023-00495-x.

7. Wang MQ, Chen YR, Xu HW, Zhan JR, Suo DQ, Wang JJ, Ma YZ, Guan XY, Li Y*, Zhu SL*. HKDC1 upregulation promotes glycolysis, disease progression and confers chemoresistance onto gastric cancer. Cancer Sci. 2023 Apr;114(4):1365-1377. doi: 10.1111/cas.15692. Epub 2023 Jan 2.

8. Suo D, Wang Z, Li L, Chen Q, Zeng T, Liu R, Yun J, Guan XY*, Li Y*. HOXC10 upregulation confers resistance to chemoradiotherapy in ESCC tumor cells and predicts poor prognosis. Oncogene. 2020 Aug;39(32):5441-5454.

9. Zeng T#, Tang Z#, Liang L, Suo D, Li L, Li J, Yuan Y, Guan XY*, Li Y*. PDSS2-Del2, a new variant of PDSS2, promotes tumor cell metastasis and angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma via activating NF-κB. Mol Oncol. 2020 Dec;14(12):3184-3197.

10. Li Y*, Lin S, Li L, Tang Z, Hu Y, Ban X, Zeng T, Zhou Y, Zhu YH, Gao S, Deng W, Zhang X, Xie D, Yuan Y, Huang P, Li J, Cai Z, Guan XY*. PDSS2 deficiency induces hepatocarcinogenesis by decreasing mitochondrial respiration and reprogramming glucose metabolism. Cancer Res. 2018 Aug 15;78(16):4471-4481.