Professor Li‘s research attempts to understand the molecular basis of the regenerative mechanisms that maintain the proper form and function of the human body. His research programs build on a multidisciplinary platform that integrates stem cell models with genome engineering, functional genomics, bioengineering and chemical screening to gain a holistic understanding of regeneration in its broadest sense while keeping a commitment to fulfilling the translational promise of stem cell research.
The Li lab has three main research directions:
- Development of Technologies for Cell Based Therapeutics
- Generating functional blood cell types from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)
- Differentiation of bona fide hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from hiPSCs
- In vitro production of red blood cells (RBCs) from hiPSCs
- Generating functional blood cell types from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)
- Uncovering Pathogenic Mechanisms of Genetic Diseases
- Safe and efficient derivation of patient induced pluripotent stem cells from patients of genetic diseases
- Determine pathogenic mechanisms of inherited blood disorders with isogenic iPSC model
- Developing novel genome editing technologies for treatment of genetic diseases
- Developing efficient genome editing vectors for correction of genetic diseases such as sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.
For more details, pelase refer to our laboratory’s main webs site:
LAB TEAM MEMBERS
Technical Specialist
Main research project: Flow cytometry, stem cell
Contact email: gerardo.ramos@kaust.edu.sa
Research Technician
Technical Specialist
PhD Student
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: xuan.zhou@kaust.edu.sa
PhD Student
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: chongwei.bi@kaust.edu.sa
Visiting Researcher
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: wanglin1020.jlu@gmail.com
Visiting Researcher
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: khaled.sayegh@kaust.edu.sa
PhD Student
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: samhan.alsolami@kaust.edu.sa
PhD Student
Main research project: Genome editing, stem cell, genetic disease
Contact email: baolei.yuan@kaust.edu.sa
PhD Student (Joint student with Prof. Wolfgang Fischle)
Main research project: Epigenetics, linker histone
Contact email: fernanda.vargasromero@kaust.edu.sa
PUBBLICATIONS
Organoids — Preclinical Models of Human Disease
Mo Li, Ph.D., and Juan C. Izpisua Belmonte, Ph.D.
N Engl J Med 2019; 380:569-579 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1806175
Selective interactions between diverse STEs organize the ANT-C Hox cluster
Mo Li, Zhibo Ma, Sharmila Roy, Sapna K. Patel, Derrick C. Lane, Carly R. Duffy & Haini N. Cai
Scientific Reports Oct 2018
DeepSimulator: a deep simulator for Nanopore sequencing
Yu Li, Renmin Han, Chongwei Bi, Mo Li, Sheng Wang, Xin Gao
Bioinformatics April 2018
Deconstruct pluripotency gene regulatory network
Mo Li, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Nature Cell Biology April 2018
Shahad K. Alsaiari, Sachin Patil, Mram Alyami, Kholod O. Alamoudi, Fajr A. Aleisa, Jasmeen S. Merzaban, Mo Li, and Niveen M. Khashab
J. Am. Chem. Soc December 2017
Gathering by the Red Sea highlights links between environment and epigenetics
Mo Li*, Emiliana Borrelli, Pierre J Magistretti, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Paolo Sassone-Corsi & Valerio Orlando* *co-corresponding
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology July 2017
Integration of CpG-free DNA induces de novo methylation of CpG islands in pluripotent stem cells
Yuta Takahashi, Jun Wu, Keiichiro Suzuki, Paloma Martinez-Redondo, Mo Li, Hsin-Kai Liao, Min-Zu Wu, Reyna Hernández-Benítez, Tomoaki Hishida, Maxim Nikolaievich Shokhirev, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Ignacio Sancho-Martinez1, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Science May 2017
Ground rules of the pluripotency gene regulatory network
Mo Li, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Nature Reviews Genetics March 2017
In Vivo Amelioration of Age-Associated Hallmarks by Partial Reprogramming
Alejandro Ocampo, Pradeep Reddy, Paloma Martinez-Redondo, Aida Platero-Luengo, Fumiyuki Hatanaka, Tomoaki Hishida, Mo Li, David Lam, Masakazu Kurita, Ergin Beyret, Toshikazu Araoka, Eric Vazquez-Ferrer, David Donoso, Jose Luis Roman, Jinna Xu, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Gabriel Nuñez, Estrella Nuñez Delicado, Josep M. Campistol, Isabel Guillen, Pedro Guillen, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Cell December 2016
In vivo genome editing via CRISPR/Cas9 mediated homology-independent targeted integration
Keiichiro Suzuki, Yuji Tsunekawa, Reyna Hernandez-Benitez, Jun Wu, Jie Zhu, Euiseok J. Kim, Fumiyuki Hatanaka, Mako Yamamoto, Toshikazu Araoka, Zhe Li, Masakazu Kurita, Tomoaki Hishida, Mo Li, Emi Aizawa, Shicheng Guo, Song Chen, April Goebl, Rupa Devi Soligalla, Jing Qu, Tingshuai Jiang, Xin Fu, Maryam Jafari, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, W. Travis Berggren, Jeronimo Lajara, Estrella Nuñez-Delicado, Pedro Guillen, Josep M. Campistol, Fumio Matsuzaki, Guang-Hui Liu, Pierre Magistretti, Kun Zhang, Edward M. Callaway, Kang Zhang & Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Nature November 2016
3D Culture Supports Long-Term Expansion of Mouse and Human Nephrogenic Progenitors
Zhongwei Li, Toshikazu Araoka, Jun Wu, Hsin-Kai Liao, Mo Li, Marta Lazo, Bing Zhou, Yinghui Sui, Min-Zu Wu, Isao Tamura, Yun Xia, Ergin Beyret, Taiji Matsusaka, Ira Pastan, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Isabel Guillen, Pedro Guillen, Josep M.Campistol, Juan CarlosIzpisua Belmonte.
Cell Stem Cell July 2016
Looking to the future following 10 years of induced pluripotent stem cell technologies
Mo Li, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Nature Protocols April 2016
An alternative pluripotent state confers interspecies chimaeric competency
Jun Wu, Daiji Okamura, Mo Li, Keiichiro Suzuki, Chongyuan Luo, Li Ma, Yupeng He, Zhongwei Li, Chris Benner, Isao Tamura, Marie N. Krause, Joseph R. Nery, Tingting Du, Zhuzhu Zhang, Tomoaki Hishida, Yuta Takahashi, Emi Aizawa, Na Young Kim, Jeronimo Lajara, Pedro Guillen, Josep M. Campistol, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Pablo J. Ross, Alan Saghatelian, Bing Ren, Joseph R. Ecker & Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Nature May 2015
Modelling Fanconi anemia pathogenesis and therapeutics using integration-free patient-derived iPSCs
Guang-Hui Liu*, Keiichiro Suzuki*, Mo Li*, Jing Qu*, Nuria Montserrat, Carolina Tarantino, Ying Gu, Fei Yi, Xiuling Xu, Weiqi Zhang, Sergio Ruiz, Nongluk Plongthongkum, Kun Zhang, Shigeo Masuda, Emmanuel Nivet, Yuji Tsunekawa, Rupa Devi Soligalla, April Goebl, Emi Aizawa, Na Young Kim, Jessica Kim, Ilir Dubova, Ying Li, Ruotong Ren, Chris Benner, Antonio del Sol, Juan Bueren, Juan Pablo Trujillo, Jordi Surralles, Enrico Cappelli, Carlo Dufour, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban & Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte *co-first
Nature Communications July 2014
Keiichiro Suzuki*, Chang Yu*, Jing Qu*, Mo Li*, Xiaotian Yao, Tingting Yuan, April Goebl, Senwei Tang, Ruotong Ren, Emi Aizawa, Fan Zhang, Xiuling Xu, Rupa Devi Soligalla, Feng Chen, Jessica Kim, Na Young Kim, Hsin-Kai Liao, Chris Benner, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Yabin Jin, Guang-Hui, Yingrui, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte *co-first
Cell Stem Cell February 2014
Cord blood-derived neuronal cells by ectopic expression of Sox2 and c-Myc
Alessandra Giorgetti*, Maria C. N. Marchetto*, Mo Li*, Diana Yu, Raffaella Fazzina, Yangling Mu, Antonio Adamo, Ida Paramonov, Julio Castaño Cardoso, Montserrat Barragan Monasterio, Cedric Bardy, Riccardo Cassiani-Ingoni, Guang-Hui Liu, Fred H. Gage and Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte *co-first
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America July 2012
Mo Li, Keiichiro Suzuki, Jing Qu, Preeti Saini, Ilir Dubova, Fei Yi, Jungmin Lee, Ignacio Sancho-Martinez, Guang-Hui Liu & Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Cell Research November 2011