06/2015 – 05/2016

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Department of Biological Sciences

 

02/2014 – 05/2015

Research Scientist

University of Chicago, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA         

Bell Center for Regenerative Biology & Tissue Engineering       

 

02/2010-01/2014 

Postdoctoral Research Associate,

University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA      Department of Biology                                                  

 

09/2005-07/2008 

Ph.D. in Developmental Biology,

Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Kunming, China     Dissertation: The study of post-transcriptional regulation of neural development and eye- specific gene expression in Xenopus laevis.

 

09/2002-07/2005 

M.S. in Developmental Biology

Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

Joint training with Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy  of Sciences, China Dissertation: Effects of bovine serum albumin on in vitro sperm capacitation of mice.

 

09/1998-07/2002 

B.S. in Biology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China

 

08/2020-Present

Assistant Professor/Principal Investigator

Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

 

09/2016-08/2020   

Principal Faculty Specialist

The University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

 

09/2016- 08/2020 

Adjunct Research Scientist

The University of Chicago, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA

 

07/2008-01/2010 

Research Associate,

Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution

Research direction 1: Evolutionary and developmental biology of cavefish

Cavefish, commonly known as blind fish, refers to the fish that must complete all or part of their life history in caves or underground water bodies under natural conditions. Without caves or underground water bodies, their life history cannot be completed normally. Due to the unique dark environment of caves, the survival of cavefish is limited by food, localization and reproduction, etc., resulting in a series of adaptive and degenerative morphological characteristics that can be passed on to the next generation, among which the constructive changes include: Increased number of taste buds, teeth, olfactory neurons, facial nerve mounds, enhanced function of sensory organs such as lateral lines, more fat stored in the body, and increased size of the jaw. Degenerative changes include loss of vision and pigment, loss of swarms, loss of aggression, loss of sleep and alertness. One of the most obvious is the loss of visual and pigment systems. These adaptations to the environment make cavefish become a good model not only for the study of animal adaptations, but also for the study of human disease mechanisms. Therefore, we used Chinese cavefish and Astyanax mexicanus as research models to systematically study the phenotypic diversity of cavefish and establish an indoor cavefish feeding and breeding system. Exploring the genetic mechanism (such as maternal regulation, etc.), developmental mechanism (such as degenerative development of visual system and pigment system, etc.), adaptive evolutionary mechanism (how to adapt to the environment of cave darkness and food scarcity, etc.) of cavefish, and use cavefish as research model to carry out the molecular mechanism of human related diseases (such as visual diseases, albinism, homocysteinuria, organ asymmetry, etc.).

 

Research direction 2: Molecular development mechanism of human myopia

Myopia is the most common eye disease in the world and the second leading cause of blindness after cataract. Studies have shown that the final target organ for the development of myopia is the sclera, and the remodeling and thinning of the sclera directly related to the axial elongation of the eyeball and the formation of posterior scleral staphylosis are the characteristic pathological changes of high myopia. Therefore, we used non-human primates, zebrafish, mice, and cavefish with naturally degraded sclera as experimental models to identify the molecular genetic mechanisms of scleral development regulation and pathogenic genes based on animal models, including the molecular basis of changes related to the lens, retinal pigment epithelium, and vascular system that regulate scleral development. Genetic studies to identify the regulation of scleral development and the molecular signaling cascades associated with pathogenic genes provide potential therapeutic targets for controlling progressive myopia scleral lengthening through, for example, targeted drugs and gene therapy, thereby opening new therapeutic approaches for high myopia.

Research direction 3: Remodeling mechanism of energy metabolism

We use the Chinese cavefish Sinocyclocheilus and Astyanax mexicanus as research models to explore the energy metabolism strategy of cavefish in response to hypoxia and food deficiency at the species level (Sinocyclochelius) and the population level (Astyanax mexicanus), mainly studies the specific characteristics and genetic molecular regulation mechanism of cavefish in the cave environment of hypoxia stress and food deficiency, and reveals energy metabolism mechanism of cavefish.

 

1.      Li Ma*, Jun-xing Yang, Fa-Kai Lei, Meng-Zhen Xu, Ya-hui Zhao, William R. Jeffery. (2023) Protection and exploration of the scientific potential of Chinese cavefish. Zoological Research（In Press）

2.  Bo Li, Yuan-wei Zhang, Xiao Liu, Li Ma*, Junxing Yang*. (2021) Molecular mechanisms of intermuscular bone development in fish: a review. Zoological Research 42(3): 362-376 (*Corresponding author)

3.  Li Ma, Mandy Ng, Janet Shi, Aniket V.Gore, Daniel Castranova, Brant M.Weinstein, William R. Jeffery. (2021) Maternal control of visceral asymmetry evolution in Astyanax cavefish. Scientific Reports, 11:10312

4.  Li Ma, Aniket V.Gore, Daniel Castranova, Janet Shi, Mandy Ng, Kelly T. Tomins, Cornelia Maria Van, Brant M. Weinstein, William R. Jeffery. (2020) The hypomorphic cystathionine beta-synthase gene controls eye loss by disrupting optic vasculature in blind cavefish. Nature Communications  doi: https://rdcu.be/b4zwB

5.  Li Ma, Ruby Dessiatoun, Janet Shi, William R. Jeffery (2020) Incremental temperature changes for maximal breeding and spawning in Astyanax mexicanus. Journal of Visualized Experiments e61708, doi:10.3791/61708

6.  Li Ma, Mandy Ng, Corine Maria Van, Masato Yoshizawa, William R. Jeffery. (2019) Dual roles of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium and Lens in cavefish eye degeneration. Journal of Experimental Zoology PartB: Molecular and Developmental Evolution DOI:10.1002/jez.b.22923

7.  Li Ma, Allen G. Strickler, Amy Parkhurst, Masato Yoshizawa, and William R. Jeffery. (2018) Maternal Genetic effects in Astyanax Cavefish development. Developmental Biology, 441(2): 209-220. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.07.014

8.  Aniket V.Gore, Kelly T.Tomins, James Iben, Li Ma, Deniel Castranova, Andrew Davis, Amy Parkhurst,   Sara Soueidan, William R. Jeffery and Brant M. Weinstein (2018) An epigenetic mechanism for cavefish eye degeneration. Nature Ecology & Evolution doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0569-4

9.  Li Ma, Jeffery J. Essner, William R. Jeffery, Johanna E. Kowalko. (2015) Genome editing using TALENS in blind Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus. PLoS One 2015 Mar 16;10(3):e0119370. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119370. eCollection.

10. Li Ma, Amy Parkhurst, William R. Jeffery. (2014) The role of a lens survival pathway including sox2 and alphaA-crystallin in the evolution of cavefish eye degeneration. EvoDevo, 5:28

11. Suzanne E. McGaugh, Joshua B. Gross, Bronwen Aken, Maryline Blin, Richard Borowsky, Domitille Chalopin, Hélène Hinaux, William Jeffery, Alex Keene, Li Ma, Pat Minx1, Daniel Murphy, Kelly E. O’Quin, Sylvie Rétaux, Nicolas Rohner, Steve M. J. Searle, Bethany Stahl, Cliff Tabin, Jean-Nicolas Volff, Masato Yoshizawa, Wes C. Warren1. (2014) The cavefish genome reveals candidate genes for eye loss. Nature Communications, 5:5307. doi:10.1038/ncomms6307.

12.  *Helena Biland？ija, *Li Ma, Amy Parkhurst, and William R. Jeffery. (2013) A potential benefit of albinism in Astyanax cavefish: downregulation of the oca2 gene increase tyrosine and catecholamine levels as an alternative to melanin synthesis. PLoS One. 8 (11): e80823. (* indicate the first two authors contributed equally to this work)

13. Li Ma, Ya-hui Zhao, and Junxing Yang. Cavefish of China, (2019) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CAVES, Third Edition. ELSEVIER, Academic Press, Chapter 28: 237-254

14. Li Ma and William Jeffery. (2015) Eye development (vertebrate) McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia Yearbook of Science & Technology. Mc-Graw Hill Education (invited) DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1079.6004

15. William R. Jeffery, Li Ma, Amy Parkhurst, Helena Biland？ija. (2014) Pigment cell regression and albinism in Astyanax cavefish. The Biology of Mexican Cavefish. Elsevier Press

16. Li Ma and Ya-hui Zhao. Cavefish of China, (2012) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CAVES, Second Edition. ELSEVIER, Academic Press, C: 107-125