Lili Liu

Lili Liu, PhD, MPH, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University under the mentorship of Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D. Her research focuses on genetic determinants of disease, cancer epidemiology, and public health disparities, particularly among low-income and racially diverse populations. Her work integrates genomic, proteomic, and epidemiological methods to explore lifestyle modifiers, metabolic biomarkers, and socioeconomic determinants of health outcomes.

Education includes a PhD and MPH from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2025). Key research interests include colorectal cancer risk, gut microbiome dynamics, and the interplay between lipids, cognitive decline, and chronic diseases. She has conducted extensive studies analyzing disparities in cancer survival rates and mortality across U.S. regions, as well as population health trends in China through national datasets.

Her research portfolio spans over 30 peer-reviewed articles (2019–2025), emphasizing Mendelian randomization studies, cohort analyses, and systematic reviews. Notable topics include racial disparities in breast cancer genetics, impacts of poverty on mortality, and rare disease epidemiology in urban China. Liu's work consistently addresses health equity through interdisciplinary approaches.

Grant involvement includes large-scale genomic studies and cohort projects. She has contributed to initiatives like the African-ancestry Breast Cancer Genetics Consortium and China's CHARLS longitudinal study. Current projects explore predictive models for diabetes progression and the role of cardiometabolic factors in kidney disease.