Dr. LI Chuan is a professor and principal investigator of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research on herbal medicines started from investigating the time-related body exposure to and disposition of pharmacologically active herbal compounds after administration of the medicine and is to support making evidence-based decision about therapeutic value of herbal medicines and optimizing herbal therapies. Dr. Li and his research group have been engaged in basic and applied pharmacokinetic research of herbal medicines for many years or since 2001. Fufang-Danshen-Fang and ginkgo leaf extract were particularly selected for studies because of their extensive use in clinics. They have revealed the profiles of body exposure to bioactive herbal compounds after dosing the herbal medicines and associated mechanisms governing the exposure. They have found metabolic pathways that are specialized for natural products and that can considerably affect human systemic exposure to herbal compounds after dosing. They have established two complementary approaches to multi-compound pharmacokinetic studies of herbal medicines and developed six key integrated techniques to support the studies. Given the complex chemical nature of herbal medicines, Dr. Li has proposed different concepts of pharmacokinetic markers and this has resolved the challenges on how to substantiate dose-dependent and -independent body exposure to the medicines and associated influencing factors. By inventing and integrating “low concentration electrolyte effects” and “pulse-gradient chromatographic elution” and associated theoretic innovation in pneumatic electrospray ionization, they have reinforced the capability of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-based bioanalyses supporting pharmacokinetic research of herbal medicines. They have also resolved the challenges in bioanalytical measurement of volatile herbal compounds in complex biomatrices. The preceding pioneering research has obtained recognition from the international academic society. Dr. Li and his group have research publications in leading international journals of pharmacokinetics and those of analytical chemistry, such as Br. J. Pharmacol., Curr. Drug Metab., Drug Metab. Dispos., Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol., Chem. Res. Toxicol., Anal. Chem., J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., J. Chromatogr. A, J. Mass Spectrom. and so on. In 2009, Dr Li became the first scientist in the field of pharmacokinetic research of herbal medicines to be awarded the National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Li headed and completed a project that aimed to develop a unique research platform for the pharmacokinetic studies of herbal medicines; the project was the first one of its kind to be supported by the National Science and Technology Major Program “Key New Drug Creation and Manufacturing Program” of China. In 2012, Dr Li was invited to serve as a guest editor for a special issue in the hot topic series of the journal Curr. Drug Metabol. becoming the first of such issues in leading international journals of pharmacokinetics to illustrate the current state of pharmacokinetic science relating to herbal medicines. In 2013, Dr. Li was invited to chair a session on “metabolism, pharmacokinetics and interactions of traditional medicines and natural products” at the 10th international ISSX meeting and to deliver an oral presentation; it was the first time for this leading international society of pharmacokinetics to dedicate a session at her international meeting to research on herbal medicines.

EDUCATION
09/1982 – 07/1986 School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China; B.Sc. (Pharmacy and Science of TCM)
05/1995 – 04/1998 School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan; Ph.D. (Pharmacology); PhD Thesis: Chemistry and Pharmacokinetics of Shosaiko-to, an Herbal Medicine.

WORK EXPERIENCE
08/1986 – 04/1995 Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Research Assistant, Research Associate; Engaged in research of Chinese herbal medicines
05/1998 – 11/2000 Department of Chemical Biology, College of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA; Postdoctoral Associate; Engaged in metabolic research of tea polyphenols with anticancer activities
12/2000 – present Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor, Principal Investigator and PhD supervisor; Grade-3 Professor (2007-2009), Grade-2 Professor (2009-present); Engaged in DMPK research of herbal medicines
12/2012 – present Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Professor, Principal Investigator and PhD supervisor, Director of Center for DMPK Research of Herbal Medicines; Engaged in DMPK research of herbal medicines

(2009.1-)
1.National Basic Research Program of China (973 program),Studies of Disposition of Bioactive Compounds after Dosing Herbal Medicines for Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases and Herb-Herb Interactions (Grant 2005CB523403), 2006-2010
2.National Basic Research Program of China (973 program),Pharmacokinetic Studies of Herb Combination Therapies for Cardiovascular Diseases (Grant 2012CB518403), 2012-2016
3.National Science and Technology Major Program of China,“Key New Drug Creation and Manufacturing Program” Establishment of Research Platform for Preclinical Pharmacokinetic Studies of Herbal Medicines and Related Applications (Grant 2009ZX09304-002), 2009-2011
4.National Natural Science Foundation of China Studies of Disposition of Bioactive Ginkgo Compounds (Grant 30772772), 2008-2010 5.National Natural Science Foundation of China National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars (Field,
Pharmacokinetic Research of Herbal Medicines) (Grant 30925044), 2010-2013
6.Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Development of Key Techniques Supporting Pharmacokinetic Research of Herbal Medicines (Grant KSCX2-YW-R-191), 2009–2010
7.Shanghai Science and Technology Commission DMPK Studies of Bioactive Ginkgo Compounds after dosing GBE50 and its Formulations (Grant 07DZ19703), 2007–2012
8.Shanghai Science and Technology Commission,Studies of Quality Consistence of GBE50 and its Formulation and Associated Clinical Pharmacokinetic Research (Grant 13DZ1970200), 2013–2016