Email

chihuali@um.edu.mo

Tel

(853) 8822-4092

Office

E12-1039

Consultation Hours

Mon: 11:00-12:00
Tue: 11:00-12:00

Chihua LI 李馳華

Assistant Professor

Academic Qualifications

  • Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan & Johns Hopkins University, Ann Arbor, USA (2022-24)
  • Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York, USA (2021-22)
  • DrPH, Columbia University, New York, USA (2015-21)
  • MPH, Columbia University, New York, USA (2012-14)
  • BSc, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China (2008-2012)

Awards and Honors

  • Postdoctoral Association Professional Development Award, University of Michigan, USA (2024)
  • Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, Ministry of Education, China (2023): Category B, awarded to 1 of 50 recipients worldwide each year
  • Doctoral Student Conference Scholarship, Society for Epidemiologic Research, USA (2021)
  • Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award, American Heart Association, USA (2017): The highest-ranked scientific abstract in the USA
  • Doctoral Program Merit Scholarship, Columbia University, USA (2015-17)

Research Interests

  • Natural experiments and causal inference, Healthy aging, Meta-research, and Pharmacoepidemiology
  • Postgraduate students and masters who wish to participate in our research projects are welcome. For further information, please contact Dr. Li at chihuali@um.edu.mo.

* denotes (co-)first author; # denotes (co)-corresponding author

  • Li C*, Liu C*, Ye C*, Lian Z, Lu P#. Education, gender, and frequent body pain among middle-aged and older populations in the US, England, Mexico, China, and India. Pain. 2024. In Press.
  • Zhou J*, Kuipers TB, Taubert MJ, Li C, Wang S, Wang T, Schmitz L, Conley D, Heijmans BT, Lumey LH, Belsky DW#. Genetic analysis of selection bias in a natural experiment: Investigating in-utero famine effects on elevated body mass index in the Dutch Hunger Winter Families Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2024. In Press.
  • Li C*, Ó Gráda C, Lumey LH#. Famine mortality and contributions to later-life type 2 diabetes at the population level: a synthesis of findings from Ukrainian, Dutch and Chinese famines. BMJ Global Health. 2024. In Press.
  • Lumey LH* #, Li C, Khalangot M, Levchuk N, Wolowyna O#. Fetal exposure to the Ukraine famine of 1932-1933 and adult Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Science. 2024; 385(6709): 667-671.

Highlighted research article accompanied by a perspective piece and a podcast in Science (https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr1425) and news in Nature (https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02563-7)

Major contributions to this groundbreaking work: Study design, analysis and visualization, original draft writing, manuscript revision, project administration, and others

  • Taeubert MJ*, Kuipers TB, Zhou J, Li C, Wang S, Wang T, Tobi EW, BBMRI-NL Metabolomics consortium, Belsky DW, Lumey LH, Heijmans BT#. Adults prenatally exposed to the Dutch Famine exhibit a metabolic signature associated with a broad spectrum of common diseases. BMC Medicine. 2024; 22:309.
  • Liu C*, Lian Z, Li C#. How to conduct methodologically rigorous epidemiological studies of the Chinese famine of 1959-1961. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2024; 78(4): 269.
  • Cheng M*, Conley D, Kuipers T, Li C, Ryan C, Taubert J, Wang S, Wang T, Zhou J, Schmitz L, Tobi EW, Heijmans BT, Lumey LH, Belsky DW#. Accelerated biological aging six decades after prenatal famine exposure. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2024; 121(24): e2319179121.
  • Chang H*, Jock J, Rosenberg M, Li C, Cho TC, Gaziano TA, Lisabeth L, Kobayashi LC#. The Impact of the Older Person’s Grant Expansion on Hypertension Among Older Men in Rural South Africa: Findings from the HAALSI cohort. Innovation in Aging. 2024; 8(4): igae010.
  • Li C* #, Stebbins RC*, Noppert GA*, Carney CX, Liu Chunyu, Sapp ARM, Watson E, and Aiello AE. Peripheral immune function and Alzheimer’s disease: a living systematic review and critical appraisal. Molecular Psychiatry. 2023.
  • Ó Gráda C* #, Li C, Lumey LH. How much schizophrenia do famines cause? Schizophrenia. 2023; 9(90).
  • Liu C*, Li C#. C-reactive protein and cardiovascular diseases: a synthesis of studies based on different designs. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2023; 30(1):1593-1597.
  • Gross AL*, Li C, Briceño EM, Rentería AM, Jones RN, Langa KM, Manly JJ, Nichols EL, Weir D, Wong R, Berkman L, Lee J#, Kobayashi LC#. Harmonization of later-life cognitive function across national contexts: results from the harmonized cognitive assessment protocols. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. 2023; 4(10):e573-583.
  • Varghese J*, Lu P*, Kobayashi LC, Ali M, Patel SA, Li C#. Spousal concordance of hypertension among middle-aged and older heterosexual couples around the world: evidence from studies of aging in the USA, England, China, and India. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2023; 0:e030765.

Featured article across AHA/ASA journals

Media coverage by over 100 news agencies, including AHA/ASA News, ABC News, Business Insider, CNN, Fox News, New York Post, MSN, TODAY, and U.S. News, resulted in 200 stories and received 503 million media reach within a month of the article’s publication

  • Guo B*, Zhao C*, He MZ, Senter C, Zhou Z, Peng J, Li S, Fitzpatrick AL, Lindstroem S, Stebbins RC, Noppert GA#, Li C#. Identifying patterns of reported findings on long-term cardiac complications of COVID-19: a living systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medicine. 2023; 21:486.
  • Liu C*, Li C#. The need for appropriate ‘age-balanced’ controls and transparent reporting in Chinese famine studies: a re-analysis of the China PEACE Million Persons project. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2023; 30(4): e16-17.
  • Li C*, Lumey LH#. Early-life exposure to the Chinese famine of 1959–1961 and type 2 diabetes in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients.2022; 14:2855.
  • Li C*, Zhou Z, Lumey LH#. Early-life exposure to the Chinese famine and tuberculosis risk: Unrecognized biases from different measures of famine intensity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021; 118(16):e2102809118.
  • Li C* #, Zhou Z, Ye C. Chinese famine and ischemic stroke: the need to control for age differences and improve famine severity measurement. European Journal of Neurology. 2021; 28(7):e53-54.
  • Bos MM*, Goulding NJ, Lee MA, Hofman A, Bot M, Pool R, Vijfhuizen LS, Zhang X, Li C, Mustafa R, Neville MJ, …, Noordam R#, Lawlor DA#. Investigating the relationships between unfavourable habitual sleep and metabolomic traits: evidence from multi-cohort multivariable regression and Mendelian randomization analyses. BMC Medicine. 2021; 19(1):69.
  • Li C* #, Zhou Z. Chinese famine and metabolic syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study in Suihua China. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021; 75:992-3.
  • Li C* #, Lian H, Yin N. Better exposure definitions and control selections are needed for Chinese Famine studies. Journal of Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine. 2020; 6(5):074.
  • Li C*, Tobi EW, Heijmans BT, Lumey LH#. Reply to ‘Chinese famine and the diabetes mellitus epidemic’. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2020; 16(2):123-124.
  • Li C*, Tobi EW, Heijmans BT, Lumey LH#. Reply to ‘Early-life exposure to the Chinese Famine and subsequent T2DM’. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2020; 16(2):125-126.
  • Li C*, Tobi EW, Heijmans BT, Lumey LH#. The effect of the Chinese Famine on type 2 diabetes mellitus epidemics. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2019; 15(6):313-315.

Provocative expert comment with multiple follow-up correspondence articles

  • Li C*, Lumey LH#. Impact of disease screening on awareness and management of hypertension and diabetes between 2011 and 2015: results from the China health and retirement longitudinal study. BMC Public Health. 2019; 19(1):421.

One of the 9 featured articles in 2019

  • Li C*, Santaella-Tenorio J, Mauro PM, Martins SS#. Past-year use of prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines among adults in the United States: estimating medical and nonmedical use in 2015–2016. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2019; 204:107458.

Media coverage by National Institutes of Health supported newsletter Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health

  • Bai R*, Li C*, Xiao Y, Sharma M, Zhang F#, Zhao Y#. Effectiveness of spa therapy for patients with chronic low back pain: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine. 2019; 98(37):e17092.
  • Lian Z* #, Li C, Frimpong JA. Correlates of subjective hepatitis C knowledge among clinical staff in US drug treatment programs. Journal of Public Health. 2019; 401-409.
  • Li C*, Lumey LH. Interaction or mediation by adult obesity of the relation between fetal famine exposure and type 2 diabetes?. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2019; 48(2):654-656.
  • Shiau S*, Kahn LG*, Platt J, Li C, Guzman JT, Kornhauser ZG, Keyes KM, Martins SS#. Evaluation of a flipped classroom approach to learning introductory epidemiology. BMC Medical Education. 2018; 18(1):63.
  • Li C*, Lumey LH#. Studies into severe famine in early life and diabetes in adulthood: the need to control for differences in participant age and location. Diabetologia. 2017; 60(7):1359-1361.
  • Li C*, Lumey LH#. Exposure to the Chinese famine of 1959–61 in early life and long-term health conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2017; 46(4):1157-1170.
  • Wang X*, Wang D, Huo Y, Dai D, Li C, Li C, Liu G#. Identification of isoliquiritigenin as an activator that stimulates the enzymatic production of glycyrrhetinic acid monoglucuronide. Scientific Reports. 2017; 7(1):12503.