Dr Jiao Jiao Li: leading transdisciplinary research in regenerative medicine

Who Dr Jiao Jiao Li

What Motivated by the belief that everyone is entitled to healthy ageing, Dr Jiao Jiao Li leads transdisciplinary research in regenerative medicine to find new treatments for bone and joint diseases, turning medical discoveries into new therapies for patients. She is also a leader and enabler in STEM engagement and career building for others, particularly under-represented groups.

Winner of the 2024 Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science.

You lead transdisciplinary research in regenerative medicine to find new treatments for bone and joint diseases. What led you to this research focus?

My training as a biomedical engineer has really allowed me to work across disciplines, from cell and molecular biology to materials science and nanotechnology. My entry point into tissue engineering and regenerative medicine was my Honours project, where I was growing little pieces of bone out of bioceramic materials. From that point onwards I was fascinated about what I could create in the lab and how this could actually lead to real-world applications to help people.

The focus on bone and joint diseases came naturally, as I was working on regenerating musculoskeletal tissues over my Honours and PhD. But over the years I have increasingly appreciated the devastating impacts of these diseases on people, including my own family. Musculoskeletal research is underrepresented in Australia, possibly because they are not viewed as ‘life threatening’, but their impacts on quality of life and our economy and healthcare systems are enormous. I really hope that through my research, I can draw more attention to these debilitating diseases and help more people age healthily without pain.

Has your research revealed anything surprising or unexpected?

One of my recent projects on stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis actually disproved our initial hypothesis. We tried growing stem cells and cells from patients with osteoarthritis together in the same environment, and investigated how they would respond to each other. To our surprise, the stem cells only had short-acting beneficial effects on the diseased osteoarthritis cells. Meanwhile, the diseased cells caused the stem cells to pick up some osteoarthritis-like characteristics and reduced the therapeutic function of stem cells. Our study showed that stem cells can become negatively influenced by the diseased environment in osteoarthritis, implying that despite their increasing popularity, stem cell injections may not be an optimal solution for osteoarthritis.

This became my favourite project in recent years because as a scientist, I learnt first-hand that it is important to acknowledge seemingly ‘negative’ results even if they make you feel like the study has failed, as these findings can still bring significant value. This study was the reason why we embarked on a new idea of exploring the nanoscale derivatives of stem cells (their extracellular vesicles) as innovative therapeutics for osteoarthritis instead of the cells themselves.

What motivates you to support under-represented groups to build their careers in STEM alongside your day-to-day research?

Growing up, I used to experience a lot of ‘imposter syndrome’ because of my gender and cultural background. As a female Chinese-Australian, I faced a lot of internal and external barriers in putting myself out there, all the time feeling undeserving of my achievements. In the field of engineering, there were also not a lot of people in senior leadership positions who looked like me, which did not help with my self-esteem. I was fortunate to have been on the Superstars of STEM program, which was when I started learning how to break down these barriers, and to support others in doing the same. I firmly believe that diversity gives rise to innovation, and that the prosperity of our STEM sector relies on having a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative culture. It is really rewarding to be working with different people and younger people towards building a future environment where everyone can feel empowered to achieve their potential.

What are the most challenging aspects of your work?

The most challenging but also fun aspect of my work is to ‘speak the language’ of all the different people I communicate with. In my research program, I work with people across disciplines, requiring different sets of knowledge and skills to collaborate and communicate effectively. Outside research, I work with people from education, health, professional leadership, and the community. It is challenging but fun to learn how to ‘speak their language’ and to better understand their needs and priorities, to reach our common goal of advancing science.

What does winning a Eureka Prize mean to you?

I am still coming to terms with the fact that this is real, as I did not think it was possible. While I am immensely grateful for this recognition, I want to use this experience to encourage my peers to keep breaking down barriers and shooting for the stars. I am also thankful of the wider avenues that the prize has opened for me in reaching more people and diverse groups in our society to engage with, contribute to, and celebrate science.

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the areas of research & innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science.