Dr. Lei Li is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering at Rice University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology in 2019, following his M.S. from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. His research focuses on developing next-generation medical imaging technology to better understand the brain, diagnose early-stage cancer, and provide wearable monitoring of human vital signs.
Dr. Li was awarded the NSF CAREER Award in 2025. He was previously selected as a TED Fellow in 2021 and a "Rising Star in Engineering in Health" by Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University (2021). He received the Charles and Ellen Wilts Prize from Caltech in 2020 and was named one of the Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2019. Additionally, he is a two-time winner of the Seno Medical Best Paper Award granted by SPIE (2017 and 2020).
WEBSITE(S)| Personal Website | Ken Kennedy Institute | Member, Rice Digital Health Initiative | Member, Houston Methodist-Rice Digital Health Institute
Research Areas
Biophotonics, Medical Imaging, Neuroimaging, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Imaging, Image Reconstruction, Biomedical Instrumentation, Medical Devices, Optical Sensing.
Industry Impact & Relevance
Dr. Li’s overarching research goal is to develop new biomedical imaging technology that combines light, sound, and artificial intelligence to visualize deep brain functions, diagnose early-stage cancer and navigate microrobots for internal surgery. His research focuses on developing new photoacoustic (PA) and ultrasonic (US) technology and combining them with artificial intelligence to enable diverse biomedical applications, including novel whole-brain imagers visualizing brain functions and diagnosing brain disease, PA/US navigated robotic systems guiding and controlling microrobots inside the body for surgery or drug delivery, as well as wearable devices continuously monitoring early-stage cancer patients and detecting circulating tumor cells.
Education
2019, PhD in Electrical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
2016, MS in Electrical and System Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
Honors & Awards
2021 Rising Stars in Engineering in Health, Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University
2021 TED Fellowship, TED Fellows Program
2020 Charles and Ellen Wilts Prize, California Institute of Technology
2020 Seno Medical Best Paper Award, SPIE Photonics West Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing
2019 MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (China), MIT Technology Review
2017 Seno Medical Best Paper Award, SPIE Photonics West Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing