Faculty Directory › UConn Health

Guangfu Li, PhD

Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Surgery


Academic Office Location: Surgery - Administration UConn Health 263 Farmington Avenue Farmington, CT 06030-2100

Overview
Education & Training
Research
Lab Rotations
Publications
Presentations

Dr. Li’s Lab focuses on cancer and inflammatory disease in the liver, pancreas, and lung. Using human biopsies and different animal models that faithfully reflect typical features of human diseases, Dr. Li aims to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases and their resistance to different treatments. The findings are leveraged to develop effective cellular and molecularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy as well as diagnosis toward translation into clinical application.

Education

Degree	Institution	Major
PhD	Nanjing Medical University	Pathogen Biology and Immunology

Degree

Institution

Major

PhD

Nanjing Medical University

Pathogen Biology and Immunology

Post-Graduate Training

Training	Institution	Specialty
Postdoctoral	Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine	Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Neural and Behavioral Sciences

Training

Institution

Specialty

Postdoctoral

Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Neural and Behavioral Sciences

Awards

Name of Award/Honor	Awarding Organization
Membership	Sigma XI, The Scientific Research Honor Society
The 2021 Dorsett L. Spurgeon MD Distinguished Medical Research Award	School of Medicine, University of Missouri
Tom Miltenberger Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research	School of Medicine, University of Missouri

Name of Award/Honor

Awarding Organization

Membership

Sigma XI, The Scientific Research Honor Society

The 2021 Dorsett L. Spurgeon MD Distinguished Medical Research Award

School of Medicine, University of Missouri

Tom Miltenberger Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research

School of Medicine, University of Missouri

• Developing novel immunotherapies for liver cancer and pancreatic cancer
• Developing novel molecularly targeted therapies for liver cancer and pancreatic cancer
• Dissecting the ecosystem of liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and evolutionary pathogenesis of these diseases

Accepting Lab Rotation Students: Fall Block 2024, Spring 1 and 2 Block 2025

Journal Articles

A novel role of TGFBI in macrophage polarization and macrophage-induced pancreatic cancer growth and therapeutic resistance.
Zhou, Jing; Lyu, Nan; Wang, Qiongling; Yang, Ming; Kimchi, Eric T; Cheng, Kun; Joshi, Trupti; Tukuli, Adama R; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Li, Guangfu Cancer letters 2023 Dec;578216457
Western diet contributes to the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in male mice via remodeling gut microbiota and increasing production of 2-oleoylglycerol.
Yang, Ming; Qi, Xiaoqiang; Li, Nan; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Chen, Shiyou; Wheeler, Andrew A; Kimchi, Eric T; Ericsson, Aaron C; Rector, R Scott; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Li, Guangfu Nature communications 2023 Jan;14(1):228
Nanoliposome C6-Ceramide in combination with anti-CTLA4 antibody improves anti-tumor immunity in hepatocellular cancer.
Qi, Xiaoqiang; Wu, Feng; Kim, Sung Hoon; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Kimchi, Eric T; Snyder, Helena; Illendula, Anuradha; Fox, Todd; Kester, Mark; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Li, Guangfu FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2022 Apr;36(4):e22250
Synergizing sunitinib and radiofrequency ablation to treat hepatocellular cancer by triggering the antitumor immune response.
Qi, Xiaoqiang; Yang, Ming; Ma, Lixin; Sauer, Madeline; Avella, Diego; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Bryan, Jeffrey; Cheng, Kun; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Kimchi, Eric T; Li, Guangfu Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 2020 Oct;8(2):
Disruption of oncogenic liver-intestine cadherin (CDH17) drives apoptotic pancreatic cancer death.
Liu, Xinjian; Huang, Yue; Yuan, Hao; Qi, Xiaoqiang; Manjunath, Yariswamy; Avella, Diego; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Miao, Yi; Li, Min; Jiang, Kuirong; Li, Guangfu Cancer letters 2019 Jul;454204-214
Nanoliposome C6-Ceramide Increases the Anti-tumor Immune Response and Slows Growth of Liver Tumors in Mice.
Li, Guangfu; Liu, Dai; Kimchi, Eric T; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Qi, Xiaoqiang; Manjunath, Yariswamy; Liu, Xinjian; Deering, Tye; Avella, Diego M; Fox, Todd; Rockey, Don C; Schell, Todd D; Kester, Mark; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F Gastroenterology 2018 Mar;154(4):1024-1036.e9
Galectin-1-driven upregulation of SDF-1 in pancreatic stellate cells promotes pancreatic cancer metastasis.
Qian, Dong; Lu, Zipeng; Xu, Qingcheng; Wu, Pengfei; Tian, Lei; Zhao, Liangtao; Cai, Baobao; Yin, Jie; Wu, Yang; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Jiang, Kuirong; Miao, Yi; Li, Guangfu Cancer letters 2017 Jul;39743-51
Successful chemoimmunotherapy against hepatocellular cancer in a novel murine model.
Li, Guangfu; Liu, Dai; Cooper, Timothy K; Kimchi, Eric T; Qi, Xiaoqiang; Avella, Diego M; Li, Ningfei; Yang, Qing X; Kester, Mark; Rountree, C Bart; Kaifi, Jussuf T; Cole, David J; Rockey, Don C; Schell, Todd D; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F Journal of hepatology 2017 Jan;66(1):75-85

Reviews

Driver Mutations in Pancreatic Cancer and Opportunities for Targeted Therapy.
Olaoba, Olamide T; Adelusi, Temitope I; Yang, Ming; Maidens, Tessa; Kimchi, Eric T; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Li, Guangfu Cancers 2024 May;16(10):

Title or Abstract	Type	Sponsor/Event	Date/Year	Location
The intestinal microbiome as an approach to liver wellness	Talk	Digestive Disease Week (DDW), American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD)	2024	Washington, DC
Immune-based combination therapy for hepatocellular cancer	Talk	EFCC (Ellis Fischel Cancer Center) Retreat	2023	Innsbrook, MO
Liver Cancer Immunotherapy	Talk	University of Missouri School of Medicine Research Day	2021	University of Missouri

Title or Abstract

Type

Sponsor/Event

Date/Year

Location

The intestinal microbiome as an approach to liver wellness

Talk

Digestive Disease Week (DDW), American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD)

2024

Washington, DC

Immune-based combination therapy for hepatocellular cancer

Talk

EFCC (Ellis Fischel Cancer Center) Retreat

2023

Innsbrook, MO

Liver Cancer Immunotherapy

Talk

University of Missouri School of Medicine Research Day

2021

University of Missouri