Li, Wen-Hsiung
NAS, 2003
AAAS, 1999
Academia Sinica (Taiwan), 1998
Wen-Hsiung Li
Professor of the Committee on Genetics.
University of Chicago--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Education:Chung-Yuang College of Science and Engineering, B.E. Civil Engineering, 1965
National Central University, M.S. Geophysics, 1968
Brown University, Ph.D. Applied Mathematics,
Wen-Hsiung Li currently holds the title of George Beadle Professor in the department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. He obtained a B.E. in Civil Engineering from Chung-Yuang College of Science and Engineering, Taiwan in 1965, an M.S. in Geophysics from National Central University, Taiwan in 1968, and his PhD in Applied Mathematics/Genetics in 1972 from Brown University. He was previously the Betty Wheless Trotter Professor in Medical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston from 1996-1998.
Dr. Li has been a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1999 and an Academician of Academica Sinica in Taiwan since 1998. In 2000 he served as the president of the society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. He has been the editor of the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution since 1991, and Gene from 1997-2001, and the associate editor of the Journal of Molecular Evolution since 1998. He has published more than 200 original papers on molecular evolution, population genetics, human genetics and genomics.
from University of Texas-Houston
Aug.10,1998
Li Elected to Elite Scientific Academy
Wen-Hsiung Li, Ph.D., has been elected to Academica Sinica. (Photo by Ester Fant, copyright 1998, UT-Houston Health Science Center)Longtime UT-Houston faculty member Wen-Hsiung Li, Ph.D., has been elected to the Academia Sinica, considered the most prestigious society of its kind in Taiwan.
Li, Betty Wheless Trotter Professor of Biological Sciences at the School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was one of seven scientists elected to the Academia during its 23rd annual meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, earlier this month.
Academia Sinica is a group similar to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Each year, a handful of researchers are admitted, based on the significance of their work. It is considered a great honor and the highest accolade a scholar can receive in his home country of Taiwan. The prime minister of Taiwan wrote personal congratulations to Li.
"Because there are so many good Chinese scientists outside of China and Taiwan, it's very competitive," Li said. Membership is granted to scientists of Chinese descent, no matter where they live.
Li is the second UT-H faculty member to be admitted into the Academia Sinica. Kenneth K.Wu, M.D., Ray and Phyllis Huffington Professor and director of the hematology division at the Medical School, became a member in 1994.
Li's election stems from his work in the emerging field of molecular evolution. He has published two graduate/professional level textbooks, the first of their kind on the subject. His research focuses on the mechanism of evolution: using molecular tools to find out how genes have adapted to produce ever-higher life forms through changes in amino acids.
The appointment is the latest addition to a stellar career for Li, who has been with UT-H since 1973. He has written more than 161 papers and has been a featured speaker at medical symposia all over the world.
The director of UT-H's Human Genetics Center, Eric Boerwinkle, Ph.D., has worked closely with Li for years. "Dr. Li is nationally and internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of molecular evolution, and in fact, is one of the individuals who has made the field as popular and important as it is today. In addition, Dr. Li is one of the most creative and hard-working scientists in the Texas Medical Center."
Li received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in geophysics in Taiwan. In the United States, Li obtained his Ph.D. in applied mathematics and genetics at Brown University in 1972, and a postdoctoral degree in medical genetics from the University of Wisconsin the next year.
Li is pursuing a grant to study the human growth hormone to find out why it can stimulate growth in non-primate animals, while animal growth hormones cannot do the same in humans.
editor of the Nature Encyclopedia of the Human Genome
