Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · BiologyLi Immunology Lab
Liwu Li · Blacksburg, Virginia
Research Focus
Dr. Liwu Li's lab at Virginia Tech focuses on understanding the immune response during sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by infections. The lab's research aims to uncover how certain immune cells, particularly exhausted monocytes, contribute to both inflammation and immune suppression, which worsens sepsis outcomes. By exploring molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets, the team hopes to develop strategies to improve treatment and recovery for sepsis patients.
sepsisinnate immunitymonocytesinflammationimmune suppressionTRAMmyeloid-derived suppressor cellspathogenesistherapeutic strategies
Research Aims
3AIM 01Characterize the generation of memory exhausted monocytes during sepsis.
AIM 02Investigate underlying mechanisms of TRAM-mediated monocyte exhaustion.
AIM 03Explore therapeutic potential of reprogramming exhausted monocytes.
Skills the Lab Values
single-cell RNA sequencinganimal modelsin vivo experimentscell cultureimmunophenotypingWestern blottinggenotypingflow cytometrybioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications274top 21% of dept.221st of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations11ktop 32% of dept.330th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.