Investigators

Summary

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of nasopharyngeal cancer (a type of head and neck cancer), stomach cancer and several types of lymphomas. Each year 200,000 cancers worldwide are caused by EBV. The presence of EBV in cancer cells also provides a unique opportunity for targeted therapy by forcing tumor cells to reactivate latent EBV. The Li lab is focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which viral and host factors control the transition of EBV from latency to reactivation with a goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies to cure EBV-associated cancer.