Professor of Biophysics Director, Center for Imaging Research Director, Animal Imaging Program
Department of Biophysics Medical College of Wisconsin 8701 Watertown Plank Road Milwaukee, WI 53226-0509 Phone: 414-955-4029 Fax: 414-955-6512 sjli@mcw.edu
Dr. Shi-Jiang Li received his engineering degree from the Department of Electronics Engineering at Tsinghua University, the People's Republic of China. He worked for eight years as a communication engineer and later as a graduate student in the Biophysics Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science. He received his PhD from Ohio State University in Biochemistry and spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine MRI/MRS laboratory. His multidisciplinary education and experiences have provided him with a broad background to conduct sophisticated biophysics research.
At present, Dr. Li has three NIH-funded research projects and an Office of National Drug Control Policy, White-House-funded instrumentation project.
Roles of the Orbitofrontal Cortex in Cocaine Abuse by fMRI National Institute on Drug Abuse Cocaine addiction is often considered a disease of drive and compulsion. Based on this concept of addiction, reward/pleasure, per se, cannot completely account for compulsive drug intake. The goal of this proposal is to study the neural systems subserving reward and compulsive drug-taking in cocaine addiction and to study the neural circuitry responsible for compulsive drug-taking behaviors triggered by both drug-related cues and cocaine itself.
An fMRI Index as a Risk Marker for Alzheimer's Disease National Institute on Aging The focus of this research is to develop and validate an early, noninvasive, quantitative marker for the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using fMRI. Such a risk marker for AD will have significant advantages in identifying people at risk, facilitating early assessment, and providing effective disease management.
Development of fMRI Methods for Neuropharmacology National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering The main goal of this project is to extend application of fMRI methods to neuropharmacology. Specifically, we will test the hypothesis that fMRI technology is a valid method to map drug-induced functions. Upon administration of an agonist, fMRI methods can detect blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals originating from the neural events of agonist-receptor interaction. We will further test the hypothesis that such neural events can be blocked by pretreatment or reversed by post-treatment with a particular receptor's antagonist.
fMRI Research for Drug Demand Reduction in Animal Models Office of National Drug Control Policy, White House The aim of this proposal is to enhance the research capability of our 9.4T/30 cm MRI system for MRI physics and technology development, and to apply fMRI to neuropharmacology, drug abuse, cancer research, and genetics.
Dr. Li collaborates with many distinguished investigators, conducting multidisciplinary research in related frontiers: Dr. Anthony Hudetz, Professor of Anesthesiology, Dr. Alan Bloom, Professor of Pharmacology, Dr. Piero Antuono, Professor of Neurology, and Dr. Charles Rainey, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry.