Christopher Li, MD, PhD

Dr. Christopher Li is an epidemiologist who specializes in identifying breast cancer risk factors. He has helped detect important connections between breast cancer and lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical activity, and consuming alcohol and certain medications. He also investigates the causes of disparities in cancer outcomes and is at the forefront of efforts to ensure cancer research benefits all patients, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, income, education or geography. Dr. Li studies breast cancer risk in young women and led the world’s largest study of risk factors for developing and surviving triple-negative breast cancer, a rare but particularly aggressive subtype. He also combines laboratory research with big data to find patterns that predict whether a patient’s breast cancer is likely to recur. Dr. Li also seeks to identify blood-based biomarkers that signal early stages of different breast cancer subtypes to increase the chances of detecting the disease earlier. He co-leads Fred Hutch’s award-winning cancer registry, the Cancer Surveillance System database, which tracks cancer incidence and survival in 13 Washington counties. Researchers everywhere use the Hutch registry data to identify cancer trends, find causes and track outcomes.