Benyi Li, M.D., PhD

Professional Background

I received my medical education in China and my Ph.D. work in Japan. After moved to the US in 1998, I stayed away from clinical work but focused on urological research. After 2 postdoc fellowships at Moffitt Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine, I joined the KUMC Urology faculty at the end of 2001 and established the basic research program for the department. My research topic is mainly on prostate cancer, aiming to develop novel and clinically beneficial therapeutics for patients with advanced prostate cancers.

• Serican Academy of Urology, Benyi Li, President, 2023 - 2023

Research

Overview

The goal of my laboratory is to uncover the mechanisms responsible for cancer development and progression at a molecular level, and subsequently to develop novel therapeutic approaches for effective treatment. In the past several years we have identified the PI3K/p110beta and its downstream targets AKT and SGK1 are involved in AR transactivation and prostate cancer progression. Based on these findings, we developed a novel p110beta-specific inhibitor BL140 to treat metastatic prostate cancers. Currently, we are working on a federal funded project in developing a small peptide-based technology for prostate cancer treatment.