Tristan Qingyun Li

Dr. “Tristan” Qingyun Li obtained his PhD in Biology from Duke University, where he studied the molecular mechanisms governing neuronal diversification in the sensory system. Intrigued by the mysterious glial cells that are much understudied, he then pursued his postdoctoral training with the late Dr. Ben Barres and subsequently with Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray at Stanford University. This also was when I developed a keen interest in understanding the heterogeneity and function of microglial cells in the brain. His previous work employing an unbiased deep single cell RNA sequencing approach to dissect transcriptomic states of brain immune cells has contributed to benchmarking the current framework of microglial heterogeneity in the healthy and aging brain (Li et al. 2019. Neuron; Tabula Muris Consortium. 2018. Nature; Tabula Muris Consortium. 2020. Nature). In 2020, Dr. Li started his own laboratory as an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His lab utilizes cutting-edge genomic technologies alongside novel molecular and genetic tools to investigate microglial development, heterogeneity, and mechanisms of neuro-immune interactions that impact brain structure and disease. Recently, his lab has developed novel genetic tools allowing specific interrogation of reactive microglial states across the lifespan. They demonstrate the extraordinarily plastic nature of reactive microglial states, such as disease-associated microglia, their protective function during remyelination, as well as the gene regulatory mechanisms driving state transitions.