NC State Clinician Scientist Honored for Career Achievements in Feline Research
Dr. Ronald Li, an associate professor of emergency and critical care at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the recipient of the 2025 American Veterinary Medical Foundation’s Career Achievement in Feline Research Award.
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation has honored Dr. Ronald Li, an associate professor of emergency and critical care at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, with the 2025 Career Achievement in Feline Research Award.
The award recognizes an American Veterinary Medication Association member for long-time commitment to feline health through research. Dr. Li, who studies blood disorders in cats, emphasizes the importance of progressing bench-top research into clinical studies so that patients get the highest level of care. His research has led to the discovery of congenital coagulation disorders in cats.
“I’m very humbled by this award because there are still so many questions I want to answer,” Li says. “There’s still so much work left to do, but I deeply appreciate being recognized for my work in platelets and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats. I’m trying to understand the mechanism of why cats die of blood clots with HCM, and how we can help them.”
In its letter to Li announcing the award, AVMA cited how Li’s research has improved the understanding of platelet and neutrophil biology, their interaction in states of hypercoagulability and the identification of novel pathway targets to improve disease outcomes.
“Your work on feline thrombosis as it relates to cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the discovery of novel congenital platelet disorders has had profound impact on understanding and treatment of these conditions,” the letter said. “We are grateful for your efforts.”
Dr. Li, who received his DVM from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, joined the Department of Clinical Sciences at NC State in 2023. He also has a Ph.D. in Integrative Pathobiology from the University of California, Davis, where he studied platelet and neutrophil biology.
“Leaving vet school, I never thought I would do research as a career, but during my residency, I started seeing different types of critical cases in the ICU, and that’s when I realized how little we know,” he says. “That’s when I developed an interest in thrombosis and hemostasis, the study of bleeding and clotting disorders in ICU patients, and it just snowballed from there.”
Dr. Li’s research focus is directed toward understanding the cellular basis and pathobiological roles of immunothrombosis, by which neutrophils and platelets interact in cardiovascular diseases and systemic inflammation. His research also includes investigating precision medicine, congenital platelet disorders and novel antiplatelet therapy in cardiovascular diseases.
“Dr. Li is one of the leading investigators in the world pertaining to arterial blood clots or thromboembolism and cardiomyopathy in cats,” says Dr. Jan Hawkins, head of the Department of Clinical Sciences at NC State. “He has developed novel treatments for cats with cardiomyopathy and arterial blood clots. These novel treatments can provide life-saving emergency care for cats affected by these disorders. We are fortunate to have him as a faculty member at the NC State CVM.”
Dr. Joshua Stern, associate dean for research and graduate studies at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, was the 2024 recipient of the award. Noting a national need for more cat-focused care, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine unveiled its Feline Health Center in 2023.
NC State, Li says, provides amazing support for its clinician scientists who also have active and life-changing research projects.
“The research support is instrumental to the success of clinician scientists, the people who are on the floor as well as being in the lab,” Li says. “Having that true expertise, I think, helps to drive innovation. That’s the secret to advancing medical care for animals and humans.”
