Dawei Li, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Science
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
PS 55, Room 347
p: 561-297-6061
Department: Biomedical Science
Biography
Dawei Li, PhD, was trained in genomics and bioinformatics. His previous genetic research has led to identification of a number of disease-associated genes, particularly in psychiatric, behavioral, and addictive disorders. His recent focus is myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS is a multi-system disease involving the immune system and brain. No diagnostic biomarkers, FDA-approved treatment, nor cure exists for ME/CFS. The cause of ME/CFS is unknown.
Dr. Li’s research goal is to develop and maintain a multi-omics program involving bioinformatics development, genetic risk discovery, and translational medicine into diseases, particularly ME/CFS. Dr. Li’s lab develops innovative methods, software, and applications. For example, they have developed new methods to genotype genome-wide individual transposable element variants. His lab also developed the first method to detect virome-wide viral integrations.
Dr. Li is the Chair of the Genetics and Epigenetics Working Group of the Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ICanCME) Research Network.
Education
- 2001: B.S., Microbiology, Northwest University, China
- 2006: Ph.D., Genetics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
- 2008: Postdoctoral Associate, Statistical Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York City, NY
- 2012: Associate Research Scientist, Genomics and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Work History
- 2012-2020: Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
- 2021-present: Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
- 2021-present: Director of Genomic Medicine, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Chen X, Kost J, Sulovari A, Wong N, Liang WS, Cao J, Li D* . A virome-wide clonal integration analysis platform for discovering cancer viral etiology. Genome Research . 2019 May;29(5):819-830. PMID: 30872350. (* corresponding author).
- Chen X, Li D* . ERVcaller: Identifying polymorphic endogenous retrovirus and other transposable element insertions using whole-genome sequencing data. Bioinformatics . 2019 Oct 15;35(20):3913-3922. PMID: 30895294. (* corresponding author).
- Chen X, Kost J, Li D* . Comprehensive comparative analysis of methods and software for identifying viral integrations. Briefings in Bioinformatics . 2019 Nov 27;20(6):2088-2097. PMID: 30102374. (* corresponding author).
- Sulovari A, Li D* . VIpower: Simulation-based tool for estimating power of viral integration detection via high-throughput sequencing. Genomics . 2020 Jan 10;112(1):207-211. PMID: 30710609. (* corresponding author).
- Mathkar PP, Chen X*, Sulovari A, Li D* . Characterization of hepatitis B virus integrations identified in hepatocellular carcinoma genomes. Viruses . 2021 Feb 4;13(2):245. PMID: 33557409. (* corresponding author).
- Chen X, Li D* . Sequencing facility and DNA source associated patterns of virus-mappable reads in whole-genome sequencing data. Genomics . 2021 Jan;113(1 Pt 2):1189-1198. PMID: 33301893. (* corresponding author).
Scholarly Activity
Other Affiliations or Duties
- National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence on ME/CFS (ICanCME)
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs West Haven Medical Center
- Open Medicine Foundation ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center Montréal
- Chair, Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research Network, Genetics/Epigenetics Working Group
- Steering Committee, Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research Network
- Advisory Board, Foundation for Alcoholism Research Editor, Journal of Bio-X Research (published by Wolters Kluwer)