Dr. XiuJun (James) Li

XiuJun (James) Li, Ph.D., is a full Professor with early tenure in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), USA. He is also the Director of Forensic Science Program at UTEP. After he obtained his Ph.D. degree in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip bioanalysis from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Canada in 2008, he pursued his postdoctoral research with Prof. Richard Mathies at University of California Berkeley and Prof. George Whitesides at Harvard University, while holding a Postdoctoral Fellowship from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. Dr. Li’s current research interest is centered on the development of innovative microfluidic lab-on-a-chip and nanotechnology for bioanalysis, biomaterial, biomedical engineering, and environmental applications, including but not limited to low-cost diagnosis, pathogen detection, nano-biosensing, genetic analysis, 3D cell culture, tissue engineering, and single-cell analysis, supported by NIH, NSF, CPRIT, DOT, AAFS, UT System, Philadelphia Foundation, and MCA Foundation multiple funding agencies. His lab has extensive experience in point-of-care detection. He pioneered the novel concept of paper/polymer hybrid microfluidic devices; he, for the first time, developed photothermal biosensors for low-cost quantitative analysis using a common thermometer.

    Dr. Li has coauthored more than 120 journal publications and 22 patents, including three books from Elsevier on microfluidic devices for biomedical applications. He is an Editorial Board member of multiple journals including Microsystems & Nanoengineering and Scientific Reports from the Nature Publishing Group, Micromachines, Nano Futures, Future Science OA, Journal of Analysis and Testing, etc, and an Advisory Board member of Lab on a Chip and Analyst. He is the recipient of the “Bioanalysis New Investigator Award” in 2014, UT STARS Award in 2012, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow Award in 2009, Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Graduate Student Abroad (2004), Outstanding Faculty Dissertation Research Mentoring Award (2016 & 2018, twice), NIH BUILDING Scholar Mentoring Award for Excellence in Student Research Mentoring in 2017, and so on.

2022-	Professor. Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Forensic Science (FORS), & Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC), & Biomedical Engineering (BME), UTEP Environmental Science & Engineering (ESE), UTEP Materials Science and Engineering (MASE), UTEP
2022-	Director, Forensic Science Program
2024-	Past President, ACS Rio Grande Valley Chapter
2022.01-2024.01	President, ACS Rio Grande Valley Chapter
2022-2023	Visiting Professor, Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego (UCSD) (Host: Prof. Joseph Wang)
2017-2022	Associate Professor (with early tenure) in Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UTEP Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC), UTEP Biomedical Engineering (BME), UTEP Environmental Science & Engineering (ESE), UTEP Materials Science and Engineering (MASE), UTEP
2021	President Elect, ACS Rio Grande Valley Chapter
2017	Visiting Associate Professor, Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, & Department of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center
2012-2017	Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Department of Chemistry at University of Texas at El Paso Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC), UTEP Biomedical Engineering (BME), UTEP Environmental Science & Engineering (ESE), UTEP Materials Science and Engineering (MASE), UTEP

2010-2011	NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University & Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Low-cost medical diagnosis and 3D cell culture Supervisor: Prof. George M. Whitesides
2008-2009	NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley Integrated microdevices for genetic analysis in forensics Supervisor: Prof. Richard A. Mathies
2003-2008	Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Canada Microfluidic single-cell analysis Supervisor: Prof. Paul C.H. Li

2024	Named World's Top Researchers (2% of the most cited researchers, by Elsevier)
2024	Travel Grant Award for GEM on the Road’s PFI Programming
2024	Named Top Scholar by ScholarGPS (Ranked #33 in Microfluidics in recent 5 years)
2022	ACS RGVS section Outstanding Service Award
2021	CPRIT Grant Award (Cancer Prevention & Researcg Institute of Texas)
2021	NSF IIP PFI Grant Award
2021	Four Outstanding Efforts Awards, UTEP
2021	Grant Award of ACUE (Association of College and University Educators) Course in Effective Teaching Practices
2021	DOT CARTEEH Grant Award
2021	NSF I-Corps Grant Award
2020	Outstanding Efforts Award, UTEP
2020	NSF I-Corps Grant Award
2018	Outstanding Faculty Dissertation Research Mentoring Award, UTEP
2018	Young Scientist Award finalist, Microsystems & Nanoengineering Summit
2017-2018	Outstanding Efforts Award, UTEP
2017	Innovation Center Proof-of-Concept Grant, Medical Center of the Americas Foundation (MCA)
2017	NIH BUILDING Scholar Menting Award for excellence in sturdent research mentoring.
2017	Grant Award from the Emily Koenig Meningitis Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation
2017	NIH BUILDing Scholar Summer Sabbatical Award
2017	NIH BUILDing Scholars Faculty Travel Award
2017-2018	NSF PREM Seed Grant
2016-2017	Faculty Research Mentoring Award, UTEP
2016	NSF PREM Travel Award
2015-2016	Outstanding Performance Award, UTEP.
2015	NIH/NIAID Grant Award
2014	2014 Bioanalysis New Investigator Award.
2013-2014	Outstanding Performance Award, UTEP.
2013	NIH/NIGMS Grant Award
2011-2013	UT System STARS Award.
2009-2011	NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF), Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, two years
2009	Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal, Simon Fraser University (SFU)
2007	Award of President's Ph.D Research Stipend, Simon Fraser University
2005	SFU Graduate Fellowship, Simon Fraser University
2004	Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Graduate Student Abroad
2003-2006	Overseas Research Students (ORS) Award, UK.
2001	Graduate Future Star Scholarship, Shandong University (SDU)
1999	Most Outstanding Graduate of Shandong Province
1998	Most Outstanding Student of Shandong Province
1998,1996	Outstanding Student of Qingdao University (twice)
1998,1997	Distinguished Student Leader of Qingdao University (twice)
1995	Most Outstanding Student of Qingdao City
2017	Award Evaluation Committee for Early Career Research Award, Future Science OA
2017	Micromachines Travel Awards Evaluation Committee

Grant Peer Review Panel (not updated anymore)

2020	SBIR Study Section, NIH
2020	Bioengineering Study Section, NIH
2020	Study Section of Infectious Diseases, NIH
2020	SBIR Study Section, NCI, NIH
2013, 2015	National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
2013-2017	National Science Foundation (NSF), 4 times
2018	Study Section, POCT Center U54, NIH
2017	CFRS Study section, NIH
2016	National Institute of Health (NIH)
2018-	Department of Defense (DoD), 2 times
2017	ACS Petroleum Research Grant
2018-	Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
2013	Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
2013	Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
2014	CCNY-MSKCC Partnership for Cancer Research, Training, and Community Outreach
2015	Singapore Ministry of Defence and Singapore University of Technology & Design
2015	Singapore Ministry of Education –National Research Foundation
2015	Innovation & Technology Commission, Hong Kong SAR Government
2017	American Institute of Biological Sciences

Journals: (Editors: > 7 journals; Reviewer: > 61 journals)

2023-	Editorial Board Member, Microsystems & Nanoengineering from Nature Publishing Group (IF 8.0)
2020-	Editor-in-Chief, Pharmaceutical Analytical Letters
2014-	Editorial Board member, Scientific Reports from Nature Publishing Group
2020-	Advisory Board Member, Lab on a Chip.
2020-	Advisory Board Member, Analyst.
2024-	Editorial Board member, Nano Futures.
2020-	Editorial Board, Journal of Analysis and Testing
2015-	Editorial Board member, Micromachines.
2016-	Editorial Board member, Future Science OA.
2014-2016	Young Ambassador/ Editorial Advisory for Future Science Open from Future Science Group
2015-2016	Guest Editor, Special Issue in Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Topic, "Miniaturized platforms and methods for pharmaceutical studies"
2011-	Member of Board of Editorial Advisors, Canadian Journals of Pure & Applied Sciences
2013-	Member of Board of Editorial Advisors, Annals of Public Health and Research, Journal of Stem Cells Research, Review and Reports
2010-	Invited Referee for the Wiley journal of Electrophoresis and Biotech Progress, Small, Advanced Materials, Advanced Healthcare Materials
2010-	Invited Referee for the RSC journals: Lab on a Chip, Chem Comm, Nanoscale, Analyst, Analytical Methods, RSC Advances, & Molecular BioSystems, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Toxicology Research, Chemical Science
2012-	Invited Referee for the ACS journals: Analytical Chemistry, Langmuir, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, ACS Omega, ACS Applied Bio Materials
2013-	Invited Referee for Elsevier: Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, Talanta, Chromatography A, Colloids and Surface B: Biointerfaces, Acta Biomaterialia, Biochemical Engineering Journal, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Sensors and Actuator B, Catalysis Today, Biotechnology Advances.
2014	Invited Referee for Trends in Biotechnology, Scientific Reports, Biomicrofluidics, Plos One, Theranostics, Micromachines, Analytica Chimica Acta, IEEE Sensors Journal, Clinical Chemistry, Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry
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Conferences (Not updated anymore)

2019	Track Chair, Photocatalysis in Catalysis & Chemical Engineering 2019, Houston, TX.
2018	Symposium organizer and Presider (Track Co-Chair) for ICMFLOC 2018 (International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, and Lab-on-a-Chip).
2017	Symposium Organizer and Presider for ACS 2017 “Recent Innovations in Nano-Biosensing”.
2017	Symposium Organizer and Presider for Pittcon 2017 “Recent Innovations in Nanosensing”.
2016	Symposium Organizer for Optofluidics 2016 “Cost-effective microfluidic devices for bioanalysis”.
2016.03	Symposium Organizer and Presider for Pittcon 2016 “Emerging Technologies for Disease Biomarker Detection”.
2015.03	Symposium Organizer and Presider for Pittcon 2015 “Platforms of Point of care testing”.
2015.03	Invited Session Chair for Pittcon 2015 “Novel Microfluidic Instrumentation and Devices”
2014.06	Invited Session Chair for the CSC 2014 Conference in Vancouver, BC.
2013.05	Invited Session Chair for the conference of Advances in Microfluidics & Nanofluidics 2013, Notre Dame, IN.
2012.07	Session Chairs for 2012 ASME International Conference on Nanofluidics and Microfluidics at Puerto Rico

Membership & Others

2023-	AAFS Associate Member, American Academy of Forensic Sciences
2014	2014 Member of the Graduate School Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Selection Committee, UTEP
2006-	ACS (American Chemical Society) membership.
2012-2013	Full Membership, Sigma Xi.
2012-	RSC e-Membership
2004-2005	Membership of CSC (Canadian Society for Chemistry) & CIC (Chemical Institute of Canada).