Rate My Professor Kunyu Li

Dr. Kunyu Li is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. He obtained his PhD from the University of Otago in 2015 with a thesis entitled 'Adoptive Cell Therapy using CD4 T Helper 1-like and CD8 Cytotoxic T cells.' His research specializes in immunotherapies and immunoregulation in chronic diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders. Key areas include understanding tumor resistance to adoptive T-cell therapy, overcoming ACT limitations via genetic modification of tumor-reactive T cells, and the immunoregulatory role of the Δ133p53 isoform in inflammatory bowel disease development and progression. Li maintains a longstanding interest in integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine to enhance immunity and treat chronic inflammation, currently establishing collaborations with TCM researchers in China. He leads postgraduate research projects on these topics and collaborates with clinicians on IBD studies, including with Professor Michael Schultz and Dr. Tamara Mullaney.

Li's career at the University of Otago has advanced from PhD candidate to postdoctoral fellow and Senior Research Fellow. He has obtained major funding through the DSM Dean’s Bequest Grant, New Zealand Lottery Health Research Grant, and HRC Explorer Grant. In 2020, he was awarded the Catalyst Seeding Catalyst Leader Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for integrating immune targeting therapies and traditional Chinese medicine to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. Li serves as Guest Editor for the Journal of Clinical & Translational Immunology (2020), on the Pathology Department Research Committee (2019), and is a member of the Gut Health Network, University of Otago (2020), Cancer Research Institute USA (2020), Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation USA (2020), and affiliate of the Maurice Wilkins Centre (2016). He teaches Chemical Pathology in 200- and 300-level Medical Laboratory Science courses. Notable publications include 'Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for metastatic melanoma: What should we focus on to improve the clinical outcomes?' (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2024), 'Combining TP53 mutation and isoform has the potential to improve clinical practice' (Pathology, 2024), 'Activated CD90/Thy-1 fibroblasts co-express the Δ133p53β isoform and are associated with highly inflamed rheumatoid arthritis' (Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2023), 'Importance of crosstalk between the microbiota and the neuroimmune system for tissue homeostasis' (Clinical & Translational Immunology, 2022), and 'Adoptive cell therapy with CD4+ T helper 1 cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells' (Clinical & Translational Immunology, 2017).