Research Interests

Yeast prions are atypical proteins capable of existing in multiple heritable conformations that are associated with distinct phenotypes. They are referred to as yeast prions since their protein-natured inheritance resembles the underlying mechanism responsible for the devastating mammalian prion diseases, including scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease in cattle, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

Like the mammalian infectious agent, yeast prions are able to self‑propagate using the non-prion conformation isomer as substrates; to form amyloid fibers under physiological conditions; and to exist in distinct "strains." However, yeast prions usually result in epigenetically inherited phenotypic variations rather than "disease."

The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine laboratory of Dr. Liming Li is interested in understanding how the prion-like protein conformation-based inheritance is regulated in yeast. Combining the powerful yeast genetics with other biochemical and cell biological approaches, Li and her researchers wish to dissect the initiation and propagation processes of priongenesis and, ultimately, to identify novel cellular factors required in each of these processes.