Hao(Amy) Li

Hao(Amy) Li studied Biochemistry in University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her PhD in Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford University. She did her post-doctoral work in Molecular Engineering Laboratory, A*STAR, a research lab started by the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Sydney Brenner. Her work focuses on understanding the functional roles of the human microbiome by finding the link between microbial genes and their relevant enzymatic activities. She enjoys reading medical non-fictions, traveling around the world and listening to music compositions by Howard Shore, Christopher Tin and Joe Hisaishi.

Education

• B.Sc.(Hons), Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008;
• Ph.D. in Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University, 2015;

Companies

• Research Fellow, Molecular Engineering Lab, A*STAR, 2015-2019 ;
• Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, A*STAR 2019-present (joint appointment)

Recognition and Achievements

• Young Individual Research Grant, National Medical Research Council Singapore, 2017-2020
• RIKEN-IMS Summer Program Travel Grant and Best Presentation Award, 2017
• Pacific Coast Protease Spring School Best Talk Award, 2015
• A*STAR National Science Scholarship (BSc-PhD), 2005-2015
• L. R. Ingersoll Prize for Physics, 2006
• American Chemical Society-Excellence in Organic Chemistry, 2006

Research Interests

Our team’s research focus is to decipher at a molecular level how microbial enzymes and their associated molecules structure the human environments they reside. In particular, we aim to define the functions of the microbial community in order to link human microbiome-associated diseases to targetable pathways and mechanisms. We use a combination of chemical tools such as small molecule enzyme inhibitors/probes and mass spectrometry analysis together with culture dependent and independent microbiology, protein biochemistry and genomics to profile the functional microbiome.