Professor Rong Li
Prof Rong Li served as the Director of the Center for Cell Dynamics in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She has had over 25 years of independent research on cellular dynamics and mechanics employing interdisciplinary approaches. She was recruited to NUS in 2019 as the second Director of MechanobioIogy Institute (MBI).
Her research areas include Cellular dynamics and mechanics, cell and tissue aging and regeneration, and chromosomal biology in cellular adaptation. The diverse projects in Prof Rong Li’s lab contribute to two main research thrusts: cell and tissue aging; cellular and organismal adaptation. The study on aging focuses on understanding dynamic changes of crucial cellular components during the aging process and how these changes alter the mechanical functions of cells and tissues. The insights gained will be applied to the development of new methods for prolonging healthy aging and the repair and regeneration of deteriorated functions. The study of adaptation aims to understand the dynamics of genetic and epigenetic determinants of cells and tissues under acute or chronic stress which lead to adaptive behaviors ultimately beneficial or detrimental to the fitness of the organism. A potential application of the discoveries in this area is the prevention of cancer associated with chronic inflammatory diseases.