Leanne Li

Leanne Li leads the Cancer Neuroscience Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK. A cancer biologist by training, her prior work in neuroendocrine cancers uncovered an unexpected role of neuronal receptors in cancer, as well as how the intrinsic electrical activity of cancer cells directly fuels malignancy. Using genetically engineered mouse models of lung and pancreatic cancers, her lab focuses on dissecting the cancer-nervous system interaction through combining contemporary cancer genetics and neuroscience methodologies. Li’s lab aims to identify the logic underpinning how the body sense and respond to cancer progression via the nervous system, and ultimately harness this crosstalk to advance cancer therapeutics.