Scientific leadership
Xingnan Li, PhD
Chief Scientist & CTO, TRiCBIOCo-developer of ALI tumor-immune organoid technology
Xingnan Li, PhD works at the intersection of tumor biology, organoid technology and translational research. Her research spans early ALI intestinal culture, oncogenic transformation in primary tissue and the co-development of tumor-immune organoid methods.
As a co-first author of the 2018 Cell paper, she helped establish an approach for studying tumor cells with immune cells retained from the source sample within a three-dimensional tissue context. This body of work continues to guide model development, assay selection and study design at TRiCBIO.
Research focus
Advancing tumor–immune research with ALI organoids
Xingnan Li, PhD focuses on tissue architecture, sample-derived immune cells and treatment response in ALI organoid systems, bringing this experience to TRiCBIO PDO 2.0 study design.
Research contributions
ALI tumor-immune organoid research
- 01Contributed to early long-term ALI intestinal culture research
- 02Led first-author studies in primary-tissue organoid transformation and ALI methods
- 03Co-developed ALI patient-derived tumor-immune organoids
Organoid Modeling of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment
Co-first author · Peer-reviewed publication · PMID 30550791
Selected paper figures
Key findings in ALI tumor-immune organoids
Figures from the 2018 Cell paper show ALI tumor-immune organoid establishment, tissue architecture and immune cells retained from the source sample—and how these elements inform PDO 2.0 study design.
Summarizes how patient tumor tissue, ALI organoid culture, microenvironment context and immunotherapy studies connect.
Neal JT, Li X et al. Cell. 2018;175:1972–1988.e16. DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2018.11.021.
Shows tissue architecture and CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56 and PD-1 profiles across ALI organoids, including effects of culture duration and IL-2 on measurable TILs.
Neal JT, Li X et al. Cell. 2018;175:1972–1988.e16, Figure 3.Field recognition
Organoid 2.0 across Nature Reviews Cancer
Nature Reviews Cancer introduced the “Organoid 2.0” perspective in 2019 and revisited tumor–immune organoids in depth in 2024. Together, these reviews emphasize that studies of tissue architecture, immune context and treatment response require organoid systems that extend beyond epithelium alone.
Organoid 2.0
Nature Reviews Cancer · Anna DartThe article framed “Organoid 2.0” as an approach that retains native immune cells and captures tumor-microenvironment diversity, with a focus on the 2018 Cell ALI tumor-immune organoid study.
DOI 10.1038/s41568-019-0108-x ↗2024 · Review ArticleCancer organoids 2.0: modelling the complexity of the tumour immune microenvironment
Nature Reviews Cancer · Roel Polak · Elisa T. Zhang · Calvin J. KuoThis 2024 review surveys 3D tumor organoid systems that capture immune features of the TME, including applications in tumor immunity, drug development and precision medicine.
DOI 10.1038/s41568-024-00706-6 ↗Research progression
From early ALI culture to engineered organoid matrices
Established long-term ALI culture of mouse small- and large-intestinal tissue with epithelial and stromal components, and examined Wnt- and Notch-related niche regulation.
PMID 19398967 · DOI 10.1038/nm.1951Used primary mouse gastric, pancreatic and colonic ALI organoids to model defined oncogenic transformation and validate cancer drivers.
PMID 24859528 · DOI 10.1038/nm.3585Published a practical protocol for ALI 3D culture of diverse primary gastrointestinal tissues to support reproducible method use.
PMID 27246020 · DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-3603-8_4Examined engineered matrices that support human patient-derived intestinal organoid culture and expand understanding of organoid–matrix interactions.
PMID 34026461 · DOI 10.1002/advs.202004705Xingnan Li’s peer-reviewed work spans ALI culture, oncogenic transformation in primary tissue, tumor–immune microenvironment models and engineered organoid culture, and continues to inform TRiCBIO’s PDO 2.0 model development and immune-study design.
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