2001– 2006 Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
1997– 2001 B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China

2019.02 - Present Tenured Professor,School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
2018.02 - 2019.01 Tenured Associate Professor,School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
2012.01 - 2018.01 Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
2012.01 - Present Investigator, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
2011.04 –2011.12 Research Associate, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
2009.01 –2011.03 Senior Research Fellow, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
2006.09 –2008.12 Research Fellow, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

2022-Present Member of Academic Degrees Committee of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2019-Present Vice director of Undergraduate Training Committee in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology track, School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2018-Present Advisory Committee Member, National Talented High School Student Program, China Association for Science and Technology
2018-Present Member of Academic Committee, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research
2018-Present Team leader of the Committee of PTN graduate program at Peking University
2012-2013 Member of Curriculum Design Committee of Center for Life Sciences
2012-2014 Member of the National Center for Protein Sciences- Protein Core Equipment Committee

2022 Mentoring Award, Peking University
2021 Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award of Peking University
2018 Distinguished Young Scientist Award, Beijing Municipal Education Commission
2017 Young Scientist Award, Ministry of Education, China
2017 National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar
2017 Tang Lixin Scholarship
2016 Teaching Award, Peking University
2015 Zheng Changxue Teaching Award
2014 Bayer Investigator Award
2013 National Natural Science Funds for Outstanding Young Scholar
2009 Kendall-Mayo Fellowship

2020-Present Member of the commission of Chromatin Biology, Chinese Society for Cell Biology
2019-Present Vice Chair of the commission of Epigenetics, Genetics Society of China
2018-Present Member of the commission of Systems Biomedicine, Chinese Association of Pathophysiology
2016-Present Chinese Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2016-Present Genetics Society of China
2016-Present Chinese Society for Cell Biology

2022-Present Grant reviewer, Ministry of Science and Technology of China
2022-present Award reviewer, The Chinese Academy of Sciences
2019-Present Grant reviewer for Natural Science Founding, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, China
2014-Present Grant reviewer for Natural Science Founding of Life Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China

How epigenetic states defined by chromatin organization are inherited remains one of the most enigmatic, yet fundamental questions in the field of chromatin research. Accumulated data show that dysregulation of this process is linked to various diseases, including cancer and premature aging. The long-term goals of my laboratory’s research are aimed at addressing:
1) how epigenetic information, defined by chromatin structures, is inherited during mitotic cell division;
2) how this process is involved in maintaining genome integrity;
3) how this process goes awry in human disease.
Specifically, using both yeast and mammalian cells, we will determine how nucleosomes, the basic repeating units of chromatin, are disassembled/reassembled in a process coupled to DNA replication and how DNA replication-coupled (RC) nucleosome dynamics impacts epigenetic silencing. These studies will utilize combinatorial tools including genetics and genomics approaches to dissect the detailed mechanisms driving this crucial process. Answers to these questions will not only have significant scientific value, but will also likely lead to the discovery of novel drug targets for the treatment of cancer caused by epigenetic alterations.

1. Ningning Li#, Yuan Gao#, Yujie Zhang#, Daqi Yu#, Jianwei Lin, Jianxun Feng, Jian Li, Zhichun Xu, Yingyi Zhang, Shangyu Dang, Keda Zhou, Yang Liu, Xiang David Li, Bik Kwoon Tye*, Qing Li*, Ning Gao*, and Yuanliang Zhai*. Parental histone transfer caught at the replication fork, Nature, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07152-2
2. Hang Zhao#, Di Li#, Xue Xiao#, Cuifang Liu, Guifang Chen, Xiaoyu Su, Zhenxin Yan, Shijia Gu, Yizhou Wang, Guohong Li, Jianxun Feng, Wei Li, Ping Chen*, Jiayi Yang*, Qing Li*. Pluripotency state transition of embryonic stem cells requires the turnover of histone chaperone FACT on chromatin, iScience, 2024, 27(1): 108537.
3. Yang Liu#, Zhengrong Zhangding#, Xuhao Liu#, Tingting Gan#, Chen Ai, Jinchun Wu, Haoxin Liang, Mohan Chen, Yuefeng Guo, Rusen Lu, Yongpeng Jiang, Xiong Ji, Ning Gao, Daochun Kong, Qing Li, Jiazhi Hu*. Fork coupling directs DNA replication elongation and termination, Science, 2024, 383(6688): 1215-1222
4. Xuezheng Wang#, Yuantao Tang#, Jiawei Xu, He Leng, Guojun Shi, Zaifeng Hu, Jiale Wu, Yuwen Xiu, Jianxun Feng*, Qing Li*. The N-terminus of Spt16 anchors FACT to MCM2–7 for parental histone recycling, Nucleic Acids Research, 2023, 51(21): 11549-11567.
5. Wenlong Du＃, Guojun Shi＃, Chun-Min Shan＃, Zhiming Li＃, Bing Zhu*, Songtao Jia*, Qing Li*, Zhiguo Zhang*.(2022)Mechanisms of chromatin-based epigenetic inheritance. Science China Life Sciences, 65，https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-022-2120-1 (Review)
6. He Leng＃, Shaofeng Liu＃, Yang Lei, Yuantao Tang, Shijia Gu, Jiazhi Hu, She Chen, Jianxun Feng *, Qing Li*. (2021) FACT interacts with Set3 HDAC and fine-tunes GAL1 transcription in response to environmental stimulation. Nucleic Acids Research, 49:5502-5519
7. Xinlin Xu＃, Yixi Xu＃*, Ruiyuan Guo,Ran Xu ,Congcong Fu, Mengtan Xing, Hiroyuki Sasanuma, Qing Li, Minoru Takata, Shunichi Takeda, Rong Guo *, Dongyi Xu *. (2021) Fanconi anemia proteins participate in a break-induced-replication-like pathway to counter replication stress. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 28:487–500
8. Yang Liu＃, Chen Ai＃, Tingting Gan＃, Jinchun Wu, Yongpeng Jiang, Xuhao Liu, Rusen Lu, Ning Gao,Qing Li, Xiong Ji, Jiazhi Hu *.(2021) Transcription shapes DNA replication initiation to preserve genome integrity. Genome Biology, 22:176
9. Haoyang Peng＃, Simin Zhang＃, Yihan Peng＃, Shuangyi Zhu, Xin Zhao, Xiaocong Zhao, Shuangshuang Yang, Guangxue Liu, Yang Dong, Xiaoli Gan, Qing Li, Xinghua Zhang, Huadong Pei*, Xuefeng Chen*.(2021) Yeast Bromodomain Factor 1 and Its Human Homolog TAF1 Play Conserved Roles in Promoting Homologous Recombination. Advanced Science, 2100753
10. Zhiyun Xu＃, Jianxun Feng* , Qing Li*. (2021) Measuring Genome-Wide Nascent Nucleosome Assembly Using Replication-intermediate nucleosome mapping (ReIN-Map). Methods Molecular Biology (Book) 2196:117-141. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0868-5_10. PMID: 32889717.
11. Tian Tian＃, Min Bu＃, Xu Chen＃,Linli Ding＃, Yulan Yang＃, Jinhua Han, Xin-Hua Feng, Pinglong Xu, Ting Liu, Songmin Ying, Yang Lei, Qing Li, Jun Huang*. (2021) The ZATT-TOP2A-PICH axis drives extensive replication fork reversal to promote genome stability. Molecular Cell 81: 198-211.e6.
12. Yutong Zhang＃, Xiaomin Ou＃, Xuezheng Wang , Dongjie Sun, Xueyin Zhou, Xiaofei Wu, Qing Li, Long Li*. (2020)Structure of the mitochondrial TIM22 complex from yeast. Cell Research, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-00399-0.
13. Yi Ching Esther Wan＃,Tsz Chui Sophia Leung＃, Dongbo Ding＃, Xulun Sun, Jiaxian Liu,Lina Zhu, Tze Zhen Evangeline Kang, Du Yang, Yuchen Zhang, Jitian Zhang, Chengmin Qian, Michael Shing Yan Huen, Qing Li, Maggie Zi Ying Chow, Zongli Zheng, Junhong Han, Ajay Goel, Xin Wang*, Toyotaka Ishibashi*, Kui Ming Chan*. (2020) Cancer-associated histone mutation H2BG53D disrupts DNA-histone octamer interaction and promotes oncogenic phenotypes. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 5(1):27 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-020-0131-0.
14. Shuqi Li ＃, Ziqi Dong ＃, Shuangshuang Yang, Jianxun Feng, Qing Li *. (2019) Chaperoning RPA during DNA metabolism. Current Genetics, 65: 857-864. (Review)
15. Qing Li*, Xu Zhang, Zhiguo Zhang*. (2018). CHAF1B overexpression: A brake for the differentiation of leukemia cells. Cancer Cell 34:693-694. （Preview）
16. Shuqi Li#, Zhiyun Xu #, Jiawei Xu #, Linyu Zuo, Chuanhe Yu,Pu Zheng, Haiyun Gan, Xuezheng Wang, Longtu Li, Sushma Sharma, Andrei Chabes, Di Li, Sheng Wang, Sihao Zheng, Jinbao Li, Xuefeng Chen, Yujie Sun, Dongyi Xu, Junhong Han, Kuiming Chan, Zhi Qi , Jianxun Feng.*, Qing Li*. (2018) Rtt105 functions as a chaperone for replication protein A to preserve genome stability. The EMBO Journal e99154.
17. Xiaowei Yan#, Jiayi Yang#, Jiawei Xu#,Jianxun Feng*, Qing Li*. (2018). Histone chaperone Spt16p is required for heterochromatin mediated silencing in budding yeast. Protein & Cell 9:652-658.
18. Shengxian Gao, Sumin Feng, Shaokai Ning, Jingyan Liu, Huayu Zhao, Yixi Xu, Jinfeng Shang, Kejiao Li, Qing Li, Rong Guo, Dongyi Xu. (2018) An OB-fold complex controls the repair pathways for DNA double-strand breaks. Nature Communications 9: 3925.
19. Shaofeng Liu#, Zhiyun Xu#,He Leng#, Pu Zheng, Jiayi Yang,Kaifu Chen, Jianxun Feng, Qing Li *. (2017). RPA binds histone H3-H4 and functions in DNA replication-coupled nucleosome assembly. Science 355, 415-420.
20. Wei Li＃, Ping Chen＃, Juan Yu, Liping Dong, Dan Liang, Jianxun Feng, Jie Yan, Peng-Ye Wang, Qing Li, Zhiguo Zhang, Ming Li*, Guohong Li*. (2016). FACT remodels the tetranucleosomal unit of chromatin fibers for gene transcription. Molecular Cell 64, 120-133.
21. Jianxun Feng＃, Haiyun Gan＃, Matthew L Eaton, Hui Zhou, Shuqi Li, Jason A Belsky, David M MacAlpine, Zhiguo Zhang*, Qing Li*. (2016). Noncoding transcription is a driving force for nucleosome instability in spt16 mutant cells. Molecular and Cellular Biology 36, 1856-1867. Article of significant interest selected as a Spotlight.
22. Jiayi Yang＃, Xu Zhang＃, Jianxun Feng＃,He Leng, Shuqi Li, Junyu Xiao,Shaofeng Liu, Zhiyun Xu, Jiawei Xu, Di Li, Zhongshi Wang, Jingyang Wang, and Qing Li*. (2016). The Histone Chaperone FACT Contributes to DNA Replication-Coupled Nucleosome Assembly. Cell Reports 14, 1128-1141.
23. Zhang Xu and Qing Li*. (2014). A role of histone modifications during chromatin replication. Chinese Bulletin of Life Sciences 26, 1176-1186. (In Chinese) (Review)
24. Dan Su#, Qi Hu#, Qing Li#, James R Thompson, Gaofeng Cui, Ahmed Fazly, Brian A Davies, Maria Victoria Botuyan, Zhiguo Zhang* and Georges Mer*. (2012) Structural basis for recognition of H3K56-acetylated histone H3–H4 by the chaperone Rtt106. Nature 483, 104-107.
25. Qing Li＃, Rebecca Burgess＃and Zhiguo Zhang*. (2012). All roads lead to chromatin: Multiple pathways for histone deposition. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms. 1819, 238-46.
26. Qing Li and Zhiguo Zhang* .(2012) Linking DNA replication to heterochromatin silencing and epigenetic inheritance. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica (ABBS) 44, 3-13. This review was selected as the cover story.
27. Ahmed Fazly, Qing Li, Qi Hu, Georges Mer, Bruce Horazdovsky, and Zhiguo Zhang* .(2012). Histone chaperone Rtt106 promotes nucleosome formation using (H3-H4)2 tetramers. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 2287, 10753-10760.
28. Rebecca J Burgess, Hui Zhou, Junhong Han, Qing Li, and Zhiguo Zhang*. (2012). The SCFDia2 ubiquitin E3 ligase ubiquitylates Sir4 and functions in transcriptional silencing. PLoS Genetics 8, e1002846
29. Junhong Han, Qing Li, Laura McCullough, Charisse Kettelkamp, Tim Formosa, and Zhiguo Zhang* .(2010) Ubiquitylation of FACT by the Cullin-E3 ligase Rtt101 connects FACT to DNA replication. Genes & Development 24, 1485-1490.
30. Qing Li, A M Fazly, Hui Zhou, Shengbing Huang, Zhiguo Zhang* and Bruce Stillman*.(2009) The Elongator complex interacts with PCNA and modulates transcriptional silencing and sensitivity to DNA damage agents. PLoS Genetics 5, e1000684.
31. Qing Li#, Hui Zhou#, Hugo Wurtele, Brian Davies, Bruce Horazdovsky, Alain Verreault*, and Zhiguo Zhang*. (2008) Acetylation of Histone H3 lysine 56 regulates replication-coupled nucleosome assembly. Cell 134, 244-255. Previewed in the same issue. Highlighted in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, September 2008
32. Pei Han＃, Qing Li＃, and Yu-Xian Zhu*.(2008) Mutation of Arabidopsis BARD1 Causes Meristem Defects by Failing to Confine WUSCHEL Expression to the Organizing Center. The Plant Cell 20, 1482-93.
33. Qing Li＃, Bai-Chen Wang#, Yu Xu, and Yu-Xian Zhu*. (2007) Systematic studies of 12S seed storage protein accumulation and degradation patterns during Arabidopsis seed maturation and early seedling germination stages. Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 40, 373-381.
34. Qing Li, Jian-Xun Feng, Pei Han, and Yu-Xian Zhu*. (2006) Parental RNA is significantly degraded during Arabidopsis seed germination. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 48, 114-120.

Molecular Biology （Undergraduate course）
Epigenetics-From chromatin biology to human disease (Undergraduate course)
Biochemistry track module for CLS program

Laboratory Introduction