Dong Li

Dong Li, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Genetics (Human Genetics) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is also a research scientist at the Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Disorders and the Division of Human Genetics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Education:

• B.S. in Biotechnology, Southwest University, China (2006)
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southwest University, China (2011)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Applied Genomics, CHOP (2011–2014)
• Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania (2023–2025)

Research Interests: Dr. Li’s research focuses on novel human disease gene discovery and translational genomics in complex vascular anomalies and neurodevelopmental disorders. Her work integrates genomic sequencing, functional genomics, and precision medicine to identify and characterize pathogenic variants in rare diseases.

Grants & Awards:

• NIH R21 Grant (2020)
• CHOP Roberts Collaborative Rapid Translation Grants (2018, 2019)
• Lymphatic Malformation Institute Research Grant (2021)
• Eagles Autism Foundation Research Grant (2023)
• CHOP Young Professional Network's Top Talent - 40 Under 40 Award (2020)

Labs & Teams: Dr. Li is affiliated with the Center for Applied Genomics and the Genetic Diagnostic Laboratory at CHOP. She collaborates extensively with multidisciplinary teams across CHOP and UPenn, including pediatric hematology, endocrinology, and vascular biology units.