Meet The Team

After obtaining his DVM from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Dr. Li completed a rotating internship in Toronto, where he developed a keen interest in emergency and critical care medicine. He worked as an emergency clinician for one year before completing a residency and Master’s of Veterinary Medicine in small animal emergency and critical care at the Royal Veterinary College (UK) in 2014. Dr. Li then pursued a PhD in Integrative Pathobiology at the University of California, Davis, where he studied platelet and neutrophil biology. He then stayed on as a tenure track faculty where he worked as a criticalist in the hospital and a principal investigator of the Comparative Platelet and Neutrophil Physiology Laboratory at UC Davis. He is committed to training clinician scientists and bridging the gap between basic science and clinical research to benefit clinical patients.

In his spare time, he likes to take his 2 Golden Retrievers on his boat, The Lusitropy.

Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Resident

Amanda received her Bachelor’s and Master’s from the University of Florida. She obtained her DVM from Ohio State University. She then went on to complete a rotating internship in Colorado prior to starting her small animal emergency and  critical care residency at NC State. She is a current resident with a research focus in bleeding diathesis secondary to thrombocytopenia and modeling canine immune mediated thrombocytopenia.

DVM Student

Reagan is currently a veterinary student at NC State planning to focus in small animal medicine. She studied Evolutionary Anthropology and Biology at Duke University for my undergraduate degree, and she has one dog named Rollo! Reagan is currently conducting research on the effects of hemolytic anemia and procoagulant platelet formation in dogs.

Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Resident / Veterinary Academic Leaders Fellow

DVM Student

Kylee is a veterinary student at NC State University and one of her main interests currently is feline health. Previously, she graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania as a Biology major with a Biochemistry minor. She has two cats named Juice and Drizzy. Kylee is currently conducting research on the synergistic effects of dual agent therapy on platelet function in cats.

Dual DVM/PhD Student

Victor is a combined DVM/PhD student born in Diriamba, Nicaragua. He completed an Animal Biology Bachelors and a Genetics Masters degree at University of California-Davis in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Victor recently completed his PhD in the Stern Translational Cardiac Genetics and Pharmacogenomics Laboratory in June of 2024. As a current veterinary student, he continues to conduct research in the laboratory. His research interests include the juxtaposition of genetic and clinical cardiology, along with genetic discovery work for common acquired and rare congenital cardiovascular disorders. Victor aspires to become an academic clinician-scientist in veterinary cardiology.

PhD Candidate

Meg received her Bachelor’s degree in physiological sciences from University of California, LA. She started her Ph.D program in Integrative Pathobiology at University of California, Davis in 2021 and joined the Li lab studying thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases. Her research interests include platelet activation and thrombosis in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as a large animal model for human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Meg will be submitting her thesis titled, ” Immunothrombosis and Procoagulant Platelets in Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Uncovering Novel Activating Pathways and Therapeutic Targets“, in June 2025.

Lab Manager

Lunden got her Master’s from Clemson University in 2018 where she focused on marine biology and disease ecology. She moved to North Carolina in 2019 and started working at Duke in an early-stage breast cancer research lab. She then transitioned to investigating the adaptive immune system and T-cell development. She joined the Li Lab in 2023 and is working to support her ever-growing menagerie of animals that currently includes 1 horse, 1 dog, and 6 cats.