Yong Li

Professor Yong Li is a Conjoint Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, a Principal Scientific Officer at St George Hospital (South Eastern Sydney Local Health District), and Director of the Cancer Research Laboratory at the Cancer Care Centre. He is a leading cancer researcher with expertise in biomarker discovery, radiation biology, and targeted therapies.

• Bachelor of Medicine (1987) and Master of Science (1992) from Henan Medical University, China
• PhD in Medicine from UNSW Sydney (2000)

His research focuses on:

• Investigating novel extracellular vesicle (EV) biomarkers from body fluids and tissues for cancer diagnosis and progression monitoring in prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers
• Elucidating mechanisms of cancer metastasis and chemo/radio-resistance linked to cancer stem cells, EMT, and signaling pathways
• Developing targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and combination approaches for metastatic cancers
• Creating rapid diagnostic methods using nanoplasmonic sensors for liquid biopsy applications

Professor Li has secured over 7.2 million AU$ in research funding, including grants from NHMRC, ARC, and the US Department of Defense. He serves on editorial boards for the World Journal of Cancer Research and Open Biomarker Journal, and is Honorary President of the Australian Association of Chinese Biomedical Scientists.