Dr Wenlong Li
Wenlong Li is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Dr Giulia Biffi’s group at the CRUK Cambridge Institute.
He obtained his BSc and MSc in Pharmaceutical Science at Shandong University in China, and was awarded a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council in 2016 to pursue his doctoral studies. Wenlong carried out his PhD thesis, entitled ‘Functions and interplay of drug transporters and CYP3A enzymes’, at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Utrecht University and obtained a doctoral degree in Pharmacology in December 2021.
Wenlong changed his field of work in 2022, moving to focus on better understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive pathological states in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). During his postdoctoral research, he has been working on understanding differential malignant cell-stroma crosstalk and therapeutic sensitivities in PDAC with distinct genetics. This research aims to help stratify PDAC patients and provide them with more effectively personalised treatments.
Wenlong was awarded a CRUK International Alliance of Early Cancer Detection (ACED) Early Career Pathway Award in April 2025 to identify novel biomarkers for detection of PDAC at earlier stage, which would improve patient survival. Wenlong aims to characterise fibroblasts in murine and human pancreatitis, pre-cancerous pancreatic lesions and pancreatic cancer with a multi-omics strategy. This could pinpoint unique features of fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer that represent new targets for the development of future earlier detection strategies for pancreatic cancer in high-risk groups.
Overall, Wenlong has a combination of multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills, involving a mix of pharmacology, molecular biology, mouse modelling and cancer biology. These will enable him to push the boundaries of his work, maximise the impact of his future research and make significant contributions to science and patient care.
Select publications
- Lloyd EG, Jihad M, Manansala JS, Li W, et al. SMAD4 and KRAS Status Shapes Cancer Cell-Stromal Cross-Talk and Therapeutic Response in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Res. 2025 Apr 15;85(8):1368–89.
- Jihad M*, Mucciolo G*, Li W*, Anand A, Henríquez JA, et al. Protocol for the characterization of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment using organoid-derived mouse models and single-nuclei RNA sequencing. STAR Protoc. 2024;5(3):103203.
- Mucciolo G*, Li W*, Biffi G. Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: From Spectators to Protagonists in Pancreatic Cancer Progression. Cancer Res. 2024 Sep 16;84(18):2938–40.
- Li W, Sparidans RW, Wang Y, et al. Interplay of OATP1A/1B/2B1 uptake transporters and ABCB1 and ABCG2 efflux transporters in the handling of bilirubin and drugs. Biomed. Pharmacother. 175, 116644, 2024.
- Mucciolo G, Araos Henríquez J, Jihad M, Pinto Teles S, Manansala JS, Li W, et al. EGFR-activated myofibroblasts promote metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Cancer Cell 42, 101-118.e11, 2024.
- Li W, Iusuf D, Sparidans RW, et al. Organic anion-transporting polypeptide 2B1 knockout and humanized mice; insights into the handling of bilirubin and drugs. Pharmacol Res 190, 106724, 2023.
- Li W, Perpinioti N, Schinkel AH, et al. Bioanalytical assay for the new-generation ROS1/TRK/ALK inhibitor repotrectinib in mouse plasma and tissue homogenate using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B 1144, 122098, 2020.
- Li W, Sparidans RW, Wang Y, et al. P-glycoprotein (MDR1/ABCB1) restricts brain accumulation and cytochrome P450-3A (CYP3A) limits oral availability of the novel ALK/ROS1 inhibitor lorlatinib. Int J Cancer 143, 2029–2038, 2018.
*equal contribution
Select awards
- International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED) Early Career Pathway Award, £211,319, UK (2025-2027)
- China Scholarship Council (CSC) studentship, £61,200, China (2016-2020)
- Outstanding Postgraduate Student Award in Shandong Province, China (20116)