Today’s conversation is with Dr. Zihai Li, Founding Director of the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Li completed medical school at Zhengzhou University, his PhD at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Internal Medicine Residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Medical Oncology Fellowship at University of Washington. He moved his professorship from the Medical University of South Carolina to Ohio State in 2019, when he was brought in to lead the PIIO. Today’s conversation surrounds Zihai’s long experience in the field of immuno-oncology, which is a wing of cancer medicine that is quickly and drastically shaping treatment for many cancer types. Within a decade, immunotherapy has become a hallmark of cancer treatment, with hundreds of new drug approvals and indications from the FDA. 

My conversation with Dr. Li focuses on explaining some of the tenets of immunotherapy, as well as how he came to be a leader in this field. I was interested in learning about his training pathway, as I personally am considering a career in academic medical oncology. Beyond talking about his pathway and about the exciting development of the PIIO, we discuss his own personal motivations as a physician and scientist. For anyone on the research campus and in the cancer hospital at OSU, Dr. Li’s presence can surely be felt. He is extremely passionate, thoughtful, and motivated, and his energy truly brings the community together toward advancing cancer care.