Hongtao Li

Assistant Professor of Biology

Natural Sciences

LocationSuter Science Center 026A

Phone(540) 432-4417

E-Mailhongtao.li@emu.edu

Education

PHD, Indiana State University (Life Sciences (Physiology))

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Biography

Hongtao received her medical training from Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. She worked as a resident doctor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the First Hospital of Wuhan for four years. With a strong interest in science, she attended Indiana State University, where she earned her PhD in Biology with a concentration in Immunology in 2009. Her dissertation focused on the impact of immunoadjuvants on the efficacy of anti-lymphoma vaccines. Since then, she has completed two postdoctoral training programs in integrative medicine: first at the Indiana University School of Medicine—Terre Haute, and then at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her postdoctoral research focused on using immunological tools to examine mind-body exercise and its mechanisms. She also contributed to a large NIH collaborative project on migraines during her UNC-Chapel Hill T32 fellowship training. She has served as an assistant professor at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College since 2018 and joined EMU in the fall of 2023.

Mission Statement

Research Interests and Current Projects:

Integrative Medicine: Mind-body exercise and stress reduction
Are the benefits of the Qigong exercise “Eight Pieces of Brocade” a placebo effect?
This project is funded by EMU's intramural research grant for 2024 to 2025.

Lifestyle Medicine:
Her primary interests are in Food as Medicine and Stress Management, two of the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine. (Other pillars include Physical Activity, Sleep, Social Connection, and Avoidance of Risky Substances.) She was board-certified in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (DipACLM) in December 2025.

Publications

	Citation	Pub. Date
1933	Hongtao Li (2023) CD36 level in migraine patients before and after dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Annals of Clinical Nutrition. 2023; 6(1): 1028.	2023
1934	Claudia Wang and Hongtao Li (2022) Excessive Videogame Playing and Associated Health-Risk Behaviors among US Youth: Results from the 2019 YRBS. Health Science Journal Vol. 16 No. 11: 980. Claudia Wang, Yanbin Hu, Hongtao Li. A Review of Tai Chi’s Health Benefits and Its Potential Mechanisms for Chronic Diseases. Journal of Clinical Case Reports, Medical Images and Health Sciences; 2(3)-2022. Claudia Wang, Yanbin Hu, Hongtao Li. Improving Physical Health for Underserved Elementary School Children: A Comparison of Aerobic and Mind-Body Exercise. Academic Journal of Nursing and Health Education, Vol. 11 No. 4, 2022. Hongtao Li, Qiang Fu, Kamaira Philips, Yufei Sun, Kim Faurot, Susan Gaylord, John Douglas Mann. Leukocyte inflammatory phenotype and function in migraine patients compared with matched non-migraine volunteers: a pilot study. BMC Neurology. 2022; 22 1:278; (DOI: 10.1186/s12883-022-02781-4)	2022
1935	Claudia Chunyun Wang, Hongtao Li and Brittanie Lockard. Comparison of Three Modes of Exercise in Reducing Stress and Improving Self Esteem among Underserved Children at Title I Elementary Schools, Health Science Journal, Vol.12 No.3:570, June 2018 (DOI: 10.21767/1791-809X.1000570)	2018
1936	Evan M. O’Dea, Nansalmaa Amarsaikhan, Hongtao Li, Joshua Downey, Emery Steele, Steven J. Van Dyken, Richard M. Locksley, and Steven P. Templeton. Eosinophils are recruited in response to chitin exposure and enhance Th2-mediated immune pathology in Aspergillus fumigatus infection, Infection and Immunity, vol. 82, pp. 3199-205, Aug. 2014. (DOI: 10.1128/IAI.01990-14) Roy W. Geib, Hongtao Li, Gabi N. Waite, Guido Pagnacco,( Elena Oggero, and Beverly L. Roberts, Using Posturography to Measure Balance Control during Seated Tai Chi. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation 2014; 50:235-41. Roy W. Geib, Hongtao Li, and Gabi Waite. A Pilot Study on the Effect of Tai Chi Exercise on Peripheral Blood Cytokines Associated with Nociceptive Pain in Healthy Volunteers. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation 2014; 50:125-31.	2014
1937	Hongtao Li, Steven. P. Templeton, Roy. W. Geib. Exploring the use of five-color flow cytometry to examine the effect of acute Tai Chi practice on pro-inflammatory monocyte subtypes. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2013. 49: p. 209-15. R.W. Geib, B. L. Roberts, and Hongtao Li. et al. Using posturography to assess expertise among Tai Chi practitioners. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2013. 49: p. 195-200 .	2013
1938	Hongtao Li., C. Howk, and R.W. Geib. A pilot study on the effect of acute tai chi practice on peripheral blood cytokine expression in healthy volunteers. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2012. 48: p. 254-9. Kalsaria, P.; Li, H.; Waite, G. N.; Moga, M. M.; Kingsley, D. J.; Geib, R. W., Acute effects of tai chi exercise on cardiac autonomic function in healthy adults with tai chi experience. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2012, 48, 226-31.	2012
1939	Geib, R. W.; Li, H.; Oggero, E.; Pagnacco, G.; Lam, P.; Moga, M.; Waite, G., Using computerized posturography to explore the connection between BMI and postural stability in long-term tai chi practitioners. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2011, 47, 288-93. Owegi H, Li H., Bouwens M, Egot-Lemaire S, Mueller S, Geib RW, et al. The Effect of Low Oxygen with and Without Steady-state Hydrogen Peroxide on Oxidative Burst and Cytokine Expression of Monocyte-Derived Macrophages. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2011. 47: p. 58-63.	2011
1940	Li H., Waite GN, Moga MM, Lam P, and Roy RW. Balance improvements after a week-long Tai Chi workshop as determined by dynamic posturography. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2010, 46, 172-177. Li H, Ghosh SK. CpG ODN 1826 enhances the efficacy of idiotype DNA vaccine administrated intrasplenically. The Open Vaccine Journal, 2010, 3, 127-133.	2010
1952	McCarthy S, Schmidt KL, Hongtao Li (2024) The Impact of NSAIDs on Pain and Comorbidities in Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Gender-Specific Investigation. Trends Int Med. 2024; 4(1): 1-6. DOI: 10.33425/2771-5906.1026 Christos Dimitriou, Kristopher L. Schmidt, Hongtao Li (2024) Factors Influencing Dental Anxiety Using a Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Archives of Dentistry and Oral Health, Volume 5, Issue 1, https://doi.org/10.22259/2638-4809.0501001	2024

Student and Faculty Research

https://sites.google.com/view/hongtaoliresearch/home

Attached CV

https://appsrv.emu.edu/personnel/personnel/cv/lzh6362/CV_2026-01-02.pdf

Updated 1/02/2026