Xiaoxian (Bill) Li, MD, PhD
Dr. Xiaoxian (Bill) Li is Professor of Pathology, Director of Breast Pathology, Director of Immunohistochemistry Laboratory and Co-Director of Anatomic Pathology Research. As the Director of Breast Pathology, Dr. Li supports a group of 7 breast pathology faculty. The pathology Immunohistochemistry Laboratory performs 300-350 tests per day. As the Director of Immunohistochemistry Laboratory, Dr. Li oversees the laboratory operation to ensure high quality patient care and research. As the Co-Director of AP research, Dr. Li co-lead the AP research committee to promote research and academic endeavor in the department.
Dr. Li obtained his medical degree from Beijing Medical University and a PhD from The University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Li completed his AP/CP residency training at The Methodist Hospital in Houston and an oncologic pathology fellowship and a breast pathology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Li was inducted to the Emory University MilliPub Club twice for two of his seminal first-author papers in the field of breast cancer (PMID: 18445819, PMID: 19666588) which have been cited >1300 and >1000 times, respectively, per Web of Science. Dr. Li has >80 peer-reviewed publications, review articles and several book chapters. Dr. Li is a principal investigator or co-principal investigator of 6 active institutional, NIH, DOD, foundation and industrial grants, and is the Emory PI of a newly awarded R01 grant that received a study section score in the top 1 percentile. The current research interests of Dr. Li’s laboratory are focused on developing biomarkers to predict breast cancer risk, prognosis and response to therapies.
Dr. Li initiated and has been co-chairing the breast high-risk lesion conference at Emory since 2015, which has spared hundreds of patients from unnecessary surgery. He has also served on the Emory University School of Medicine Faculty Committee on Appointment and Promotions (FCAP), Emory Winship Breast Center Strategic Plan Steering Committee, Emory Pathology departmental FCAP Committee, Faculty Mentoring Committee, Incentive Plan Committee, Workload in AP Task Force Committee and Digital Pathology Steering Committee. Dr. Li is the current Co-Chair of the Faculty Affair Committee of the Emory School of Medicine Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Medical Faculty Association Affinity Group. At the national level, Dr. Li is a standing member of an American Cancer Society Grant Review Committee, and Ad Hoc grant reviewer for NIH, NCI, DOD, and Breast Cancer Now, England. Dr. Li is an Associate Editor of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment and Section Editor for breast pathology of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Human Pathology Reports. He sits on the Editorial Board of Human Pathology and Clinical Breast Cancer. Dr. Li has been the lead pathologist of multiple national clinical trials in breast cancer. Dr. Li currently serves in multiple national committees, including committees of College of American Pathologists (CAP), CAP Foundation, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), International Society of Breast Pathology and I-SPY2 Trial Pathology Working Group. Dr. Li has mentored numerous PhD students, residents, fellows and visiting scholars and has been frequently invited to give lectures at national/international conferences including the CAP and USCAP annual meetings.
Yuan Gao, MD, Research Fellow
Yuan Gao is broadly interested in pathology and the delivery of healthcare services. Before joining our lab, she worked as a medical consultant at the National Health Commission of China for ten years, advocating for low-income rural women with cancer and hepatitis
Thi Nguyen, MD, PGY-4 Pathology Resident
Thi Nguyen is currently a third-year AP/CP pathology resident at Emory University Hospital, one of the top pathology training programs in the country. She received her M.D. from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Ho Chi Minh City in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Her main area of research involved evaluating various biomarkers of breast cancer. Her goal is to become a surgical pathologist which focuses on women’s health pathology.
Molly Wu, Undergraduate student in Biology & Psychology
Yuchen (Molly) Wu is a second-year undergraduate student at Emory University. She double majors in Biology and Psychology, and is on the pre-medicine track. Molly enjoys immunology and cancer research. For fun, she likes to travel, visit various museums, and hang out with her friends.
Jiawen Xu, MD, PhD, Visiting scholar
Jiawen Xu graduated with a PhD in Pathology from Fudan University's Shanghai Medical College in 2011. She has since worked at the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, engaging in clinical pathology diagnosis, especially in diagnosing breast cancer, including the identification and differentiation. In research, Dr. Xu has focused on chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer, publishing over ten papers as the first author or corresponding author. Currently, she is a visiting scholar in Dr. Li's lab, working on exploring molecular biomarkers for breast cancer.
Wei Yang, Lab Assistant
Wei Yang completed three years of clinical research and earned a master’s degree in general surgery with a focus on Gastrointestinal direction from Zunyi Medical University in China. Following residency training in general surgery and internal medicine in China, she worked as a general surgeon for a few years. Driven by an unwavering love for pathology, she transitioned into the role of a laboratory assistant to delve deeper into clinical research within the field of breast pathology. After work, she enjoys gastronomy and hiking.
