Hongzhe Li

Hongzhe Li is a Professor of Biostatistics and Director of the Laboratory of Statistical Genetics and Genomics. His research spans methodological and collaborative work in bioinformatics, biostatistics, computational biology, statistical genetics, genomics, and metagenomics, with applications to complex human diseases.

His primary research focuses on developing statistical methodologies for multi-omics data integration, particularly in microbiome-host interactions. Key areas include robust high-dimensional modeling, transfer learning, mediation analysis with complex mediators, and phylogenetic methods. His work addresses critical challenges in analyzing compositional data, longitudinal microbiome dynamics, and multi-tissue genetic studies, with significant applications in inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease progression, and rare disorders like Castleman disease.

Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate a cohesive trajectory in advancing statistical frameworks for microbiome and multi-omics research. Dominant themes include transfer learning for high-dimensional models, mediation analysis with distributional mediators, and robust covariance estimation. These methods are consistently applied to translational problems in gastroenterology, nephrology, and rare hematologic diseases, emphasizing clinical utility through prospective cohort studies and multi-omics integration.

Scientific Awards: No awards mentioned in provided text.

Advising and Grants: Student advising details and grant information absent from source material. Research appears driven by methodological innovation with strong clinical collaborations, particularly in IBD and kidney disease consortia.

Laboratory: Leads the Laboratory of Statistical Genetics and Genomics, which develops computational frameworks for genetic and microbiome data analysis. The lab specializes in creating open-source statistical tools for high-dimensional biological data, with emphasis on reproducibility and clinical translation through partnerships with medical researchers.