Prof. Xiaobo Li completed his PhD in 2012 at Michigan State University, specializing in green algal lipid metabolism. Subsequently, from 2012-2018, he did a postdoc in Martin Jonikas' lab, transitioning from the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford to Princeton University. During postdoc, he spearheaded the generation of an indexed mutant library for the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, now utilized by over 400 global labs.

In 2018, Professor Li took the helm of his research group at Westlake University, focusing on two primary areas: the mechanisms of photosynthetic acclimation to environmental stress in green plants, and the sophisticated light-harvesting and acclimation strategies of diatoms.