Before joining UC San Diego, Li was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at UC Riverside from 2016 to 2023. Li earned her Bachelor's degrees in Chemistry from Nankai University and Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University in 2007. She completed her Ph.D. at UCLA in 2012, followed by postdoctoral training at Caltech for one year and then Stanford from 2013-2016. Her work is recognized by NIH Director's New Innovator Award and NSF CAREER Award.