Guo-Min Li, Ph.D.

Professor
James-Gardner Chair in Cancer Research
Graduate Center for Toxicology

Mailing Address:
Graduate Center for Toxicology
1095 V.A. Drive
306 Health Sciences Research Building
Lexington, KY  40536-0305
Phone: (859) 257-7053
Fax: (859) 323-1059
E-mail: gmli@uky.edu

Research Interests

Research interest in Dr. Li's laboratory is primarily focused on DNA mismatch repair. DNA mismatch repair maintains genomic stability by ensuring replication fidelity and mediating DNA damage signaling. Defects in mismatch repair genes are the genetic basis of certain types of human cancer, including hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). To fully understand the molecular mechanism of the mismatch repair system and its role in maintaining genomic stability, Dr. Li's laboratory is investigating the following related problems on mismatch repair:

1. Identification, characterization, and reconstitution of the human DNA mismatch repair reaction in vitro;
2. How specific genetic alterations of mismatch repair genes associated with HNPCC and other cancers impact the mismatch repair reaction;
3. Identification and characterization of proteins involved in mismatch repair-mediated DNA damage signaling.

A second area of Dr. Li's research foci is the mechanism of nucleotide repeat instability and large DNA loop repair. Expansion of simple nucleotide repeats in DNA, e.g., triplet repeats, is the genetic basis for more than 40 human familial neurological, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders, including Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy, Friedreich ataxia, and fragile X syndrome. The repeat expansion can occur in any part of a gene and leads to a defective gene product. However, how the repeat units expand and what cellular mechanism(s) prevent such an expansion in normal population are not fully understood. Since triplet repeats form a loop structure in DNA, Dr. Li's laboratory is identifying protein components that are involved in DNA loop repair. This work will provide significant insight into the pathogenesis underlying diseases associated with repeat expansions.

For a list of Dr. Li's publications, please visit the PubMed web site.

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