Dawei Li, Ph.D.

Personal Information

Dawei Li is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). His career began with intensive training in genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics. He has led pioneering studies such as the first genome-wide association study, or GWAS, of antisocial behavior disorder, the first genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) study of opioid dependence, and the first genome-wide meta-analysis of CNVs with addiction. These studies have identified dozens of disease-associated genes, many of which have been applied in translational research across academia and industry. Over the recent decade, Dr. Li’s research laboratory has shifted focus towards developing novel bioinformatics methods and tools; and applying them to study several immune system-related diseases. For instance, his lab has introduced the first virome-wide viral integration detection platform. Application of this platform has indicated that clonal viral integration is a smoking gun, enabling the tracing of oncoviral infection histories to infer virus-caused cancers. His lab has also recently developed a novel tool for detecting endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), enabling the investigation of the hypothesis that certain infectious viruses may reactivate ERVs, thereby triggering the inflammatory immune responses characteristic of various human diseases.

Bioinformatics and Genomics Lab (dllab.org)

Research Interests

• Develop innovative methods and tools for analyzing genomic sequencing data
• Apply advanced bioinformatics analyses into existing genomic data and patient samples

Future Research Collaboration Interests

Collaborate on team-based research projects that leverage our expertise in genomic sequencing data analysis, bioinformatics tool development, and statistical genetics.