Frederick P. Li papers

Frederick P. Li (李沛) (1940-2015), A.B. (cum laude), 1960, New York University, New York, New York; M.D., 1965, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York; M.A., 1967, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; was Professor of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (now called Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), Boston, Massachusetts, from 1990 to 2008, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts from 1992 to 2008.

Frederick Pei Li (李沛) was born on 07 May 1940 in Guangzhou (also known as Canton), China. His father, Li Han Hun (李漢魂), was a general in the Kuomintang army and later the governor of Guangdong province from 1939 to 1945. Li’s mother, Wu Chu Fang (吳菊芳), directed relief efforts for women and children in China during World War II. His family moved to New York, New York in 1947. His parents ran Chinese restaurants in New York City and White Plains, New York. Li received an M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1965. As a medical student, Li took a fourteen-month international study trip, researching public health in different areas including Beirut, Lebanon; Lahore, Pakistan; Bangkok, Thailand; and Hong Kong, China. He received an M.A. in demography from Georgetown University in 1967. Li was a professor at Harvard Medical School from 1972 to 2008 and at Harvard School of Public Health from 1976 to 2008, eventually holding the titles of Professor of Medicine and Professor of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, respectively. He was associated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts in various capacities from 1981 to 2008, notably as the Head of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology, the Vice Chair for Population Sciences in the Department of Adult Oncology, and the Harry and Elsa Jiler Clinical Research Professor of the American Cancer Society. Additionally, Li was associated with the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland and Boston, Massachusetts from 1967 to 1991, eventually serving as Head of the Clinical Studies Section of the Clinical Epidemiology Branch.

Li was awarded the Charles S. Mott Prize by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (1995), the Medal of Honor for Clinical Research by the American Cancer Society (1999), and the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training Lifetime Achievement Award (2008). Li’s research focused on the inherited susceptibility to cancer and late effects of cancer in long-term survivors. Li’s work led to the clinical description of the Li-Fraumeni syndrome and subsequently the identification of germline p53 mutations as an inherited defect in the families he studied. Later, Li’s research expanded to include specific types of inherited cancers such as breast and colon cancer. His later research shifted to include risk reduction based on new knowledge of genetic and environmental causes of cancer. Additionally, Li analyzed the determinants and disparities of cancer care by race in the United States.

Li married Elaine Shiang (向文義), M.D., 1976, Harvard Medical School, on 11 June 1972. They had three children: Andrew (李漢雄), Margaret (李美雄), and Irene (李爱雄). Li died of Alzheimer’s disease on 10 June 2015 in Brookline, Massachusetts.