Liwu Li named College of Science Faculty Fellow
Liwu Li, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science and in the Department of Internal Medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, has been awarded the College of Science Faculty Fellowship by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The College of Science Faculty Fellowships were established in 2019 with support from alumni and friends of the college to enhance the national and international prominence of the College of Science. These fellowships recognize faculty dedicated to extraordinary research and teaching, to recruit scholars with exceptional records of achievement, and/or retain high-performing faculty members who make significant contributions to the university’s research efforts.
Recipients hold the title of College of Science Faculty Fellow for a period of three years.
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2005, Li serves as the director of the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at Virginia Tech. He is also active in the Inflammation Research Association serving as secretary from 2012-14, treasurer from 2014-16, vice president from 2016-18, and president from 2018-20. He is an elected fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA).
Li’s scholarship includes more than 150 publications in leading research journals and more than 100 invited or keynote presentations at professional conferences. His group pioneered the field of innate immune memory dynamics ranging from low-grade inflammation; tolerance to exhaustion, bearing far-reaching implications during the pathogenesis of chronic and acute inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular complications; cancer; aging; polymicrobial infections; and sepsis. He currently serves as principal investigator on two National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2002, with total award amounts in excess of $10 million.
He is a member of the editorial boards of several prominent journals and is a standing member of the NIH study section on atherosclerosis and vascular biology. He was recognized with the Department of Biological Sciences Outstanding Research Award in 2012 and 2016 and the university’s Alumni Award for Excellence in Research in 2017.
Li has taught Immunology, Inflammation Biology and a variety of special topics courses. He has mentored more than 25 graduate research students, 14 postdoctoral and other senior research personnel, and more than 50 research undergraduate students. Li was recognized with the Department of Biological Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award in 2015 and the department’s Outstanding Service Award in 2014.
Li earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and completed a three-year post doctorate research program at Michigan before starting his appointment at Virginia Tech.
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