Dr. Chenhua Li, PhD'23

If you had to take a personality quiz to discover which parasite you’re most like, you probably wouldn’t expect it to teach you something.  

But, for Dr. Chenhua Li, PhD’23, making the science of parasitology accessible and engaging is a serious mission, even when the approach is playful.  

“It’s not just about the science,” she says. “It’s about how people connect with it.” 

That core philosophy has shaped a remarkable early career, one defined not only by academic excellence, but by a rare commitment to public understanding and global outreach. Dr. Li has emerged as one of Canada’s most-inventive and driven young scientists, building a body of work that bridges disciplines, demystifies complex ideas and brings long-overdue attention to the biodiversity of parasites and the value they hold in ecosystems around the world. 

Her journey into parasitology began almost by accident. Growing up in China, Li pursued her undergraduate studies without ever having heard the word “parasitology.” It wasn’t until she was exploring graduate programs in Canada that she stumbled across a professor’s profile. 

“I didn’t even recognize ‘parasitology’ as a word at first,” she laughs. “It started with ‘para’ and ended in ‘ology,’ like pathology.” 

That curiosity led her to the University of Manitoba, where she completed her master’s and discovered a deep fascination with parasites — especially those that manipulate host behaviour in astonishing ways. 

“There are so many cool parasites living incredible lifestyle, and not many people notice them,” Li says. “We care more about big animals — mammals, birds — but parasites? Not so much.” 

One such parasite, the lancet liver fluke, became a source of inspiration. It manipulates ants to climb to the tops of vegetation, such as grasses and flowers, and clamp down, increasing their chances of being eaten by grazing animals, thus completing the parasite’s life cycle. The behaviour is temperature-sensitive, with ants returning to normal as the sun emerges and climbing again in the evening when it’s cool. 

“It’s such a specific behaviour change, and we’re still figuring out how it works,” Li says. 

That fascination led her to the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, where she pursued her PhD studying “zombie ants” infected by the lancet liver fluke in Alberta. Her passion was so strong, Li jokes that she would have taken any job just to be near them. 

While in Calgary, she joined a program for UCalgary international students called Home Away from Home, which connected her with local host families and a broader community. It was through these connections that she realized how little the public knew about parasites, and how eager they were to learn. 

“Every time I told people what I studied zombie ants they were fascinated,” Li recalls. “Kids would go into their gardens and stare at grass, trying to find ants climbing up. That’s really where this whole outreach journey started.” 

Li is well known for her leadership in organizing the 2021 Parasite Biodiversity Day, an ambitious two-day virtual event held in celebration of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15). What began as a playful idea, sparked by a conversation with her husband about visiting his hometown, quickly evolved into an international moment. 

“He found out COP15 was going to be held in his province,” she says. “I realized they had special side events like ‘Ocean Day,’ and I thought, why not a ‘Parasite Day’?” 

The event brought together more than 879 registrants from 93 countries, including parasitologists, students, industry professionals and curious members of the public. It featured scientific talks grouped by host type, panel discussions and exclusive interviews, including one with 2015 Nobel Laureate Dr. William Campbell, PhD, who also paints and writes poetry about parasites. 

“Science is finding order in disorder, and art is finding disorder in order,” Campbell told Li, who says these words continue to inspire her. 

The event also marked the launch of the Global Parasitologist Coalition, an initiative Li founded to make parasitology more relatable and visible. With her husband, an artist and communications specialist, she created a 40-minute documentary titled Who? Parasitologist?, which has since been used in undergraduate classrooms and even inspired a high school parasitology elective proposal in Oklahoma. 

The coalition has developed resources over the years including comics, educational booths, trading cards and the now-famous Parasite Personality Quiz (partially funded by UCalgary GSA Quality money program) , which launched the same day she defended her PhD. 

“At first, we just hoped 100 people would take it,” Li says. “Now, nearly 9,000 people have.” 

Her outreach efforts have reached global audiences through events like Beakerhead in Calgary and Bug Day in New Zealand, where she now lives. At one recent event, visitors were asked to rate their feelings about parasites before and after visiting her booth. Many shifted from negative to positive, just by learning more. 

“You’d be surprised how many kids came up to us at Beakerhead, took the quiz and told us it helped them understand parasites in a whole new way,” Li says. 

But her journey hasn’t been without hardship. Li speaks candidly about the challenges she faced during her PhD. 

“It was a difficult period in my life, and I struggled with my well-being; for a long time, I felt like a failure,” Li says. “I didn’t have any publications when I graduated and wasn’t sure I could continue in academia.” 

She achieved her PhD, after which she took a job in biotech operations, fixing fridges and chairs, just to make ends meet. But her love for research never faded. Li eventually reached out to a professor in New Zealand whose work she admired. Using all that she had saved up, she made the leap to chase her passion.  

“Now as a postdoc, I’ve already published three papers in under a year and feel better supported to continue in academia than I have in quite some time,” Li says. 

In 2024, she received the Public Education Award from the Canadian Society of Zoologists and was invited to join the Specialist Group on Parasites for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), contributing to global assessments on parasite biodiversity. 

Despite facing challenges, Li remains committed to her mission. 

“Some people think we want to conserve all parasites, even those that make us sick,” she says. “That’s not true. Most parasites we study aren’t harmful to humans, and they play critical roles in ecosystems. We’re trying to better communicate that with people.” 

“I want to show my friends and fellows that we can do good science and impactful outreach. We don’t have to pick one or the other. And, if we can get more people interested in parasites, maybe we can bring more funding, more research opportunities and more support to the field.” 

Receiving the Early Career Achievement Award, she says, is deeply meaningful. 

“It makes me feel that my PhD was more than just a series of challenges; it was the foundation from which new insights and meaningful contributions have emerged.” 

As for what’s next? 

“Keep going. Keep researching. Keep connecting. Studying parasites is amazing, and I want the world to understand their importance.”