Home > Faculty > Current Faculty > Tenure-track faculty

Dong LI Ph.D.

Professor

2002-2006, B.E., Department of Optical Engineering, Zhejiang University

2006-2011, Ph.D., Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

2011-2015, Postdoctoral Associate, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

2015-2024, Principal Investigator, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science

2024- , Professor, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University

Research interest

We focus on developing novel optical imaging methods, which enable us to measure and study the biological processes with unprecedented precision, such as structures and dynamics of molecular assemblies in living biological systems, interactions between molecules, and behavior of individual molecules, etc. We are greatly enjoying working at the interface of several disciplines, where light, algorithm and biology catalyze each other.

Selected publications

1. Qiao C^#, Chen H^#, Wang R^#, Jiang T, Wang Y, Li D*. Deep learning-based optical aberration estimation enables offline digital adaptive optics and super-resolution imaging. Photonics Research, 2024 Mar; 12(3):474-484. Cover article.

2. Qiao C^#, Zeng Y^#, Meng Q^#, Chen X^#, Chen H, Jiang T, Wei R, Guo J, Fu W, Lu H, Li D, Wang Y, Qiao H, Wu J, Li D*, Dai Q*. Zero-shot learning enables instant denoising and super-resolution in optical fluorescence microscopy. Nature Communications, 2024 May; 15(1):4180.

3. Qiao C^#, Li D^#, Liu Y^#, Zhang S^#, Liu K, Liu C, Guo Y, Jiang T, Fang C, Li N, Zeng Y, He K, Zhu X, Lippincott-Schwartz J*, Dai Q*, Li D*. Rationalized deep learning super-resolution microscopy for sustained live imaging of rapid subcellular processes. Nature Biotechnology, 2023 Mar; 41(3):367-377. Cover article.

4. Gong B^#, Guo Y^#, Ding S, Liu X, Meng A, Li D*, Jia S*, A Golgi-derived vesicle potentiates PtdIns4P to PtdIns3P conversion for endosome fission. Nature Cell Biology, 2021 Jul; 23(7):782-795.

5. Xu G^#, Liu C^#, Zhou S^#, Li Q, Feng Y, Sun P, Feng H, Gao Y, Zhu J, Luo X, Zhan Q, Liu S, Zhu S, Deng H*, Li D*, Gao P*. Viral tegument proteins restrict cGAS-DNA phase separation to mediate immune evasion. Molecular Cell, 2021 Jul 1;81(13):2823-2837.

6. Li D^#, Colin-York H^#, Barbieri L^#, Javanmardi Y^#, Guo Y, Korobchevskaya K, Moeendarbary E*, Li D*, Fritzsche M*. Astigmatic traction force microscopy (aTFM). Nature Communications, 2021 Apr 12; 12(1):2168.

7. Qiao C^#, Li D^#, Guo Y^#, Liu C^#, Jiang T, Dai Q*, Li D*. Evaluation and development of deep neural networks for image super-resolution in optical microscopy. Nature Methods, 2021 Feb;18(2):194-202.

8. Wang X^#*, Liu C^#, Zhang S^#, Yan H, Zhang L, Jiang A, Liu Y, Feng Y, Li D, Guo Y, Hu X, Lin Y, Bu P, Li D*. N6-methyladenosine modification of MALAT1 promotes metastasis via reshaping nuclear speckles. Developmental Cell, 2021 Mar 8;56(5):702-715.

9. Qin J, Guo Y, Xue B, Shi P, Chen Y, Su Q, Hao H, Zhao S, Wu C, Yu L, Li D*, Sun Y*. ER-mitochondria contacts promote mtDNA nucleoids active transportation via mitochondrial dynamic tubulation. Nature Communications, 2020 Sep 8;11(1):4471.

10. Li D^#, Zhao Y^#, Li D, Zhao H, Huang J, Miao G, Feng D, Liu P, Li D*, Zhang H *. The ER-Localized Protein DFCP1 Modulates ER-Lipid Droplet Contact Formation. Cell Reports, 2019 Apr 9;27(2):343-358.

11. Guo Y^#,Li D^#, Zhang S, Yang Y, Liu JJ, Wang X, Liu C, Milkie DE, Moore RP, Tulu US, Kiehart DP, Hu J, Lippincott-Schwartz J*, Betzig E*, Li D*. Visualizing intracellular organelle and cytoskeletal interactions at nanoscale resolution on millisecond timescales. Cell, 2018 Nov 15;175(5):1430-1442

12. Li D, Shao L, Chen BC, Zhang X, Zhang M, Moses B, Milkie DE, Beach JR, Hammer JA, Pasham M, Kirchhausen T, Baird MA, Davidson MW, Xu P, Betzig E*. Extended-resolution structured illumination imaging of endocytic and cytoskeletal dynamics. Science, 2015 Aug 28;349(6251): aab3500. Cover article.

Awards

2021, Distinguished Young Scientist award, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2020, Outstanding Mentor award, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2019, XPLORER prize, Tencent Foundation

2019, VCANBIO award for innovations and breakthroughs in life sciences and medicine

2015, PicoQuant Young Investigator Award, SPIE

2011, Winner of Young Scientist Award, Hong Kong Institute of Science

Contact information