Song Li

Dr. Song Li is the David and Betty Brenneman Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and Director of the Center for Pharmacogenetics. He holds an MD and PhD from the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China, and completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Leaf Huang. His research focuses on drug/gene delivery systems, cancer therapy, and immunology, with over 179 peer-reviewed articles and 35 reviews. Dr. Li leads NIH-funded projects on nanocarrier development, tumor immune microenvironment modulation, and overcoming chemoresistance.

Education: MD and PhD, Fourth Military Medical University (China), Postdoctoral training at University of Pittsburgh.

Research Interests: Dr. Li’s lab develops ultrasmall nanocarriers (e.g., 15 nm systems) for improved tumor targeting, CD44-targeted delivery, and overcoming immune resistance via Xkr8 inhibition. Key breakthroughs include 'new amphiphilic surfactants' for hard-to-formulate drugs and GRM4/Xkr8 mechanisms in antitumor immunity. Recent work addresses non-cancer diseases like cardiovascular and liver conditions through novel delivery systems.

Grants: Active NIH grants include R01CA278608 (breast cancer combination therapy) and R01CA295774 (iRhom1 targeting in colon cancer). Collaborates on lung cancer immunotherapy (R01CA239716).

Labs/Teams: Directs the Center for Pharmacogenetics and leads interdisciplinary teams in nanomedicine, immunotherapy, and drug delivery.