Volume 7, Issue 3 | Summer 2022

Wishing You the Best in Retirement

Shi-Jiang Li, PhD, has retired after 34 years of service to MCW.

Dr. Li’s research focused on developing and employing cutting-edge functional MRI and resting-state functional connectivity MRI technologies to study Alzheimer’s disease, drugs of abuse, and human consciousness, and on translating the findings to clinical applications. Also, he served as co-investigator on grants focusing on a range of research areas including concussion, complicated grief, and late-life depression.

Throughout his career, Dr. Li authored more than 125 articles and book chapters, one of which (Biswal B et al. PNAS, 2010;107(10):4734) has been cited nearly 2,900 times; presented more than 230 abstracts at national and international meetings; obtained four patents; was continuously funded by the NIH and private foundation grants for 31 years; and served on numerous NIH study sections. Further, he mentored junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and PhD, MS, and undergraduate students, and he taught courses on NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), MRI, and medical imaging to graduate and medical students.

As testament to his outstanding research contributions, Dr. Li received the following prestigious awards: the 2006 Investigator of the Year Award, Alzheimer’s Association, Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter; the 2017 Alzheimer Award from Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease for developing the CARE (characterizing Alzheimer’s disease risk events) Index; and the MCW Dean’s Award in Clinical & Translational Research with collaborator Piero Antuono, MD, in 2018.

Following are a few anecdotes shared by some of Dr. Li's colleagues:

I first met Shi-Jiang Li in 1988 when he joined MCW. Over the years, Shi-Jiang has explored a variety of research areas and made a great many contributions in the fields of cancer and neuroscience. He used NMR spectroscopy to investigate cancer cell metabolism. Dr. Robert Prost received his PhD under the direction of Shi-Jiang and used in vivo NMR spectroscopy to detect ATP and other bioenergetic metabolites in the clinical setting. I believe Shi-Jiang’s most significant contribution is the discovery of a group of fMRI biomarkers for detecting the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Shi-Jiang’s discovery will pave the way for rigorous clinical trials of drugs that (hopefully) will prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, using the fMRI technique. My congratulations to Shi-Jiang on his successful career! I wish him the best in retirement!

–Balaraman Kalyanaraman, PhD, Professor & Chair of Biophysics

Dr. Li’s nurturing of his lab group members is like the early spring breeze in Milwaukee: you hardly notice its arrival but already enjoy it thoroughly. One time in my first year of graduate school, he invited the entire lab to a golf course during lab meeting time, just to enjoy the fresh meadow after the harsh winter. The group had lots of fun, and he gave us a 101 about clubs and basic moves. When he was guiding me on my swing, he asked me, “Zhan, have you ever heard the thing that even most top-tier golfers admire about Tiger Woods? On the course, many things can be distractive. But unlike other players that would finish their swing anyway, usually ending in negative consequences, Tiger could halt his swing any moment before the impact on the ball if he felt disturbed, and start the swing from the beginning. As a professional player whose swing is as natural as walking or breathing, knowing when to break the routine and restart for the best result, that is to be respected.” With all due respect, I was totally lost as to why he brought that up. Then he continued, “You have passion in research, but you are always focused on the details, regardless of the effort and time, and that might negatively impact the progress from the perspective of whole project. You should know when to stop, calm down, and swing again for the best result.” I was young and reckless back then; I wasn’t capable of applying the wisdom to my work or even to my life. Now, I look back after 10 years, and not many of the equations we solved are still novel, but the wisdom of knowing when to stop and swing for the best result will always keep me sharp.

In the oriental culture, a mentor for a year will be family for life, and school for a year will be hometown for life. I really enjoyed my years at MCW, and I miss the good times I had with my peers in imaging physics, and the snowmen I raised with my lab mates. I truly hope that Dr. Li enjoys his new chapter in life, and I welcome him to play golf in Texas anytime; here the course never freezes. 😊

–Zhan Xu, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center

Shi-Jiang Li was assigned to me as a new researcher in MRI in the late 1980s, so that I could provide the technical support for his projects. Those were the days when coils had to be manually matched and tuned, and sometimes soldered back together. The four-legged research subjects provided an opportunity for ingenuity as to securing and positioning within the magnet. There were very few products available in those days, and we needed to repurpose items from their original use. Tongue blades supported the mice, discarded Styrofoam packaging was used in a variety of ways, and the well documented Milwaukee telephone book centered the coil and subject within the bore. Off-center imaging was not a feature back then especially in more than one plane. Shimming the magnet for spectroscopy was done manually using a blue box with 12 dials, and a lot of patience. 

During those long data acquisitions, I learned that Dr. Li, having just come from Johns Hopkins, was hoping to bring his family from China. He had not seen them for quite some time. After his wife and two sons were settled here, our families had dinner together. His two sons and my two sons were very close to the same age. While the adults were chatting, the four boys were off on their own. They did not have a common verbal language but they knew the same games on the computer and it was clear they would have continued playing together much longer had the grown-ups not ended the evening.

Dr. Li, just as the technology of Magnetic Resonance has advanced exponentially so have your achievements. Congratulations on a long and successful career and I hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I do mine.

-Julie (Strandt) Peay, BSM, RTR (MR), FSMRT, Retired MRI Program Manager in the Center for Imaging Research

Postdoc Alumni Q&A

Learn about the diverse career paths our postdoctoral alumni have pursued after completing their fellowships in the Department of Biophysics.

Micael Hardy, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor, Institute of Radical Chemistry, Aix-Marseille University

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in science?

A: To tell you the truth, at that time, I didn’t know what a researcher was and what all my duties would be! The only thing I knew is that I was studying organic chemistry, and the time was flying, so I decided to go for it in order to obtain a PhD fellowship from the French government in 2001–2005.

Q: Since completing your postdoctoral fellowship in Biophysics in 2008, share with us your career progression to your current role as associate professor at Aix-Marseille University.

A: In February 2008, just after my postdoctoral fellowship (from 2006–2008), I obtained a position as an assistant professor at Aix-Marseille University.

Since then, the core of my research activities has been the relationship between the design of new probes for free radical detection and their application for a better understanding of the implication of free radicals in biological processes.

I obtained my DSc in 2019 and was promoted to associate professor in 2021.

We have had a strong and fruitful collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin team over the past 15 years, in particular with Dr. Balaraman Kalyanaraman's lab in the Department of Biophysics.

Q: Tell us about your major responsibilities, and the types of projects, committee service, or other activities you might work on in a typical week.

A: Teaching: I’m in charge of seven teaching units in organic chemistry and analytical chemistry for the first through third years of university classes. Also, I’m responsible for the second-year physics–chemistry class at the university.

Research: I’m responsible of the following areas of research:

1. Probes for oxidative stress
2. Mitochondria-targeting agents for innovative cancer therapy

I have been a visiting assistant professor of Biophysics since 2011 (during the summers).

I am the principal investigator of various ANR (French National Research Agency) and regional projects in the field of reactive oxygen species.

On my team, I am in charge of safety. This includes participation in the health and safety working group of the Institute of Radical Chemistry, where we take stock of the actions and problems in progress, as well as implement and participate in internal audits (since 2015).

I contribute to thesis committees, master committees, evaluation committees for colleagues (commission ad hoc), etc.

Q: What aspect of your current job do you find most rewarding, and why?

A: Teaching students is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job!

In addition, my research brings so many unexpected surprises that can be wonderful or not so wonderful. 😊 But they are always interesting!

Collaboration is one the things I appreciate the most about my job. Sharing and learning from one another is excellent!

Finally, it’s exciting to create/prepare molecules for biological applications for the first time.

Q: What advice do you wish you had been given as a postdoctoral fellow?

A: Develop your curiosity and study a variety of related fields. For example, if a student studies organic chemistry, they should also learn biochemistry, and then a bit of biology and physical chemistry. All the scientific fields can be helpful for their careers. Also, try to experiment (practice) as much as you can.

Q: What qualities would you look for if you were in the position to hire a Biophysics alumnus?

A: Sociability, skills, grades, enthusiasm.

Q: How do you continue learning and growing as a professional? What are some of your habits aside from reading/listening?

A: I maintain my work in the laboratory, which keeps me current with experimental chemistry.

Department News

Welcome

• Karson Hilgendorf (Research Technologist I, Klug Lab)
• Rebecca Holzel (Research Technologist I, Feix Lab)
• Dylan Pawlak (Research Technologist I, Lerch Lab)
• Casey Zoss (Graduate Student, Schmainda Lab)

Farewell

• Anjana Adhikari (Research Technologist I, Lerch Lab)
• Matea Juric (Research Technologist I, Zielonka Lab)
• Shi-Jiang Li (Professor) - Retired as of June 30, 2022

Congratulations

• Mona Al-Gizawiy was promoted to assistant professor.
• Samuel Bobholz published an article in Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography.
• Neil Hogg was inducted into the MCW Society of Teaching Scholars in recognition for his teaching excellence, preeminent educational scholarship, and exceptional educational leadership.
• James Hyde, Robert Strangeway, and Jason Sidabras published an article in Applied Magnetic Resonance.
• Balaraman Kalyanaraman coauthored a consensus statement published in Nature Metabolism.
• Balaraman Kalyanaraman, Gang Cheng, and Micael Hardy published an article in Frontiers in Oncology.
• Balaraman Kalyanaraman and Micael Hardy are inventors of new US Patent 11,352,382 for "Mito-Lonidamine, Compositions and Methods of Use."
• Seung-Yi Lee published an article in Journal of Neurotrauma.
• Shi-Jiang Li is an inventor of new US Patent 11,344,199 for "Systems and Methods for Detection and Prediction of Brain Disorders Based on Neural Network Interaction."
• Richard Mett, James Hyde, and Jason Sidabras are inventors of new US Patent 11,385,307 for "Strongly Coupled Fourth-Order Resonance Coil Systems for Enhanced Signal Detection."
• Melissa Prah received the American Society of Neuroradiology’s 2022 Outstanding Presentation Award in the adult brain category for her presentation, titled “MGMT Combined with Post-CRT Perfusion MRI-Derived Fractional Tumor Burden Informs Overall Survival in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma.”
• Jason Sidabras published an article in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.
• Karol Subczynski published an article in Membranes.
• Jacek Zielonka published an article in Antioxidants, an article in American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, and an article in Scientific Reports.

Years of Service

Congratulations to Melissa Prah on her 10 years of service to MCW! Thank you, Melissa, for your commitment and hard work. 

Dissertation Defense Announcement

Samuel Bobholz (advisor: Peter LaViolette, PhD) will be defending his dissertation, titled "Radio-Pathomic Mapping and Validation of Glioma Pathology Using Autopsy Tissue Samples as Ground Truth,"  on Thursday, August 18 at 1 p.m. (CST). Live public viewing is available via Zoom (meeting ID: 976 2112 0558, passcode: jBsNTn4W).

Recipe

Chile-Lime Melon Salad

Serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a side

Recipe by Smitten Kitchen

Directions

Place balled melon in a wide bowl or on a platter. Squeeze half the lime juice over it, adding second half to taste; then, sprinkle it with salt and chili powder (to taste). Scatter it with cheese, pepitas, and cilantro.

Biophysics News is a quarterly MCW departmental newsletter aimed at enhancing departmental engagement through information and good news sharing. Do you have information you’d like to share—news, a photo, a recipe? Send it to Lydia.

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