Research Interest

​Microbes are often referred to as “the greatest chemists” because they possess a diverse array of metabolic pathways that can produce a wide range natural products and perform complex chemical transformations. For example, the environmental microbes are the primary source of natural products, and the human gut microbiome has a profound impact on human health and well-being. To harness the knowledge and potential of these remarkable chemists, the Li Lab focuses on the developing innovative tools for microbial studies. Our approach combines bioanalytical chemistry, microfluidics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to construct novel high-throughput single-cell analysis methods, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of the microbial world. Our research projects include, 1) single bacteria genomic sequencing, 2) microbial cell-cell interaction, 3) novel biosynthetic gene clusters and metabolites discovery, and 4) microbial-environmental interaction-such as gut microbiome-drug interaction and microbial-plant interaction. The potential outcome of these projects includes the cultivation of “unculturable” species based on acquired knowledge, the identification of interaction-based biocontrol agents, the creation of personalized therapeutics, and new enzymes and chemicals. Given the multidisciplinary nature of this work, students in our research group are trained in bioanalytical chemistry, microfluidics, single cell genetics, microbiology, medicinal chemistry, and bioinformatics.