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Qing Kay Li, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, anatomic pathology
Department of Pathology

Education

Board Certifications
Anatomic and clinical pathology, American Board of Pathology
Cytopathology, American Board of Pathology

Fellowships
Surgical pathology, University Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
Cytopathology, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Residency
Anatomic and clinical pathology, Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York

Doctor of Philosophy
Cell and molecular biology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio

Medical School
Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

Practice Areas

  •  Surgical pathology and cytopathology diagnostic services
  • FNA on-site evaluation
  • Consultation service for surgical pathology and cytopathology
  • Tumor board service
  • Team leader, CAP Laboratory Inspection Program

Professional Experience
  • Professor, Department of Pathology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 2026 to present
  • Professor, Departments of Pathology and Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2020 to 2026
  • Associate professor, Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2017 to 2020
  • Associate professor, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2013 to 2020
  • Assistant professor, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2006 to 2013

Research Interests

  • Study of protein and genetic biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage specimens for the early detection of lung cancer
  • Validation of potential biomarkers for early detection of cancers
  • Separation of aggressive prostate cancers using serum and urine prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
  • Participation in National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), including lung, kidney, brain, gastric and pancreatic cancer working groups, to provide pathology review of tumors
  • Participation in NCI Early Detection Research Network (EDRN), to identify and validate potential biomarkers in human cancers

Publications and Media Placements

Selected Journal Articles (Past Two Years)
  • Wang Y, Olsen LK, Jiao F, Wang C, Jiang KX, Dou Y, Hu Y, Jiao L, Chen W, Elizarraras JM, Khare P, Yu N, Zhu H, Chen L, Lih TM, Eser PÖ, Martins Rodrigues F, Shi Z, Zhang C, Yu C, Heiman DI, Liao Y, Shafer PW, Choi S, Choi JM, Savage SR, Jaehnig EJ, Lei JT, Sun Y, Peng CW, Sun Z, Morenkov P, Zhang K, Geffen Y, Hess J, Kumar-Sinha C, Mani DR, Ding L, Getz G, Li QK, Omenn GS, Le A, Hostetter G, Newton CJ, Cai S, Ketchum KA, Robles AI, Mesri M, Minoo P, Camargo MC, An E, Hruban RH, Liu Z, Thiagarajan M, Dohlman AB, Jin RU, Huang L, Chan DW, Zhang H, Zhang B; Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. A 15-layer multi-omics analysis of gastric cancer ecotypes provides therapeutic insights. Cell Rep Med. 2026 May 19;7(5):102756. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102756. Epub 2026 Apr 20. PMID: 42013851; PMCID: PMC13198309.
  • Zeng Y, Huang YZ, Li QK, Ho R, Bark SJ, Willet SG, DiPaolo RJ, Mills JC. Regulation of STK38 by autophagy governs YAP1 activity during paligenosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026 Apr 7;123(14):e2517488123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2517488123. Epub 2026 Mar 30. PMID: 41911447; PMCID: PMC13056135.
  • Niknafs N, Sivapalan L, Balan A, Wehr J, Pereira G, Hosseini-Nami S, Rao N, Jolly S, Velliangiri K, Beadles I, Loftus T, Chesnick B, Medina J, Xiao W, Pabani A, Marrone KA, Li QK, Murray JC, Rinaldi L, Dracopoli NC, Sausen M, Hann CL, Scott SC, Feliciano J, Lam VK, Levy B, Velculescu VE, Brahmer JR, Forde PM, Vellanki PJ, Anagnostou V. Landmark ctDNA molecular response represents an early predictor of immunotherapy outcomes in lung cancer: A clinical utility study. doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.18.26346415.
  • Woo J, Sun Z, Hu Y, Hoàng TA, Worthington C, Smith K, Singhi A, Brand RE, Chan DW, Li QK, Hruban RH, Zhang H. High-Sensitive Spatial Proteomics for Pancreatic Cancer Progression Analysis. Anal Chem. 2026 Mar 3;98(8):5903-5911. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c01928. Epub 2026 Feb 18. PMID: 41707038; PMCID: PMC13091711.
  • Sanchez SI, Adams C, Illei P, Ali SZ, Rooper L, Lih TM, Li QK. Cytopathologic and histopathologic characteristics of SMARCB1 deficient neoplasm and correlation with molecular and immunohistochemical findings. Hum Pathol. 2025 Dec;166:105980. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2025.105980. Epub 2025 Nov 10. PMID: 41224025.
  • Jin RU, Xu Y, Lih TM, Huang YZ, Nittolo TM, Sells BE, Dres OM, Wang JS, Li QK, Zhang H, Mills JC. SOX2 regulates foregut squamous epithelial homeostasis and is lost during Barrett's esophagus development. J Clin Invest. 2025 Jun 19;135(16):e190374. doi: 10.1172/JCI190374. PMID: 40587339; PMCID: PMC12352906.
  • Satpathy S, Clark NM, Chen YJ, Hosseini N, Chang YH, Hsiao Y, Lei JT, Petralia F, Chen JS, Geffen Y, Heiman DI, Paul I, Cho H, Hollenberg M, Marino GB, Lin KT, Mannan R, White CJ, Allen J, Avanessian SC, Kane MH, Wolfe A, Kinarivala M, Liu W, Anand S, Lin MW, Haines M, Bergstrom EJ, Hussey G, Li GX, Mani DC, Fang H, Jaehnig EJ, Keshishian H, Miller B, Su KY, Hsiao YJ, Hsu HH, Hsieh MS, Hsu KH, Monovoukas A, Gohsman S, Thorup JR, Deng Y, Akiyama Y, Deng E, Sheng-Wen Chen E, Krek A, Espinoza R, Ma W, Charytonowicz D, Sebra R, Lin JH, Chen YS, Hsu YC, Lin ZS, Chen KC, Yeh CW, Wang YT, Lazar AJ, Mesri M, An E, Zhang X, Clauser KR, Fenyö D, Chinnaiyan AM, Zhang B, Ding L, Ruggles K, Newton C, Zhang H, Wang P, Hostetter G, Omenn GS, Kumar-Sinha C, Thiagarajan M, Govindan R, Paik P, Parolia A, Li QK, Ma'ayan A, Getz GA, Dhanasekaran SM, Robles AI, Chang GC, Yang PC, Yu SL, Chen HY, Nesvizhskii AI, Carr SA, Mani DR, Cieslik MP, Chen YJ, Gillette MA; Taiwan Cancer Moonshot Program; Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. Integrative analysis of lung adenocarcinoma across diverse ethnicities and exposures. Cancer Cell. 2025 Sep 8;43(9):1731-1757.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.07.011. Epub 2025 Jul 31. PMID: 40749670; PMCID: PMC12393171.
  • Wang Y, Jin RU, Xu J, Lin DC, Sun Z, Xu Y, Li QK, Zhang H. Harnessing technologies to unravel gastric cancer heterogeneity. Trends Cancer. 2025 Aug;11(8):753-769. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2025.04.011. Epub 2025 May 27. PMID: 40425443; PMCID: PMC12350073.
  • Li QK, Lih TM, Clark DJ, Chen L, Schnaubelt M, Zhang H. Sonication-assisted protein extraction improves proteomic detection of membrane-bound and DNA-binding proteins from tumor tissues. Nat Protoc. 2025 Aug;20(8):2083-2099. doi: 10.1038/s41596-024-01113-9. Epub 2025 Feb 17. PMID: 39962197; PMCID: PMC12286572.

Book Chapters
  • Molecular diagnosis of lung cancer in Molecular Cytopathology. Chapter 11. Yang B (ed). Springer, New York. 2016.
  • Rare Metastatic Tumors of Non-epithelial Origin in Body Fluid Cytopathology. Chapter 7. Michael C, David Chhieng D, Bedrossian C (eds) Springer, New York. 2015.

Books
  • Atlas of Non-GYN Cytopathology. Jing X, Siddiqui M, Li QK (eds). Springer, New York. 2018.
  • Diagnostic Cytopathology Board Review and Self-Assessment. Khalbuss WE, Li QK (eds). Springer, New York. 2014.

Honors and Awards

  • Physician-Scientist Travel Award, International Human Proteomic Organization
  • CPTAC Subcontract Award, National Cancer Institute, NIH
  • Research Award, American Society of Cytopathology
  • House Officer Scholarly Research Award, Albany Medical Center
  • Fellowship Grant Award, American Heart Association
  • Travel Award for Distinguished Research, 31st National Meeting of the American Leukocyte Biology Society
  • First place, Elsa Albrecht Fellow Award for Excellent Research, Department of Cell Biology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Professional Organizations and Associations

  • Maryland Society of Pathologists
  • Human Proteomics Society
  • Chinese American Pathologists Association
  • American Society for Clinical Pathology
  • International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
  • American Society of Cytopathology
  • College of American Pathologists
  • United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology

National Advisory Committees
  • Continuing Education Oversight Committee, American Society of Cytopathology 
  • NIH/NCI CPTAC Gastric Carcinoma Working Group 
  • NIH/NCI CPTAC Prostate Carcinoma Working Group 
  • NIH/NCI CPTAC Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Working Group 
  • International Human Proteome Organization 
  • Clinical Pathology Working Group, Human Proteome Organization World Congress
  • NIH/NCI CPTAC Pancreatic Tumor Working Group 
  • NIH/NCI CPTAC Lung Adenocarcinoma Working Group 
  • NIH/NCI Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) 
  • American Society of Cytopathology
Editorial Boards
  • Associate editor, Chinese Clinical Oncology
  • Associate editor, Frontiers in Oncology
  • Associate editor, Clinical Proteomics

Current Journal Peer Reviewer
  • Human Pathology, Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, Cancers, Clinical Proteomics, Chest, Diagnostic Cytopathology, Cellular and Molecular Biology Letters, Acta Cytologica, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine