Our team investigates megakaryocyte heterogeneity and functional specialization as fundamental determinants of platelet production and immune regulation. Through single-cell transcriptomic and ploidy-resolved analyses, we have demonstrated that megakaryopoiesis follows distinct differentiation routes that give rise to functionally divergent megakaryocyte and platelet populations (Blood, 2021; Immunity, 2024).
We further dissect the molecular mechanisms governing megakaryocyte maturation and polyploidization, identifying epigenetic and cytoskeletal regulators—including SETD2-mediated α-tubulin methylation and PRMT1-dependent pathways—as key drivers of platelet generation and immune megakaryocyte specification (J Thromb Haemost, 2024; J Biol Chem, 2022).
Building on these findings, our recent work highlights the immunological functions of megakaryocytes beyond thrombopoiesis, positioning them as active participants in inflammation, immunity, and disease pathogenesis (Frontiers in Medicine, 2024). Collectively, our research establishes a conceptual framework linking differentiation trajectory, molecular regulation, and functional output in adult megakaryopoiesis, with implications for platelet disorders and stress-induced hematopoietic recovery.
Introduction
LI Yueying
Biography
2024．02 - Present: Professor, Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS (China National Center for Bioinformation)
2018．04 – 2024.02: Associate Professor, Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS (China National Center for Bioinformation)
2011.06 – 2018.04: Assistant Professor, Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS
2010.07 – 2011.05: Physician, Department of Hematology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital
Introduction
Dr. Yueying Li received her Ph.D. from Tsinghua University and the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Peking Union Medical College. She is currently a recipient of the Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist Fund, an Outstanding Member of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Distinguished Young Talent under the “Phoenix Program” of Beijing Chaoyang District.
Dr. Li has served as principal investigator on multiple competitive research projects, including five grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one sub-project of the National Key R&D Program of China, one Beijing Municipal Science Project, and three projects funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on megakaryocyte heterogeneity, differentiation trajectories, and functional specialization, with particular interest in the molecular and immunological regulation of platelet production.
Her work has been published in leading international journals, including Immunity, Blood, and Cell Research, and has been recognized by multiple prestigious awards, such as the ASH Annual Meeting Best Research Award (2019), the Top Ten Advances in Chinese Hematology (2021, 2024), the Beijing Natural Science Second Prize (2023), and the ISTH Young Investigator Award (2024). In addition, she holds two authorized patents.
Research Fields
1. Megakaryocyte Lineage Development and Functional Platelet Regeneration
This research direction focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing megakaryocyte differentiation, maturation, and lineage diversification, as well as the regenerative processes underlying functional platelet production under physiological and pathological conditions.
2. Intelligent Phenotyping and Classification of Platelet Disorders
This line of research aims to develop data-driven and integrative phenotyping frameworks for platelet-related disorders by combining single-cell profiling, multi-parameter functional assays, and computational modeling, with the goal of improving disease classification and precision diagnosis.
Selected Publications
1. Lei Chen# , Jingkun Liu# , Kunying Chen, Yanxun Su, Yihe Chen, Ying Lei, Jia Si, Jie Zhang, Zhaojun Zhang, Weiguo Zou, Xiaohui Zhang, Matthew T. Rondinaxs, Qian-Fei Wang*, Yueying Li*, SETD2 Promotes Megakaryocyte Polyploidization and Platelet Generation through Methylation of α-tubulin, J Thromb Haemost, 2024 Jun 22(6):1727-1741.
2. Jing-Jing Li#; Jingkun Liu#; Yunqian Evelyn Li; Lin Veronica Chen; Hui Cheng*; Yueying Li*; Tao Cheng*; Qian-Fei Wang*; Bo O. Zhou*; Differentiation route determines the functional outputs of adult megakaryopoiesis, Immunity, 2024 Mar 12;57(3):478-494.
3. Yueying Li#*, Kunying Chen#, Qian-Fei Wang*, Immunological face of megakaryocytes, Front Med, 2024 Dec;18(6):988-1001.
4. Minruihong Wang#, Jie Zhang#, Xiao Chen, Yimin Li, Xukun Huang, Junbo Wang, Yueying Li*, Xiaoye Huo*, Jian Chen*; Microfluidic impedance flow cytometer leveraging virtual constriction microchannel and its application in leukocyte differential, Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2024 Dec 16;10(1):192.
5. Xukun Huang#, Xiao Chen#, Huiwen Tan, Minruihong Wang, Yimin Li, Yuanchen Wei, Jie Zhang, Deyong Chen, Junbo Wang*, Yueying Li*, Jian Chen*; Advance of microfluidic flow cytometry enabling high-throughput characterization of single-cell electrical and structural properties, Cytometry Part A, 2024 Feb;105(2):139-145.
6. Xinyang Zhao*; Zechen Chong; Yabing Chen; X Long Zheng; Qian-Fei Wang; Yueying Li*; Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 in the generation of immune megakaryocytes: A perspective review, J Biol Chem, 2022 Nov 298(11): 102517.
7. Chen Zhang#, Xueshuai Han#, Jingkun Liu, Lei Chen, Ying Lei, Kunying Chen, Jia Si, Tian-yi Wang, Hui Zhou, Xiaoyun Zhao, Xiaohui Zhang, Yihua An, Yueying Li*, Qian-Fei Wang*，Single-cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Cellular Heterogeneity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics, 2022 Feb;20(1):70-86.
8. Shu Sun#, Chen Jin#, Jia Si, Ying Lei, Kunying Chen, Yueli Cui, Zhenbo Liu, Jiang Liu, Meng Zhao, Xiaohui Zhang, Fuchou Tang, Matthew T. Rondina, Yueying Li*, Qian-fei Wang*, Single-Cell Analysis of Ploidy and Transcriptome Reveals Functional and Spatial Divergency in Murine Megakaryopoiesis, Blood, 2021 138(14):1211-1224.
9. Yueying Li#, Chen Jin#, Hao Bai#, Yongxing Gao, Shu Sun, Lei Chen, Lei Qin, Paul P. Liu, Linzhao Cheng*, Qian-Fei Wang*, Human NOTCH4 is a key target of RUNX1 in megakaryocytic differentiation, Blood, 2018 Jan 11;131(2):191-201.
10. Yueying Li#, Yong Hai, Jiayu Chen, Tie Liu*, Differentiating Chondrocytes from Peripheral Blood-derived Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, J Vis Exp, 2017 Jul 18;(125).
11. Yueying Li#, Tie Liu*, Nicholas Van Halm-Lutterodt, JiaYu Chen, Qingjun Su, Yong Hai, Reprogramming of blood cells into induced pluripotent stem cells as a new cell source for cartilage repair, Stem Cell Res Ther, 2016 Feb 17;7(1):31.
12. Yueying Li#, Yanfeng Liu, Jing He, Fengchao Wang, Sheng Liu, Yu Zhang, Zhaohui Kou, Zhenyu Ju, Guoguang Zheng, Jing Xu, Weiping Yuan, Shaorong Gao* and Tao Cheng*, Long-term survival of exogenous embryonic stem cells in adult bone marrow, Cell Research, 2011 Jul; 21(7):1148–1151.
13. Yueying Li#, Jing He, Fengchao Wang, Zhenyu Ju, Sheng Liu, Yu Zhang, Zhaohui Kou, Yanfeng Liu, Tao Cheng*, Shaorong Gao*, Differentiation of embryonic stem cells in adult bone marrow, J Genet Genomics, 2010 Jul;37(7):431-9.
Patent
1. Qianfei Wang; Linzhao Cheng; Yueying Li, Medical use of NOTCH4 or its inhibitors, March 8, 2019, China, ZL201610928867.2 (Granted)
2. Qianfei Wang; Yueying Li; Shu Sun; Chen Jin; Composition of molecular markers and uses thereof, March 4, 2025, China, ZL202011362907.4 (Granted)
3. Qianfei Wang; Yueying Li; Lei Chen; Jingkun Liu; Medical use of SETD2, 2023, China (Filed)
Graduate Students：
LIU Yu
CHEN Yihe
CHEN Xiaoao
ZHANG Yueting
Awards and Honors
2024 – Second Prize, Beijing Natural Science Award: Basic research on high-throughput single-cell detection technologies
2024 – Top 10 Advances in Chinese Hematology
2023 – Distinguished Young Talent, Beijing Chaoyang District “Phoenix Program”
2021 – Top 10 Advances in Chinese Hematology
2021 – Outstanding Member, Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences
2019 – Abstract Achievement Award & Best ASH, 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting
2016 – Second Prize, Ministry of Education Natural Science Award: Regulatory mechanisms and key molecular targets of hematopoietic stem cells under pathological conditions
Contact
liyy@big.ac.cn
