Yan Li

Dr. Yan Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She holds a PhD in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley and San Francisco, an MS in Biochemistry from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Medicine from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her research focuses on developing advanced MRI and metabolic imaging techniques to study brain tumors, psychiatric disorders, and neurological diseases. Key areas include hyperpolarized 13C MRI, PET integration, and metabolic biomarker development.

She leads multiple NIH-funded projects, including clinical translation of metabolic imaging probes for brain tumors (NIH P01CA118816) and high-resolution MRSI for Alzheimer's disease (NIH R01AG087159). Her work emphasizes integrating imaging modalities like 3T/7T MRI, PET, and hyperpolarized agents to understand disease mechanisms.

Dr. Li has received numerous awards, including the 2024 RAP Shared Technology Award and the 2023 RAP Pilot Award for Early Career Investigators. Her lab, Li Lab Imaging, specializes in translational imaging research with strong ties to clinical applications.

• Education:
• Ph.D., Bioengineering, UC Berkeley/San Francisco (2008)
• MS, Biochemistry, McGill University (2004)
• Bachelor of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2002)

Her research portfolio spans over 100 publications, focusing on metabolic imaging advancements, glioma characterization, and neuroimaging for mental health. She actively collaborates with institutions like UCSF Brain Tumor Center and the Department of Defense on projects like multimodal neuroimaging for lower-grade astrocytoma (DOD W81XWH-22-1-0884).