Min-Dian Li(李旻典), PhD

Professor of Internal Medicine and of Cell Biology

Director, the Center for Circadian Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease,

Department of Cardiology, Southwest Hospital, Army Medical University

Email: mindianli (at) tmmu.edu.cn

Education

B.S. Biotechnology (Summa Cum Laude)

Peking University Beijing, China (2009)

Ph.D. Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Yale University New Haven, USA (2015)

Research Experience

Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,

Boston, USA (2016-2019)

Visiting Fellow, Tsinghua University,

Beijing, China (2017)

Research Interests

Understanding how meal timing resets the

daily rhythms of metabolism and physiology. Developing clock-modulating strategies with cellular precision to improve health and well-being.

We have recently identified the tissue-specific

pattern of peripheral clocks and omics with regard to adapting to eating schedule, which gives rise to the concept of “Hierarchical Structure of Peripheral Clocks”. The hierarchy of peripheral clocks indicates the presence of clock-modulated checkpoints (CCPs) as molecular underpinnings to integrate temporal signals from both meal timing and the circadian clock for outputting circadian rhythms in resident organs.

Focus on elucidating molecular mechanisms

of the hierarchy of peripheral clocks and tissue-specific clock-modulated checkpoints in metabolic organs such as the heart, liver, and adipose tissue. The research program applies molecular biology, metabolic/circadian phenotyping, and systems biology and collaborates with clinical research units.