Christopher I-Fu Li

Research Professor, Epidemiology

1100 Fairview Ave N., M4-C308
Box 358080
P.O. 19024
Seattle, WA 98109-1024

206-667-7444
cili@fhcrc.org

Research Interests

Dr. Li is a cancer epidemiologist based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with research projects spanning cancer early detection/screening, etiology, and survivorship. He has significant expertise in cancer epidemiology and substantial experience in the design, leadership, and completion of multidisciplinary studies of cancer. Current research projects include: 1. A large population-based study of different molecular subtypes of breast cancer aimed at elucidating their risk factors and identifying novel subtype-specific tumor markers useful for predicting risk of disease recurrence (DOD Collaborative Innovator Award); 2. A nested case-control study of women with DCIS who did and did not go on to develop a second breast cancer aimed at developing novel epidemiologic, clinical, and molecular approaches for guiding clinical decision making for DCIS patients (R01); 3. Discovering and validating novel blood-based markers useful for the early detection of breast, colorectal, and ovarian cancers (U01); 4. Characterizing risk factors for second primary breast, lung, colorectal, and endometrial cancers among breast cancer survivors (R01); and 5. Discovering and validating novel biomarkers useful for assessing risk of recurrence among colorectal cancer survivors (R01 and U01). Selected leaderships activities include: 1. Serving as the co-PI of the Cancer Surveillance System (CSS), the Seattle-Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registry, 2. Chairing the DOD Breast Cancer Research Program’s Integration Panel (FY 2017), and 3. Co-chairing the 2017 AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.

Education

MD Medicine, University of California (San Francisco), 2000

PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2003

MPH Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2000

In the News

Study Finds Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
SPH News, 10/30/2015

Breast cancer is especially dangerous for black and Hispanic women
Huffington Post, 10/16/2015

Link between birth control and breast cancer, but no clear answers
Crosscut, 08/24/2015

Doctoral Student Finds No Link between Bras and Breast Cancer
SPH News, 09/26/2014

Bras Causing Breast Cancer? Study Debunks Belief
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 09/05/2014

Blood pressure medication linked to breast cancer risk
FHCRC, 09/05/2013

Study Ties Blood-Pressure Drugs to Breast Cancer in Older Women
The Seattle Times, 08/05/2013

New Breast Cancer Study
KUOW, 05/14/2012

Study finds a link between injectable contraceptive use and increased risk of breast cancer in young women
FHCRC, 04/10/2012

Earlier Detection of Breast Cancer May Be Possible
Business Week, 04/22/2010