Our Team

Li Wang, Ph.D.

Incoming Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

Member, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine

Li is a developmental neurobiologist with interdisciplinary training in genomics, proteomics, and neuroscience. His research seeks to understand how cellular and synaptic diversity arises during human brain development and evolution, and how these same mechanisms may be hijacked in diseases such as brain cancer.

Li received his B.S. from Fudan University, where he studied synaptic plasticity during critical periods in the visual cortex. During his Ph.D. with Dr. Huda Zoghbi at Baylor College of Medicine, Li explored the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental disorders, uncovering how mutations in key proteins like SHANK3 and MeCP2 disrupt neural function. His postdoctoral work with Dr. Arnold Kriegstein at UCSF expanded this focus to human brain development at single-cell resolution. He generated multi-omic atlases and cross-species proteomic maps that revealed novel progenitor cell types and human-specific synapse maturation programs, with implications for cognition and brain cancer. Li will launch his independent lab at Stanford University in October 2025, where he will continue to investigate human brain development with a focus on stem cell lineages and synaptic diversity.

Li has received many awards, including the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience, the Keystone Symposia Scholarship, the Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship from Autism Speaks, and the Dean’s Award for Excellence from Baylor College of Medicine.

CV | Email | X | BlueSky | Google Scholar | GitHub | LinkedIn

You?

We’re looking for passionate and motivated scientists to join our new lab at Stanford University, launching in October 2025! Whether you're a prospective postdoctoral fellow, student, or research assistant, we want to hear from you, especially if you're excited about the brain, neurogenomics, stem cells, or synaptic biology.

If you're interested in being part of our founding team, please visit our Join Us page to learn more about available opportunities.