The University of Tennessee Health Science Center · Pharmacology

Metastatic Breast Cancer Therapeutics Unit

Wei Li · Memphis, Tennessee

Research Focus

Dr. Wei Li's lab focuses on developing innovative treatments for metastatic breast cancer, particularly in overcoming challenges associated with brain and bone metastases. The lab aims to create new drug candidates that bypass the limitations of existing therapies while enhancing treatment effectiveness for patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Through a combination of structural optimization and advanced drug design techniques, they strive to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

breast cancermetastasisMDM2drug developmenttaxane resistancetubulin inhibitorsdrug conjugatestriple-negative breast cancerbiological mechanisms

Research Aims

AIM 01Optimize new drug candidates to improve brain penetration for metastatic breast cancer treatment.

AIM 02Evaluate the efficacy of novel MDM2 degraders in triple-negative breast cancer models.

AIM 03Develop drug conjugates to enhance targeting of bone metastases in breast cancer.

AIM 04Investigate the mechanisms of action of new analogs to improve anti-cancer effects.

AIM 05Screen drug candidates for toxicity and pharmacological properties in preclinical models.

Skills the Lab Values

structural optimizationX-ray crystallographycell culturedrug screeningin vivo efficacy studiesmolecular biology techniquespharmacokineticsbiochemical assayscomputer-aided drug design

Output against the department

Publications952top 2% of dept.11th of 462

this lab

most publishedleast published

Citations100ktop 1% of dept.4th of 462

this lab

most citedleast cited

Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.