Wen-Hsiung Li Explained

Wen-Hsiung Li (; born September 22, 1942) is a Taiwanese-American scientist working in the fields of molecular evolution, population genetics, and genomics. He is currently the James Watson Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Information Science and Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Biography

Li was born in 1942 in Taiwan. In 1968 he received a M.S. in geophysics from National Central University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D in applied mathematics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. From 1972 to 1973 he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison (genetics), working with James F. Crow. In 1973 he moved to the University of Texas, where he was appointed as a professor in 1984. Since 1998 he has been a professor at The University of Chicago.

Scientific contributions

Li is best known for his studies on the molecular clock (i.e. rates and patterns of DNA sequence evolution^[8]) and on the patterns and consequences of gene duplication.^[9]

In 2003, he received the international Balzan Prize for his contribution to genetics and evolutionary biology, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, who cited his role in "establishing theoretical foundations for molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary genomics"http://www.nasonline.org/site/Dir/784251124?pg=vprof&mbr=1003931&returl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasonline.org%2Fsite%2FDir%2F784251124%3Fpg%3Dsrch%26view%3Dbasic&retmk=search_again_link. He is the author of the first textbook in the field of molecular evolution, Molecular Evolution and Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution (co-authored with Dan Graur), and an author on more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.

Honors

• Academician, Academia Sinica Taiwan, 1998
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1999
• President of the “Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution”, 2000
• Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2003
• Balzan prize 2003 for genetics and evolution (The third recipient, following Sewall Wright (1984) and John Maynard Smith (1991)).
• Inaugural Chen Award for Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research, Human Genome Organisation, 2008
• 2019 SMBE Motoo Kimura Lifetime Contribution Award^[10]

Selected publications

• 10.1073/pnas.1314090110. 23966565. Assembler for de novo assembly of large genomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110. 36. E3417–E3424. 2013. Chu . T. -C. . Lu . C. -H. . Liu . T.. Lee . G. C.. Li . W. -H. . Shih . A. C. -C. . 3767511. 2013PNAS..110E3417C. free.
• 10.1038/nature01198. 12511954. 2003Natur.421...63G. Role of duplicate genes in genetic robustness against null mutations. Nature. 421. 6918. 63–6. 2003. Gu . Z. . Steinmetz . L. M. . Gu . X. . Scharfe . C. . Davis . R. W. . Li . W. H. . 4348693.
• 10.1038/416624a. 11948348. 2002Natur.416..624M. Strong male-driven evolution of DNA sequences in humans and apes. Nature. 416. 6881. 624–6. 2002. Makova . K. D. . Li . W. H. . 4386652.
• 10.1038/35057039. 11237007. 2001Natur.409..847G. Evolutionary analyses of the human genome. Nature. 409. 6822. 847–9. 2001. Li . W. H. . Gu . Z. . Wang . H. . Nekrutenko . A. . free.
• 10.1038/46947. 10573416. 1999Natur.402...36T. Vision: Trichromatic vision in prosimians. 1999. Tan . Y. . Nature. 402. 6757. 36. Li . W. H. . free.
• 10.1126/science.7652574. 7652574. 1995Sci...269.1265S. Adaptive evolution of color vision genes in higher primates. Science. 269. 5228. 1265–7. 1995. Shyue . S.. Hewett-Emmett . D.. Sperling . H.. Hunt . D.. Bowmaker . J.. Mollon . J.. Li . W.H.. 25245772.
• 10.1038/362745a0. 8469284. 1993Natur.362..745S. Male-driven evolution of DNA sequences. Nature. 362. 6422. 745–7. 1993. Shimmin . L. C. . Chang . B. H. J. . Li . W. H. . 4345931.
• 10.1038/351649a0. 2052090. 1991Natur.351..649G. Is the guinea-pig a rodent?. Nature. 351. 6328. 649–52. 1991. Graur . D. . Hide . W. A. . Li . W. H. . 4344039.
• 10.1038/354114e0. 1944591. 1991Natur.354..114G. Neutral mutation hypothesis test. Nature. 354. 6349. 114–6. 1991. Graur . D. A. N. . Li . W.H. . 4267912.
• 10.1038/337283a0. 2911369. 1989Natur.337..283W. Mutation rates differ among regions of the mammalian genome. Nature. 337. 6204. 283–5. 1989. Wolfe . K. H. . Sharp . P. M. . Li . W. H. . 4336541.
• 10.1038/339145a0. 2497353. 1989Natur.339..145G. Phylogenetic analysis based on rRNA sequences supports the archaebacterial rather than the eocyte tree. Nature. 339. 6220. 145–7. 1989. Gouy . M. . Li . W. H. . 4315004.
• 10.1126/science.2683084. 2683084. 1989Sci...246..808S. Chromosomal location and evolutionary rate variation in enterobacterial genes. Science. 246. 4931. 808–10. 1989. Sharp . P.. Shields . D.. Wolfe . K.. Li . W.H..
• 10.1038/336315a0. 3194016. 1988Natur.336Q.315S. Understanding the origins of AIDS viruses. Nature. 336. 6197. 315. 1988. Sharp . P. M. . Li . W.H. . free.
• 10.1038/326093a0. 3102974. 1987Natur.326...93L. The molecular clock runs more slowly in man than in apes and monkeys. Nature. 326. 6108. 93–6. 1987. Li . W. H. . Tanimura . M. . 4368098.
• 10.1038/292237a0. 7254315. 1981Natur.292..237L. Pseudogenes as a paradigm of neutral evolution. Nature. 292. 5820. 237–9. 1981. Li . W. H. . Gojobori . T. . Nei . M. . 23519275.
• 10.1073/pnas.76.10.5269. Mathematical model for studying genetic variation in terms of restriction endonucleases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 76. 10. 5269–73. 1979. Nei . M.. Li . W. H. . 291943 . 413122. 1979PNAS...76.5269N. free.

Selected books

• Book: Li, W.-H. . 2006 . Molecular Evolution . Sinauer. 0-87893-480-4.
• Book: Dan Graur . Wen-Hsiung Li . 2000 . Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution: Second Edition. . Sinauer Associates, Inc.. Dan Graur . Book: 1st edition. 1991. ^[11]

External links

• Official research profile
• Lab web site
• National Academy of Sciences citation
• Balzan Foundation profile
• Academia Sinica website reference for the HUGO/ "Chen Award" 2008

Notes and References

1. 10.1038/362745a0. 8469284. 1993Natur.362..745S. Male-driven evolution of DNA sequences. Nature. 362. 6422. 745–7. 1993. Shimmin . L. C. . Chang . B. H. J. . Li . W. H. . 4345931.
2. 10.1038/416624a. 11948348. 2002Natur.416..624M. Strong male-driven evolution of DNA sequences in humans and apes. Nature. 416. 6881. 624–6. 2002. Makova . K. D. . Li . W. H. . 4386652.
3. Web site: Males' DNA propels evolution, study says. 11 April 2002 . Chicago Tribune. June 1, 2014.
4. 10.1126/science.3983640. 3983640. 1985Sci...228..571L. Molecular clocks scrutinized. Science. 228. 4699. 571. 1985. Lewin . R. .
5. 10.1038/35057039. 11237007. 2001Natur.409..847G. Evolutionary analyses of the human genome. Nature. 409. 6822. 847–9. 2001. Li . W. H. . Gu . Z. . Wang . H. . Nekrutenko . A. . free.
6. Web site: Balzan Prize for Genetics and Evolution. International Balzan Prize Foundation website. International Balzan Prize Foundation. February 8, 2014.
7. Web site: Mendel Medal. The Genetics Society website. The Genetics Society. February 8, 2014.
8. Li . Wen-Hsiung . Tanimura . Masako . March 1987 . The molecular clock runs more slowly in man than in apes and monkeys . Nature . en . 326 . 6108 . 93–96 . 10.1038/326093a0 . 3102974 . 1987Natur.326...93L . 4368098 . 1476-4687.
9. Li . Wen-Hsiung . Gu . Zhenglong . Cavalcanti . AndreR.O. . Nekrutenko . Anton . 2003-03-01 . Detection of gene duplications and block duplications in eukaryotic genomes . Journal of Structural and Functional Genomics . en . 3 . 1 . 27–34 . 10.1023/A:1022644628861 . 12836682 . 10823014 . 1570-0267.
10. Web site: SMBE Motoo Kimura Lifetime Contribution Award . Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution. April 12, 2019.
11. Review of Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution by Wen-Hsiung Li and Dan Graur. Clegg, Michael T.. Michael T. Clegg. Science. 10 May 1991. 252. 5007. 864–865. 10.1126/science.252.5007.864.b. 239822185. p. 865