Dr. Li is director of the Hunan Institute of Parasitic Diseases and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Control on Schistosomiasis in the Lake Region, Yueyang, Hunan, China. In 1975, he earned his M.B.B.S. from Hunan Medical University and, in 2001, a Ph.D. in molecular parasitology from the University of Queensland and Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Since 2003, he has been an honorary professor of the Central Southern University of China. He received an award for his work on schistosomiasis and immunity from the Chinese National Medical Association in 2004 and an award from the Ministry of Public Health of China and the Chinese Medical Association in 2006. His work also receives support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

Yuesheng Li's research consists of two linked projects designed to improve understanding of the immunobiology of infection and the pathology of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that is widespread in rural areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. One component of his research focuses on susceptibility to infection, the other investigates possible genetic control of susceptibility to advanced disease.