Faculty
FLORIDA STATE / PEOPLE / FACULTY
Dr. Hong Li, Professor

Professional Preparation/Appointments
B.S. in Physics, Sichuan University, China (1983)
Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of Rochester (1994)
Postdoc, Brookhaven National Lab (1994-1996)
Postdoc, California Institute of Technology (1996-1999)
Contact Information
hongli@sb.fsu.edu | ||
Office | 207 KLB | 850.644.6785 |
Lab | 210 KLB | 850.645.4909 |
Programs of Research
Biochemistry
research specialties
Structural Biology, Chemical Biology
Research Interest
The Li laboratory is working to uncover the molecular mechanisms of two RNA-mediated processes: the CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated) immunity and ribosome synthesis. The CRISPR-Cas systems confer immunity to bacteria and archaea against invading viruses through several novel enzymatic processes such as RNA-guided DNA or RNA cleavage, RNA-stimulated second messenger synthesis and degradation, and second messenger-stimulated RNA cleavage. Ribosome is the RNA-protein machine that synthesizes proteins in all organisms. The maturation pathway of ribosome is mediated by RNA-guided RNA modification and processing and is thus a target for anticancer drugs. The Li lab uses structural biology (x-ray crystallography and electron cryomicroscopy, or cryoEM), directed protein evolution, yeast genetics, and other biophysical methods to elucidate the chemical basis for these fascinating enzymes and to provide synthetic strategies in development of gene editing, liquid biopsy, virus detection and therapeutic biotechnology.
Publications
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Yu, G.; Zhao, Y. et al. Yeast R2TP Interacts with Extended Termini of Client Protein Nop58p. Sci. Rep. 2019, 9, 20228. |
Tsui, T.K.M.; Hand, T.H.; Duboy, E.C.; Li, H. The Impact of DNA Topology and Guide Length on Target Selection by a Cytosine-Specific Cas9. ACS Synth Biol 2017, 6, 1103-1113. |
Tsui, T.K. & Li, H. Structure Principles of CRISPR-Cas Surveillance and Effector Complexes. Annu Rev Biophys 2015, 44, 229-55. |
Ramia, N.F. et al. Essential Structural and Functional Roles of the Cmr4 Subunit in RNA Cleavage by the Cmr CRISPR-Cas complex. Cell Rep 2014, 9, 1610-1617. |
Liang, B. & Li, H. Structures of Ribonucleoprotein Particle Modification Enzymes. Q Rev Biophys 2011, 44, 95-122. |