Pengfei Li NIH
Li Receives $1.7 Million NIH Award
Award Given to Cutting-Edge Researcher on Long-Term Project
Pengfei Li, PhD, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through its Maximizing Investigator Research Award (R35) Program.
The program provides funds to cutting-edge researchers working on long-term projects of unusual potential.
“This impressive NIH award recognizes the truly innovative nature of Dr. Li’s research,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The insights from his lab and this project have the potential to pave the way for future scientific breakthroughs.”
Li’s project, “Modeling Ion Selectivity in EF-hand Proteins,” investigates how proteins select the correct metal ions they need in order to function. This is a central question in bioinorganic chemistry, as scientists still do not fully understand how proteins make these choices. The research focuses on EF-hand proteins, which are widely present across organisms, that play essential roles in key metabolic processes.
Using advanced computational models developed in his lab, Li and his team simulate the complex interactions between proteins and metal ions. These models allow researchers to more accurately capture how proteins and ions interact, ultimately revealing the fundamental principles that govern ion selectivity.
“The obtained knowledge will not only advance basic science, but also facilitate the design of molecules with tailored ion selectivity, opening new opportunities in biomedical and materials applications,” noted Li.
By uncovering how proteins choose the right metals, this work has the potential to guide drug design, support protein engineering, and contribute to breakthroughs that improve health.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1870, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest of Loyola University Chicago’s 13 schools and colleges, serving as the academic home for nearly 8,000 students (roughly 50 percent of Loyola’s total student population). It is academically diverse with twenty academic departments that span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. It is also highly interdisciplinary with thirty-one interdisciplinary programs and seven interdisciplinary centers, including the mission-centric Jesuit Heritage Research Center and the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. The College is home to over 450 full-time, award-winning faculty, who are committed to teaching and research excellence. They teach nearly 2,000 classes each semester, including 88 percent of all Core Curriculum classes taken by undergraduate students across the university. They also contribute to eleven doctoral programs whose graduates have helped propel Loyola starting in 2025 to R-1 research status (the highest research status a university can achieve). Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our John Felice Rome Center in Italy, as well as at dozens of university-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the university’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever-deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”
Pengfei Li, PhD, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through its Maximizing Investigator Research Award (R35) Program.
The program provides funds to cutting-edge researchers working on long-term projects of unusual potential.
“This impressive NIH award recognizes the truly innovative nature of Dr. Li’s research,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The insights from his lab and this project have the potential to pave the way for future scientific breakthroughs.”
Li’s project, “Modeling Ion Selectivity in EF-hand Proteins,” investigates how proteins select the correct metal ions they need in order to function. This is a central question in bioinorganic chemistry, as scientists still do not fully understand how proteins make these choices. The research focuses on EF-hand proteins, which are widely present across organisms, that play essential roles in key metabolic processes.
Using advanced computational models developed in his lab, Li and his team simulate the complex interactions between proteins and metal ions. These models allow researchers to more accurately capture how proteins and ions interact, ultimately revealing the fundamental principles that govern ion selectivity.
“The obtained knowledge will not only advance basic science, but also facilitate the design of molecules with tailored ion selectivity, opening new opportunities in biomedical and materials applications,” noted Li.
By uncovering how proteins choose the right metals, this work has the potential to guide drug design, support protein engineering, and contribute to breakthroughs that improve health.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1870, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest of Loyola University Chicago’s 13 schools and colleges, serving as the academic home for nearly 8,000 students (roughly 50 percent of Loyola’s total student population). It is academically diverse with twenty academic departments that span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. It is also highly interdisciplinary with thirty-one interdisciplinary programs and seven interdisciplinary centers, including the mission-centric Jesuit Heritage Research Center and the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. The College is home to over 450 full-time, award-winning faculty, who are committed to teaching and research excellence. They teach nearly 2,000 classes each semester, including 88 percent of all Core Curriculum classes taken by undergraduate students across the university. They also contribute to eleven doctoral programs whose graduates have helped propel Loyola starting in 2025 to R-1 research status (the highest research status a university can achieve). Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our John Felice Rome Center in Italy, as well as at dozens of university-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the university’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever-deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”