Biography:Wen-Hsiung Li

Short description: Taiwanese-American scientist

Wen-Hsiung Li
Born	Wen Hsiung Li (1942-09-22) September 22, 1942 Pingtung, Taiwan
Nationality	Taiwanese
Citizenship	Taiwanese-United States
Alma mater	Brown University, Providence, RI, USA National Central University, Taiwan Yuan Christian College of Science and Engineering, Taiwan
Known for	Male-Driven Evolution Molecular clock Genomics
Awards	Balzan Prize for Genetics and Evolution (2003) Mendel Medal (2009)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics Genetics Evolutionary Biology Genomics
Institutions	University of Chicago Academia Sinica University of Texas University of Wisconsin-Madison
Thesis	Mathematical Studies On Mutational Damages In Finite Populations (1972)
Doctoral advisor	Wendell Fleming
Other academic advisors	Masatoshi Nei
Doctoral students	Brinda K. Rana
Website	Li Laboratory at University of Chicago Wen Hsiung Li Profile at Academia Sinica

Wen-Hsiung Li (Chinese: 李文雄; pinyin: Lǐ Wénxióng; born 1942) is a Taiwanese-American scientist working in the fields of molecular evolution, population genetics, and genomics. He is currently the James Watson Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Information Science and Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Biography

Li was born in 1942 in Taiwan. In 1968 he received a M.S. in geophysics from National Central University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D in applied mathematics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. From 1972 to 1973 he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison (genetics), working with James F. Crow. In 1973 he moved to the University of Texas, where he was appointed as a professor in 1984. Since 1998 he has been a professor at The University of Chicago.

Scientific contributions

Li is best known for his studies on the molecular clock (i.e. rates and patterns of DNA sequence evolution) and on the patterns and consequences of gene duplication.

In 2003, he received the international Balzan Prize for his contribution to genetics and evolutionary biology, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, who cited his role in "establishing theoretical foundations for molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary genomics"[1]. He is the author of the first textbook in the field of molecular evolution, Molecular Evolution and Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution (co-authored with Dan Graur), and an author on more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.

Honors

• Academician, Academia Sinica Taiwan, 1998
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1999
• President of the “Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution”, 2000
• Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2003
• Balzan prize 2003 for genetics and evolution (The third recipient, following Sewall Wright (1984) and John Maynard Smith (1991)).
• Inaugural Chen Award for Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research, Human Genome Organisation, 2008
• 2019 SMBE Motoo Kimura Lifetime Contribution Award

Selected publications

• Chu, T. -C.; Lu, C. -H.; Liu, T.; Lee, G. C.; Li, W. -H.; Shih, A. C. -C. (2013). "Assembler for de novo assembly of large genomes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (36): E3417–E3424. doi:10.1073/pnas.1314090110. PMID 23966565. Bibcode: 2013PNAS..110E3417C. 
• Gu, Z.; Steinmetz, L. M.; Gu, X.; Scharfe, C.; Davis, R. W.; Li, W. H. (2003). "Role of duplicate genes in genetic robustness against null mutations". Nature 421 (6918): 63–6. doi:10.1038/nature01198. PMID 12511954. Bibcode: 2003Natur.421...63G. 
• Makova, K. D.; Li, W. H. (2002). "Strong male-driven evolution of DNA sequences in humans and apes". Nature 416 (6881): 624–6. doi:10.1038/416624a. PMID 11948348. Bibcode: 2002Natur.416..624M. 
• Li, W. H.; Gu, Z.; Wang, H.; Nekrutenko, A. (2001). "Evolutionary analyses of the human genome". Nature 409 (6822): 847–9. doi:10.1038/35057039. PMID 11237007. Bibcode: 2001Natur.409..847G. 
• Tan, Y.; Li, W. H. (1999). "Vision: Trichromatic vision in prosimians". Nature 402 (6757): 36. doi:10.1038/46947. PMID 10573416. Bibcode: 1999Natur.402...36T. 
• Shyue, S.; Hewett-Emmett, D.; Sperling, H.; Hunt, D.; Bowmaker, J.; Mollon, J.; Li, W.H. (1995). "Adaptive evolution of color vision genes in higher primates". Science 269 (5228): 1265–7. doi:10.1126/science.7652574. PMID 7652574. Bibcode: 1995Sci...269.1265S. 
• Shimmin, L. C.; Chang, B. H. J.; Li, W. H. (1993). "Male-driven evolution of DNA sequences". Nature 362 (6422): 745–7. doi:10.1038/362745a0. PMID 8469284. Bibcode: 1993Natur.362..745S. 
• Graur, D.; Hide, W. A.; Li, W. H. (1991). "Is the guinea-pig a rodent?". Nature 351 (6328): 649–52. doi:10.1038/351649a0. PMID 2052090. Bibcode: 1991Natur.351..649G. 
• Graur, D. A. N.; Li, W.H. (1991). "Neutral mutation hypothesis test". Nature 354 (6349): 114–6. doi:10.1038/354114e0. PMID 1944591. Bibcode: 1991Natur.354..114G. 
• Wolfe, K. H.; Sharp, P. M.; Li, W. H. (1989). "Mutation rates differ among regions of the mammalian genome". Nature 337 (6204): 283–5. doi:10.1038/337283a0. PMID 2911369. Bibcode: 1989Natur.337..283W. 
• Gouy, M.; Li, W. H. (1989). "Phylogenetic analysis based on rRNA sequences supports the archaebacterial rather than the eocyte tree". Nature 339 (6220): 145–7. doi:10.1038/339145a0. PMID 2497353. Bibcode: 1989Natur.339..145G. 
• Sharp, P.; Shields, D.; Wolfe, K.; Li, W.H. (1989). "Chromosomal location and evolutionary rate variation in enterobacterial genes". Science 246 (4931): 808–10. doi:10.1126/science.2683084. PMID 2683084. Bibcode: 1989Sci...246..808S. 
• Sharp, P. M.; Li, W.H. (1988). "Understanding the origins of AIDS viruses". Nature 336 (6197): 315. doi:10.1038/336315a0. PMID 3194016. Bibcode: 1988Natur.336Q.315S. 
• Li, W. H.; Tanimura, M. (1987). "The molecular clock runs more slowly in man than in apes and monkeys". Nature 326 (6108): 93–6. doi:10.1038/326093a0. PMID 3102974. Bibcode: 1987Natur.326...93L. 
• Li, W. H.; Gojobori, T.; Nei, M. (1981). "Pseudogenes as a paradigm of neutral evolution". Nature 292 (5820): 237–9. doi:10.1038/292237a0. PMID 7254315. Bibcode: 1981Natur.292..237L. 
• Nei, M.; Li, W. H. (1979). "Mathematical model for studying genetic variation in terms of restriction endonucleases". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 76 (10): 5269–73. doi:10.1073/pnas.76.10.5269. PMID 291943. Bibcode: 1979PNAS...76.5269N. 

Selected books

• Li, W.-H. (2006). Molecular Evolution. Sinauer. ISBN 0-87893-480-4. 
• Dan Graur; Wen-Hsiung Li (2000). Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution: Second Edition.. Sinauer Associates, Inc..  1st edition. 1991. 

External links

• Official research profile
• Lab web site
• National Academy of Sciences citation
• Balzan Foundation profile
• Academia Sinica website reference for the HUGO/ "Chen Award" 2008