Dr. Li Mingzhu

Dr. Li Mingzhu is a professor and senior endocrinologist at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) in Beijing — widely regarded as China's most distinguished hospital and clinical research institution, closely affiliated with the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC). PUMCH is the foremost national referral centre for complex endocrine and metabolic disorders in China, attracting the most diagnostically challenging cases from across the country.

With 22 years of endocrinology experience, Dr. Li is among China's most accomplished endocrinologists. China faces an extraordinary diabetes burden: with over 140 million people living with diabetes, China has the world's largest diabetic population, and Beijing's tertiary centres manage the most complex cases including insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, diabetic complications, and rare diabetes subtypes. At PUMCH, Dr. Li leads a diabetes specialist clinic and conducts research through the hospital's internationally recognized endocrinology research program.

She completed her PhD at PUMC with research on insulin secretion dynamics and subsequently undertook a research fellowship at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston — one of the world's leading diabetes research institutions. She has been a principal investigator in multiple multinational diabetes clinical trials and is a recognized authority on advanced diabetes management in the Chinese population.

Dr. Li completed her medical degree and PhD at Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) in Beijing — one of China's most selective medical programmes. She undertook her endocrinology residency at PUMCH and completed a research fellowship at the Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School affiliate, in Boston, USA (2008–2009). She is a member of the Chinese Society of Endocrinology (CSE), a member of the Endocrine Society (USA), and serves on the International Diabetes Federation's (IDF) Asia-Pacific advisory group. She has been appointed to Chinese national diabetes guideline writing committees.

Dr. Li's primary clinical focus is diabetes mellitus in all its forms. For type 2 diabetes, she manages insulin initiation, basal-bolus regimen optimisation, SGLT2 inhibitor and GLP-1 receptor agonist prescribing, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) interpretation, and complication monitoring (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy screening). For type 1 diabetes, she manages advanced insulin delivery including pump therapy (CSII). She conducts structured diabetes education and dietary counselling.

In thyroid disease, she assesses thyroid nodules with sonographic risk stratification and performs or coordinates fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. She manages thyroid cancer follow-up, hypothyroidism optimisation, and Graves' disease including radioiodine therapy coordination. In pituitary disease, she conducts comprehensive pituitary function testing and manages hyperprolactinaemia, acromegaly, and Cushing's syndrome, coordinating with neurosurgery when surgical pituitary treatment is indicated. She also manages PCOS and obesity.

Dr. Li consults in Mandarin Chinese and English. PUMCH has an international outpatient clinic (国际医疗部) where English-language consultations are available for expatriates and international patients. Beijing hosts a substantial international business and diplomatic community, and PUMCH's international department provides bilingual consultations, international-standard medical records, and coordination with international insurance providers. For overseas Chinese patients and non-Chinese international patients seeking endocrinology second opinions, video consultations in Mandarin and English are available.

Dr. Li has received the Chinese Society of Endocrinology Young Investigator Award and the PUMCH Distinguished Clinician Award. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in Diabetes Care, JCEM, and Chinese endocrinology journals. She has been a principal investigator in multinational diabetes trials and serves on the editorial board of Chinese endocrinology journals. She was appointed to the National Diabetes Prevention Programme scientific advisory committee.