Dr. Yingfu Li: Reprogramming Medicines with Aptamers

Feb 14

2 min read

Aptamers are short, synthetic strands of DNA or RNA which can bind specifically to proteins, and other desired targets. Currently aptamers are a promising alternative to antibodies and can be used in therapeutics, biomarkers, food safety, and much more. Fundamentally, aptamers with high specificity and sensitivity can be discovered via a selection method called SELEX alongside multiple biotechnologies.

Currently, antibodies have a biologically limited range of specificity, with synthetically made aptamers being able to overcome those limitations. Aptamers are a promising field that can help many people, companies, and possibly prevent spread of infections. Alongside aptamers research into DNA and RNA strands can prove useful for future scientists One of the leading scientists in this field, Dr. Yingfu Li, will have an “office hour” with us today, sharing his story into academia, and promising projects.

Dr. Yingfu Li

AFFILIATION

Dr. Yingfu Li is a Professor and Principal Investigator of the Li Lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University.

ACADEMIC & TEACHING BACKGROUND

Undergraduate study:

Dr. Li completed his undergraduate degree with a bachelor's in chemistry at Anhui University in 1983.

Graduate study:

In 1989, Dr. Li went on to get his Master's in Applied Chemistry at Beijing Agriculture University, where his project focused on creating ‘greener’ pesticides.

In 1992, he moved to Canada and graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biology from Simon Fraser University in 1997. His first project related to aptamers was during this time, when he was tasked with finding aptamers that mimic transition states in reactions.

Post-Doctorate and Teaching career:

Dr. Li then completed his post-doctoral training at Yale University before coming to McMaster University in 1999 as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

The Li lab focuses on a variety of projects from DNAzymes to machine models, with a main focus on the use of aptamers in existing fields. Finding aptamers with high specificity for their respective targets is a main goal of the lab. Some ongoing projects consist of selecting DNAzyme for digital storage use, discovering aptamers to detect viruses, creating models to rank sequences based on specificity and to eliminate PCR bias.

AWARDS & LEADERSHIP

W. A. McBryde Medal, Canadian Society of Chemistry (2012)
Ontario Premier Research Excellence Award (2004-2009)
Governor General of Canada Academic Gold Medal (1998)
Scholar of One-Hundred-Talent Program of Shanxi Province, China (2011)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this episode, we follow Dr. Yingfu Li as he discussed his beginning in academia until becoming a researcher. In this journey we will look into how his passion for writing led him down a path of academia and the beginning of the Li Lab. At the same time, Dr. Li shared some promising projects he has worked on and ones currently being designed in his lab. The episode also provided context on his journey from chemistry to biochemistry and his relation to the person who invented Sanger Sequencing!