Ziru Li, PhD
Faculty Scientist I
Center for Molecular Medicine
Li Lab
Understanding the mechanisms that underlie changes in the gut-bone axis with bariatric surgery-induced bone loss and identify the important components to consider strategies that reduce skeletal complications.
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Ziru LiFaculty Scientist I Dr. Li majored in Clinical Medicine for five years and found her interest in solving the healthy problems related to obesity. Given there are still so many unanswered questions in the field, her curiosity of the biological mechanisms of obesity drove her to a PhD program at Peking University in China. Dr. Li found herself enjoying so much in basic science that as a result, she decided to continue her research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. After finishing her postdoctoral training, she came to Maine and joined MHIR as a Faculty Scientist. Her lab projects are investigating the roles of the gut-bone axis in bariatric surgery-caused bone loss. During the time off from work, she loves doing yoga and handcrafts. |
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Jeyrie Ramos Aponte Graduate Student I am a 2020 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell with a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Public Health. I am currently a first-year medical student at the University of NewEngland College of Osteopathic Medicine and am interested in pursuing a career in internal medicine. I am fairly new to research and am excited to learn and perfect new skills in the Li Lab. My hobbies include exercising, reading and watching Netflix. Award: 2023-2024 Peter Morgane Student Research Fellowship |
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Tiange Feng Postdoctoral Fellow I am joining Li Lab in the summer of 2023 after earning my PhD degree from Peking University. My research interests are to study the molecular and functional characteristics of bone marrow adipose tissues, and their influence on bone remodeling. In my spare time, I enjoy reading novels and doing sports including swimming and playing badminton. |
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Ziyi (Kevin) Liu Graduate Student I am a first-year medical student at University of New England, I am from Beijing, China. I have been living in the United States in past decade and spend my time in many cities! I want to become an orthopedic surgeon, and this is the reason I decided to go to medical school. In my previous research, I spend many hours on investigating utilizing viral vectors as a potential therapy for various cancer and genetic conditions. I am exciting to learn how bariatric surgery can relate to bone metabolism here at Li’s lab, and improve my hand dexterity while here. Outside school, I like many sports, golf, swimming, and boxing. |
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Caroline C. Picoli Postdoctoral Fellow I joined the Li lab in September 2022. My interests in the Li’s Lab include investigating how adipose tissue origins can affect the bone marrow microenvironment and influence osteoblasts and hematopoietic cells. I am finishing my PhD in Cell Biology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in which my studies focus on how pericytes influence adipose tissue remodeling after cold exposure. Outside the lab, I love exercising outside, drawing, spending time with my husband and cooking. |
Alumni
Siddhant Sharma
Current position: Internship at St. Joseph’s hospital in Syracuse.